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Side-by-side financial comparison of CALIFORNIA WATER SERVICE GROUP (CWT) and LINCOLN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES CORP (LINC). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

CALIFORNIA WATER SERVICE GROUP is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($210.7M vs $142.9M, roughly 1.5× LINCOLN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES CORP). LINCOLN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES CORP runs the higher net margin — 8.9% vs 5.4%, a 3.4% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, LINCOLN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES CORP posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (19.7% vs -3.3%). Over the past eight quarters, LINCOLN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES CORP's revenue compounded faster (17.6% CAGR vs 16.6%).

California Water Service Group (CWSG) is an American public utility company providing drinking water and wastewater services. It is the third-largest investor-owned publicly traded water utility in the United States, serving roughly two million people through its subsidiary companies in California, Hawaii, New Mexico and Washington. CWSG was formed in 1997 as a new holding company for California Water Service to expand into other states regulated by their own public utilities commissions, and...

Lincoln Tech is an American group of for-profit postsecondary vocational institutions headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey with campuses in Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Texas. Each campus is owned and operated by Lincoln Educational Services Corporation, a provider of career-oriented post-secondary education.

CWT vs LINC — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
CWT
CWT
1.5× larger
CWT
$210.7M
$142.9M
LINC
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
LINC
LINC
+23.0% gap
LINC
19.7%
-3.3%
CWT
Higher net margin
LINC
LINC
3.4% more per $
LINC
8.9%
5.4%
CWT
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
LINC
LINC
Annualised
LINC
17.6%
16.6%
CWT

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
CWT
CWT
LINC
LINC
Revenue
$210.7M
$142.9M
Net Profit
$11.5M
$12.7M
Gross Margin
62.3%
Operating Margin
12.2%
12.4%
Net Margin
5.4%
8.9%
Revenue YoY
-3.3%
19.7%
Net Profit YoY
-41.0%
85.9%
EPS (diluted)
$0.19
$0.41

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
CWT
CWT
LINC
LINC
Q4 25
$210.7M
$142.9M
Q3 25
$314.1M
$141.4M
Q2 25
$256.2M
$116.5M
Q1 25
$182.7M
$117.5M
Q4 24
$217.8M
$119.4M
Q3 24
$306.2M
$114.4M
Q2 24
$226.7M
$102.9M
Q1 24
$154.9M
$103.4M
Net Profit
CWT
CWT
LINC
LINC
Q4 25
$11.5M
$12.7M
Q3 25
$61.2M
$3.8M
Q2 25
$42.2M
$1.6M
Q1 25
$13.3M
$1.9M
Q4 24
$19.5M
$6.8M
Q3 24
$60.7M
$4.0M
Q2 24
$40.6M
$-682.0K
Q1 24
$69.9M
$-214.0K
Gross Margin
CWT
CWT
LINC
LINC
Q4 25
62.3%
Q3 25
59.5%
Q2 25
59.8%
Q1 25
59.7%
Q4 24
62.2%
Q3 24
58.0%
Q2 24
55.7%
Q1 24
58.4%
Operating Margin
CWT
CWT
LINC
LINC
Q4 25
12.2%
12.4%
Q3 25
22.5%
4.4%
Q2 25
20.2%
2.5%
Q1 25
12.2%
2.9%
Q4 24
14.8%
9.2%
Q3 24
21.8%
5.1%
Q2 24
21.2%
-1.1%
Q1 24
50.3%
-0.4%
Net Margin
CWT
CWT
LINC
LINC
Q4 25
5.4%
8.9%
Q3 25
19.5%
2.7%
Q2 25
16.5%
1.3%
Q1 25
7.3%
1.7%
Q4 24
8.9%
5.7%
Q3 24
19.8%
3.5%
Q2 24
17.9%
-0.7%
Q1 24
45.1%
-0.2%
EPS (diluted)
CWT
CWT
LINC
LINC
Q4 25
$0.19
$0.41
Q3 25
$1.03
$0.12
Q2 25
$0.71
$0.05
Q1 25
$0.22
$0.06
Q4 24
$0.31
$0.22
Q3 24
$1.03
$0.13
Q2 24
$0.70
$-0.02
Q1 24
$1.21
$-0.01

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
CWT
CWT
LINC
LINC
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$51.8M
$28.5M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$1.5B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$1.7B
$199.7M
Total Assets
$5.7B
$493.2M
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.87×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
CWT
CWT
LINC
LINC
Q4 25
$51.8M
$28.5M
Q3 25
$76.0M
$13.5M
Q2 25
$50.5M
$16.7M
Q1 25
$44.5M
$28.7M
Q4 24
$50.1M
$59.3M
Q3 24
$59.6M
$54.0M
Q2 24
$37.3M
$67.0M
Q1 24
$42.8M
$68.6M
Total Debt
CWT
CWT
LINC
LINC
Q4 25
$1.5B
Q3 25
$1.1B
Q2 25
$1.1B
Q1 25
$1.1B
Q4 24
$1.1B
Q3 24
Q2 24
Q1 24
Stockholders' Equity
CWT
CWT
LINC
LINC
Q4 25
$1.7B
$199.7M
Q3 25
$1.7B
$185.9M
Q2 25
$1.7B
$180.7M
Q1 25
$1.6B
$177.8M
Q4 24
$1.6B
$178.3M
Q3 24
$1.6B
$170.0M
Q2 24
$1.5B
$164.9M
Q1 24
$1.5B
$164.5M
Total Assets
CWT
CWT
LINC
LINC
Q4 25
$5.7B
$493.2M
Q3 25
$5.5B
$466.9M
Q2 25
$5.4B
$447.3M
Q1 25
$5.3B
$427.4M
Q4 24
$5.2B
$436.6M
Q3 24
$5.0B
$404.0M
Q2 24
$4.9B
$366.4M
Q1 24
$4.8B
$355.2M
Debt / Equity
CWT
CWT
LINC
LINC
Q4 25
0.87×
Q3 25
0.65×
Q2 25
0.67×
Q1 25
0.68×
Q4 24
0.67×
Q3 24
Q2 24
Q1 24

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

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

Metric
CWT
CWT
LINC
LINC
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$47.9M
$43.5M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$25.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
17.5%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
13.0%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
4.17×
3.43×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$-27.3M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
CWT
CWT
LINC
LINC
Q4 25
$47.9M
$43.5M
Q3 25
$167.3M
$23.9M
Q2 25
$48.9M
$299.0K
Q1 25
$38.4M
$-8.4M
Q4 24
$68.1M
$30.3M
Q3 24
$101.8M
$5.6M
Q2 24
$94.4M
$8.3M
Q1 24
$26.5M
$-14.9M
Free Cash Flow
CWT
CWT
LINC
LINC
Q4 25
$25.0M
Q3 25
$2.0M
Q2 25
$-26.1M
Q1 25
$-28.3M
Q4 24
$5.5M
Q3 24
$-13.8M
Q2 24
$-2.7M
Q1 24
$-16.6M
FCF Margin
CWT
CWT
LINC
LINC
Q4 25
17.5%
Q3 25
1.4%
Q2 25
-22.4%
Q1 25
-24.1%
Q4 24
4.6%
Q3 24
-12.0%
Q2 24
-2.6%
Q1 24
-16.1%
Capex Intensity
CWT
CWT
LINC
LINC
Q4 25
13.0%
Q3 25
15.5%
Q2 25
22.7%
Q1 25
16.9%
Q4 24
20.8%
Q3 24
16.9%
Q2 24
10.7%
Q1 24
1.6%
Cash Conversion
CWT
CWT
LINC
LINC
Q4 25
4.17×
3.43×
Q3 25
2.73×
6.29×
Q2 25
1.16×
0.19×
Q1 25
2.88×
-4.31×
Q4 24
3.50×
4.43×
Q3 24
1.68×
1.42×
Q2 24
2.33×
Q1 24
0.38×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

CWT
CWT

Residential$133.2M63%
Business$47.7M23%
Public Authorities$13.4M6%
Industrial$6.9M3%
Non Regulated Services$4.8M2%
Other Non Regulated Service$1.2M1%

LINC
LINC

Transferred Over Time$136.0M95%
Transferred At Point In Time$6.9M5%

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