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Side-by-side financial comparison of IPG PHOTONICS CORP (IPGP) and Strategic Education, Inc. (STRA). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
Strategic Education, Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($305.9M vs $274.5M, roughly 1.1× IPG PHOTONICS CORP). Strategic Education, Inc. runs the higher net margin — 10.7% vs 4.8%, a 5.9% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, IPG PHOTONICS CORP posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (17.1% vs 0.8%). Strategic Education, Inc. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($77.3M vs $10.9M). Over the past eight quarters, IPG PHOTONICS CORP's revenue compounded faster (4.4% CAGR vs -1.0%).
IPG Photonics Corporation is a manufacturer of fiber lasers. IPG Photonics developed and commercialized optical fiber lasers, which are used in a variety of applications including materials processing, medical applications and telecommunications. IPG has manufacturing facilities in the United States, Germany, Russia and Italy.
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.
IPGP vs STRA — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $274.5M | $305.9M |
| Net Profit | $13.3M | $32.8M |
| Gross Margin | 36.1% | — |
| Operating Margin | 1.2% | 13.4% |
| Net Margin | 4.8% | 10.7% |
| Revenue YoY | 17.1% | 0.8% |
| Net Profit YoY | 69.8% | 10.3% |
| EPS (diluted) | $0.30 | $1.48 |
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.
| Q1 26 | — | $305.9M | ||
| Q4 25 | $274.5M | $323.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $250.8M | $319.9M | ||
| Q2 25 | $250.7M | $321.5M | ||
| Q1 25 | $227.8M | $303.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $234.3M | $311.5M | ||
| Q3 24 | $233.1M | $306.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $257.6M | $312.3M |
| Q1 26 | — | $32.8M | ||
| Q4 25 | $13.3M | $37.9M | ||
| Q3 25 | $7.5M | $26.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | $6.6M | $32.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | $3.8M | $29.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $7.8M | $25.3M | ||
| Q3 24 | $-233.6M | $27.7M | ||
| Q2 24 | $20.2M | $29.9M |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 36.1% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 39.5% | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 37.3% | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 39.4% | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 38.6% | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 23.2% | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 37.3% | — |
| Q1 26 | — | 13.4% | ||
| Q4 25 | 1.2% | 16.0% | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.1% | 11.6% | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.0% | 14.2% | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.8% | 13.1% | ||
| Q4 24 | 6.0% | 11.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | -108.7% | 11.9% | ||
| Q2 24 | 4.7% | 13.4% |
| Q1 26 | — | 10.7% | ||
| Q4 25 | 4.8% | 11.7% | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.0% | 8.3% | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.6% | 10.1% | ||
| Q1 25 | 1.6% | 9.8% | ||
| Q4 24 | 3.3% | 8.1% | ||
| Q3 24 | -100.2% | 9.1% | ||
| Q2 24 | 7.8% | 9.6% |
| Q1 26 | — | $1.48 | ||
| Q4 25 | $0.30 | $1.65 | ||
| Q3 25 | $0.18 | $1.15 | ||
| Q2 25 | $0.16 | $1.37 | ||
| Q1 25 | $0.09 | $1.24 | ||
| Q4 24 | $0.27 | $1.05 | ||
| Q3 24 | $-5.33 | $1.15 | ||
| Q2 24 | $0.45 | $1.24 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $839.3M | $150.3M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | — | — |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $2.1B | $1.6B |
| Total Assets | $2.4B | $2.1B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | — | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | — | $150.3M | ||
| Q4 25 | $839.3M | $148.1M | ||
| Q3 25 | $870.4M | $172.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | $899.6M | $164.9M | ||
| Q1 25 | $926.9M | $182.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $930.2M | $184.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.0B | $222.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.1B | $256.2M |
| Q1 26 | — | $1.6B | ||
| Q4 25 | $2.1B | $1.6B | ||
| Q3 25 | $2.1B | $1.7B | ||
| Q2 25 | $2.1B | $1.7B | ||
| Q1 25 | $2.1B | $1.6B | ||
| Q4 24 | $2.0B | $1.7B | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.1B | $1.7B | ||
| Q2 24 | $2.3B | $1.7B |
| Q1 26 | — | $2.1B | ||
| Q4 25 | $2.4B | $2.0B | ||
| Q3 25 | $2.4B | $2.1B | ||
| Q2 25 | $2.4B | $2.1B | ||
| Q1 25 | $2.3B | $2.1B | ||
| Q4 24 | $2.3B | $2.0B | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.4B | $2.2B | ||
| Q2 24 | $2.5B | $2.2B |
Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency
How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | $28.8M | $87.4M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $10.9M | $77.3M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | 4.0% | 25.3% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 6.5% | — |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | 2.17× | 2.66× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $-3.5M | $173.9M |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | — | $87.4M | ||
| Q4 25 | $28.8M | $39.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $35.3M | $60.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $-2.2M | $31.2M | ||
| Q1 25 | $13.4M | $67.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $73.8M | $15.9M | ||
| Q3 24 | $66.1M | $51.5M | ||
| Q2 24 | $53.5M | $24.3M |
| Q1 26 | — | $77.3M | ||
| Q4 25 | $10.9M | $27.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $14.6M | $49.3M | ||
| Q2 25 | $-17.6M | $20.4M | ||
| Q1 25 | $-11.4M | $57.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | $50.6M | $4.7M | ||
| Q3 24 | $43.0M | $42.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $29.2M | $13.6M |
| Q1 26 | — | 25.3% | ||
| Q4 25 | 4.0% | 8.3% | ||
| Q3 25 | 5.8% | 15.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | -7.0% | 6.3% | ||
| Q1 25 | -5.0% | 18.9% | ||
| Q4 24 | 21.6% | 1.5% | ||
| Q3 24 | 18.4% | 13.8% | ||
| Q2 24 | 11.3% | 4.3% |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 6.5% | 3.8% | ||
| Q3 25 | 8.3% | 3.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | 6.1% | 3.4% | ||
| Q1 25 | 10.9% | 3.4% | ||
| Q4 24 | 9.9% | 3.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | 9.9% | 3.1% | ||
| Q2 24 | 9.4% | 3.4% |
| Q1 26 | — | 2.66× | ||
| Q4 25 | 2.17× | 1.03× | ||
| Q3 25 | 4.73× | 2.26× | ||
| Q2 25 | -0.34× | 0.97× | ||
| Q1 25 | 3.58× | 2.27× | ||
| Q4 24 | 9.44× | 0.63× | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 1.86× | ||
| Q2 24 | 2.65× | 0.81× |
Financial Flow Comparison
Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
IPGP
| Materials Processing | $232.8M | 85% |
| Laser And Non Laser Systems | $38.8M | 14% |
| Transferred Over Time | $5.3M | 2% |
STRA
| U.S. Higher Education | $212.6M | 69% |
| Australia/New Zealand | $51.8M | 17% |
| Education Technology Services | $41.5M | 14% |
