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Side-by-side financial comparison of AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC (APEI) and WORKIVA INC (WK). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

WORKIVA INC is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($247.3M vs $158.3M, roughly 1.6× AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC). AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC runs the higher net margin — 8.0% vs 7.7%, a 0.3% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, WORKIVA INC posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (19.9% vs -3.5%). WORKIVA INC produced more free cash flow last quarter ($25.7M vs $-15.6M). Over the past eight quarters, WORKIVA INC's revenue compounded faster (18.0% CAGR vs 1.3%).

Strategic Education, Inc. (SEI) is an education services holding company and is formerly known as Strayer Education, Inc. The company owns for-profit, online Capella University and Strayer University, as well as non-degree programs schools such as DevMountain, Hackbright Academy, and Sophia Learning.

Workiva, Inc. is a global software-as-a-service (SaaS) company. It provides a cloud-based connected and reporting compliance platform that enables the use of connected data and automation of reporting across finance, accounting, risk, and compliance.

APEI vs WK — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
WK
WK
1.6× larger
WK
$247.3M
$158.3M
APEI
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
WK
WK
+23.4% gap
WK
19.9%
-3.5%
APEI
Higher net margin
APEI
APEI
0.3% more per $
APEI
8.0%
7.7%
WK
More free cash flow
WK
WK
$41.4M more FCF
WK
$25.7M
$-15.6M
APEI
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
WK
WK
Annualised
WK
18.0%
1.3%
APEI

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
APEI
APEI
WK
WK
Revenue
$158.3M
$247.3M
Net Profit
$12.6M
$19.0M
Gross Margin
56.4%
80.4%
Operating Margin
12.0%
25.8%
Net Margin
8.0%
7.7%
Revenue YoY
-3.5%
19.9%
Net Profit YoY
-2.7%
EPS (diluted)
$0.67
$0.33

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
APEI
APEI
WK
WK
Q1 26
$247.3M
Q4 25
$158.3M
$238.9M
Q3 25
$163.2M
$224.2M
Q2 25
$162.8M
$215.2M
Q1 25
$164.6M
$206.3M
Q4 24
$164.1M
$199.9M
Q3 24
$153.1M
$185.6M
Q2 24
$152.9M
$177.5M
Net Profit
APEI
APEI
WK
WK
Q1 26
$19.0M
Q4 25
$12.6M
$11.8M
Q3 25
$5.6M
$2.8M
Q2 25
$4.5M
$-19.4M
Q1 25
$8.9M
$-21.4M
Q4 24
$13.0M
$-8.8M
Q3 24
$2.3M
$-17.0M
Q2 24
$371.0K
$-17.5M
Gross Margin
APEI
APEI
WK
WK
Q1 26
80.4%
Q4 25
56.4%
80.7%
Q3 25
54.2%
79.3%
Q2 25
51.8%
77.0%
Q1 25
54.5%
76.6%
Q4 24
56.3%
77.1%
Q3 24
50.8%
76.5%
Q2 24
50.2%
76.8%
Operating Margin
APEI
APEI
WK
WK
Q1 26
25.8%
Q4 25
12.0%
3.3%
Q3 25
5.9%
-1.5%
Q2 25
4.3%
-10.3%
Q1 25
7.4%
-12.0%
Q4 24
13.1%
-6.7%
Q3 24
2.7%
-11.7%
Q2 24
1.5%
-13.0%
Net Margin
APEI
APEI
WK
WK
Q1 26
7.7%
Q4 25
8.0%
4.9%
Q3 25
3.4%
1.2%
Q2 25
2.8%
-9.0%
Q1 25
5.4%
-10.4%
Q4 24
7.9%
-4.4%
Q3 24
1.5%
-9.2%
Q2 24
0.2%
-9.9%
EPS (diluted)
APEI
APEI
WK
WK
Q1 26
$0.33
Q4 25
$0.67
$0.21
Q3 25
$0.30
$0.05
Q2 25
$-0.02
$-0.35
Q1 25
$0.41
$-0.38
Q4 24
$0.63
$-0.15
Q3 24
$0.04
$-0.31
Q2 24
$-0.06
$-0.32

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
APEI
APEI
WK
WK
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$174.1M
$334.3M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$94.7M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$294.8M
Total Assets
$521.4M
$1.4B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.32×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
APEI
APEI
WK
WK
Q1 26
$334.3M
Q4 25
$174.1M
$338.8M
Q3 25
$191.3M
$315.9M
Q2 25
$174.9M
$284.3M
Q1 25
$161.6M
$242.0M
Q4 24
$131.9M
$301.8M
Q3 24
$135.4M
$248.2M
Q2 24
$129.8M
$267.9M
Total Debt
APEI
APEI
WK
WK
Q1 26
Q4 25
$94.7M
Q3 25
$94.4M
Q2 25
$94.1M
Q1 25
$93.7M
Q4 24
$93.4M
Q3 24
$93.1M
Q2 24
$92.8M
Stockholders' Equity
APEI
APEI
WK
WK
Q1 26
Q4 25
$294.8M
$-5.4M
Q3 25
$279.3M
$-36.9M
Q2 25
$272.2M
$-66.5M
Q1 25
$310.0M
$-75.7M
Q4 24
$303.9M
$-41.7M
Q3 24
$290.4M
$-50.8M
Q2 24
$288.7M
$-77.7M
Total Assets
APEI
APEI
WK
WK
Q1 26
$1.4B
Q4 25
$521.4M
$1.5B
Q3 25
$525.3M
$1.4B
Q2 25
$537.4M
$1.3B
Q1 25
$578.7M
$1.3B
Q4 24
$570.1M
$1.4B
Q3 24
$569.6M
$1.3B
Q2 24
$560.7M
$1.2B
Debt / Equity
APEI
APEI
WK
WK
Q1 26
Q4 25
0.32×
Q3 25
0.34×
Q2 25
0.35×
Q1 25
0.30×
Q4 24
0.31×
Q3 24
0.32×
Q2 24
0.32×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
APEI
APEI
WK
WK
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$-11.6M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-15.6M
$25.7M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-9.9%
10.4%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
2.6%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
-0.92×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$46.1M
$171.9M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
APEI
APEI
WK
WK
Q1 26
Q4 25
$-11.6M
$51.0M
Q3 25
$21.7M
$46.2M
Q2 25
$14.8M
$50.3M
Q1 25
$37.0M
$-7.4M
Q4 24
$1.6M
$44.0M
Q3 24
$14.1M
$18.9M
Q2 24
$12.5M
$-14.0K
Free Cash Flow
APEI
APEI
WK
WK
Q1 26
$25.7M
Q4 25
$-15.6M
$50.7M
Q3 25
$17.5M
$46.1M
Q2 25
$11.1M
$49.3M
Q1 25
$33.1M
$-8.1M
Q4 24
$-1.8M
$43.2M
Q3 24
$7.8M
$18.7M
Q2 24
$7.3M
$-122.0K
FCF Margin
APEI
APEI
WK
WK
Q1 26
10.4%
Q4 25
-9.9%
21.2%
Q3 25
10.7%
20.5%
Q2 25
6.8%
22.9%
Q1 25
20.1%
-3.9%
Q4 24
-1.1%
21.6%
Q3 24
5.1%
10.1%
Q2 24
4.7%
-0.1%
Capex Intensity
APEI
APEI
WK
WK
Q1 26
Q4 25
2.6%
0.1%
Q3 25
2.6%
0.0%
Q2 25
2.3%
0.5%
Q1 25
2.4%
0.4%
Q4 24
2.0%
0.4%
Q3 24
4.1%
0.1%
Q2 24
3.4%
0.1%
Cash Conversion
APEI
APEI
WK
WK
Q1 26
Q4 25
-0.92×
4.31×
Q3 25
3.90×
16.57×
Q2 25
3.29×
Q1 25
4.16×
Q4 24
0.12×
Q3 24
6.22×
Q2 24
33.57×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

APEI
APEI

American Public Education Inc Segment$71.0M45%
Rasmussen University Segment$66.6M42%
Hondros College Of Nursing Segment$20.7M13%

WK
WK

Subscription and support$225.4M91%
Other$22.0M9%

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