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Side-by-side financial comparison of LINCOLN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES CORP (LINC) and Stride, Inc. (LRN). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
Stride, Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($631.3M vs $142.9M, roughly 4.4× LINCOLN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES CORP). Stride, Inc. runs the higher net margin — 15.8% vs 8.9%, a 6.9% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, LINCOLN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES CORP posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (19.7% vs 7.5%). Stride, Inc. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($91.6M vs $25.0M). Over the past eight quarters, LINCOLN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES CORP's revenue compounded faster (17.6% CAGR vs 10.1%).
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.
Stride, Inc. is a for-profit education company that provides online and blended education programs. Stride, Inc. is an education management organization (EMO) that provides online education designed as an alternative to traditional "brick and mortar" education for public school students from kindergarten to 12th grade, as well as career learning programs. As of 2012, publicly traded Stride, Inc. was the largest EMO in terms of enrollment.
LINC vs LRN — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q4 2025 vs Q2 2026
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $142.9M | $631.3M |
| Net Profit | $12.7M | $99.5M |
| Gross Margin | 62.3% | 41.1% |
| Operating Margin | 12.4% | 23.3% |
| Net Margin | 8.9% | 15.8% |
| Revenue YoY | 19.7% | 7.5% |
| Net Profit YoY | 85.9% | 3.2% |
| EPS (diluted) | $0.41 | $2.12 |
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.
| Q4 25 | $142.9M | $631.3M | ||
| Q3 25 | $141.4M | $620.9M | ||
| Q2 25 | $116.5M | $653.6M | ||
| Q1 25 | $117.5M | $613.4M | ||
| Q4 24 | $119.4M | $587.2M | ||
| Q3 24 | $114.4M | $551.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $102.9M | $534.2M | ||
| Q1 24 | $103.4M | $520.8M |
| Q4 25 | $12.7M | $99.5M | ||
| Q3 25 | $3.8M | $68.8M | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.6M | $51.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.9M | $99.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | $6.8M | $96.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | $4.0M | $40.9M | ||
| Q2 24 | $-682.0K | $62.8M | ||
| Q1 24 | $-214.0K | $69.7M |
| Q4 25 | 62.3% | 41.1% | ||
| Q3 25 | 59.5% | 39.0% | ||
| Q2 25 | 59.8% | 36.6% | ||
| Q1 25 | 59.7% | 40.6% | ||
| Q4 24 | 62.2% | 40.8% | ||
| Q3 24 | 58.0% | 39.2% | ||
| Q2 24 | 55.7% | 35.2% | ||
| Q1 24 | 58.4% | 38.7% |
| Q4 25 | 12.4% | 23.3% | ||
| Q3 25 | 4.4% | 11.1% | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.5% | 8.7% | ||
| Q1 25 | 2.9% | 21.3% | ||
| Q4 24 | 9.2% | 21.3% | ||
| Q3 24 | 5.1% | 8.6% | ||
| Q2 24 | -1.1% | 13.8% | ||
| Q1 24 | -0.4% | 17.0% |
| Q4 25 | 8.9% | 15.8% | ||
| Q3 25 | 2.7% | 11.1% | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.3% | 7.9% | ||
| Q1 25 | 1.7% | 16.2% | ||
| Q4 24 | 5.7% | 16.4% | ||
| Q3 24 | 3.5% | 7.4% | ||
| Q2 24 | -0.7% | 11.8% | ||
| Q1 24 | -0.2% | 13.4% |
| Q4 25 | $0.41 | $2.12 | ||
| Q3 25 | $0.12 | $1.40 | ||
| Q2 25 | $0.05 | $0.96 | ||
| Q1 25 | $0.06 | $2.02 | ||
| Q4 24 | $0.22 | $2.03 | ||
| Q3 24 | $0.13 | $0.94 | ||
| Q2 24 | $-0.02 | $1.44 | ||
| Q1 24 | $-0.01 | $1.60 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $28.5M | $625.7M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | — | $417.2M |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $199.7M | $1.5B |
| Total Assets | $493.2M | $2.3B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | — | 0.27× |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $28.5M | $625.7M | ||
| Q3 25 | $13.5M | $715.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $16.7M | $985.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | $28.7M | $723.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $59.3M | $717.5M | ||
| Q3 24 | $54.0M | $522.2M | ||
| Q2 24 | $67.0M | $692.3M | ||
| Q1 24 | $68.6M | $376.6M |
| Q4 25 | — | $417.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | — | $416.8M | ||
| Q2 25 | — | $416.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $415.9M | ||
| Q4 24 | — | $415.5M | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $415.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | — | $414.7M | ||
| Q1 24 | — | $414.3M |
| Q4 25 | $199.7M | $1.5B | ||
| Q3 25 | $185.9M | $1.5B | ||
| Q2 25 | $180.7M | $1.5B | ||
| Q1 25 | $177.8M | $1.4B | ||
| Q4 24 | $178.3M | $1.3B | ||
| Q3 24 | $170.0M | $1.2B | ||
| Q2 24 | $164.9M | $1.2B | ||
| Q1 24 | $164.5M | $1.1B |
| Q4 25 | $493.2M | $2.3B | ||
| Q3 25 | $466.9M | $2.3B | ||
| Q2 25 | $447.3M | $2.3B | ||
| Q1 25 | $427.4M | $2.2B | ||
| Q4 24 | $436.6M | $2.1B | ||
| Q3 24 | $404.0M | $2.0B | ||
| Q2 24 | $366.4M | $1.9B | ||
| Q1 24 | $355.2M | $1.9B |
| Q4 25 | — | 0.27× | ||
| Q3 25 | — | 0.27× | ||
| Q2 25 | — | 0.28× | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 0.29× | ||
| Q4 24 | — | 0.32× | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 0.34× | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 0.35× | ||
| Q1 24 | — | 0.38× |
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 | $43.5M | $91.8M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $25.0M | $91.6M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | 17.5% | 14.5% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 13.0% | 0.0% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | 3.43× | 0.92× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $-27.3M | $246.3M |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $43.5M | $91.8M | ||
| Q3 25 | $23.9M | $-195.8M | ||
| Q2 25 | $299.0K | $298.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | $-8.4M | $53.1M | ||
| Q4 24 | $30.3M | $223.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | $5.6M | $-142.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $8.3M | $172.2M | ||
| Q1 24 | $-14.9M | $68.6M |
| Q4 25 | $25.0M | $91.6M | ||
| Q3 25 | $2.0M | $-196.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $-26.1M | $297.9M | ||
| Q1 25 | $-28.3M | $52.9M | ||
| Q4 24 | $5.5M | $222.9M | ||
| Q3 24 | $-13.8M | $-142.7M | ||
| Q2 24 | $-2.7M | $171.4M | ||
| Q1 24 | $-16.6M | $68.4M |
| Q4 25 | 17.5% | 14.5% | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.4% | -31.6% | ||
| Q2 25 | -22.4% | 45.6% | ||
| Q1 25 | -24.1% | 8.6% | ||
| Q4 24 | 4.6% | 38.0% | ||
| Q3 24 | -12.0% | -25.9% | ||
| Q2 24 | -2.6% | 32.1% | ||
| Q1 24 | -16.1% | 13.1% |
| Q4 25 | 13.0% | 0.0% | ||
| Q3 25 | 15.5% | 0.0% | ||
| Q2 25 | 22.7% | 0.1% | ||
| Q1 25 | 16.9% | 0.0% | ||
| Q4 24 | 20.8% | 0.1% | ||
| Q3 24 | 16.9% | 0.1% | ||
| Q2 24 | 10.7% | 0.1% | ||
| Q1 24 | 1.6% | 0.0% |
| Q4 25 | 3.43× | 0.92× | ||
| Q3 25 | 6.29× | -2.85× | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.19× | 5.81× | ||
| Q1 25 | -4.31× | 0.53× | ||
| Q4 24 | 4.43× | 2.32× | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.42× | -3.47× | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 2.74× | ||
| Q1 24 | — | 0.98× |
Financial Flow Comparison
Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
LINC
| Transferred Over Time | $136.0M | 95% |
| Transferred At Point In Time | $6.9M | 5% |
LRN
| General Education | $341.4M | 54% |
| Middle High School | $275.6M | 44% |
| Adult | $14.3M | 2% |
