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Operates Strayer and Capella Universities plus employer-sponsored workforce education and skills-training programs.
Operates Strayer and Capella Universities plus employer-sponsored workforce education and skills-training programs.
Earns tuition from working adults, who pay through employer tuition benefits, federal student aid and personal funds. The 2018 merger of Strayer and Capella created the company. Torrens University in Australia and New Zealand, and Sophia Learning, which sells low-cost online courses for credit, are separate lines.
Moat: narrow (brand, distribution, regulatory licence). Established employer-partnership network for tuition-assistance programs differentiates it from pure online rivals.
Headquarters: Herndon, Virginia, United States · Founded: 1892 · Employees: 6,134
Size Strategic Education (STRA) is a United States Consumer Discretionary company (Other Consumer Services) with a market value of $1.16B, the 2153rd largest of 3,117 United States companies the cockpit tracks. Shares closed at $52.20 on 6 Nov 2026.
Performance Over six months the shares fell 34.9%, against -13.6% for the median peer and -1.1% for the United States market (cap-weighted) — 4th lowest of 21 in its peer set.
Growth Revenue grew 3.5% over the last twelve months (peer median +4.9%); the operating margin is 15.7% (peer median 15.9%).
Valuation It trades at 7.9× forward earnings against a peer median of 15.7× (3rd cheapest of 16).
Price implies For today's price to make sense, revenue must grow about -13% a year for seven years (Req g). Recent delivered growth is +4%, so the hurdle is -17 pp: the price already allows for a slowdown.
Capital Return on invested capital runs 2.7 points above its cost of capital (7.2% WACC).
Short interest Short interest is 7.2% of the free float (15 Oct 2026).
Next results Next results expected around 19 Feb 2027 (exchange calendar; dates can move).
| TTM | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.29B | $1.27B | $1.22B | $1.13B | $1.07B |
| Revenue growth | — | +4% | +8% | +6% | — |
| Gross profit | $631M | $621M | $569M | $498M | $454M |
| EBITDA | $249M | $245M | $202M | $170M | $137M |
| Net income | $135M | $127M | $113M | $69.8M | $46.7M |
| Free cash flow | $169M | $154M | $127M | $80.2M | $82.9M |
| Capital expenditure | $47.3M | $44.3M | $40.6M | $36.9M | $43.2M |
| Total debt | $107M | $109M | $125M | $213M | $259M |
The default views of Competitor Analysis ▸ Charts, drawn from the same data. Open them in the cockpit to change the axes, pin companies and read every value.
| Company | Market cap | 6M return | Revenue growth | Op. margin | Forward P/E | Req g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strategic Education STRA | $1.16B | -35% | +4% | 16% | 7.9× | -12.6% |
| Perdoceo Education PRDO | $1.68B | -25% | +12% | 25% | 9.1× | -16.0% |
| Grand Canyon Education LOPE | $3.07B | -29% | +7% | 28% | 11.1× | -7.3% |
| Covista CVSA | $3.67B | -18% | +9% | 20% | 12.0× | -3.7% |
Peer set: Industry: the same industry and sector in any market, nearest in size. This is the same default set the interactive Competitor Analysis opens with.
| Measure | STRA | Peer median | Rank in peer set |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-month return | -36.6% | -3.6% | lowest of 21 |
| 6-month return | -34.9% | -13.6% | 4th lowest of 21 |
| Distance from 52-week high | -41.8% | -35.3% | 5th lowest of 21 |
| Revenue growth (TTM) | +3.5% | +4.9% | 9th lowest of 21 |
| Operating margin | 15.7% | 15.9% | 10th lowest of 21 |
| Forward P/E | 7.9× | 15.7× | 3rd cheapest of 16 |
| Growth the price implies (Req g, 7 yrs) | -12.6% | 1.8% | 4th least demanding of 16 |
| Growth delivered (Del g) | +4.3% | +23.2% | 2nd lowest of 16 |
| Hurdle (Req g minus delivered) | -16.9 pp | -21.7 pp | 7th most demanding of 16 |
| ROIC minus cost of capital | +2.7 pp | +4.9 pp | 8th lowest of 20 |
| EV / EBITDA | 4.5× | 7.1× | 3rd cheapest of 15 |
| Net debt / EBITDA | -0.1× | 0.0× | 8th least indebted of 15 |
| Company | Market | Market cap | 6M return | Revenue growth | Op. margin | Forward P/E | Req g | Delivered g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strategic Education STRA | United States | $1.16B | -35% | +4% | 16% | 7.9× | -12.6% | +4.3% |
| Zhang Jia Jie Tourism 000430.SZ | China | $1.15B | -22% | +20% | -81% | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| AcadeMedia ACAD.ST | Sweden | $1.22B | +20% | +8% | 7% | 9.9× | -1.8% | +8.7% |
| CATARC Automotive Proving Ground 301215.SZ | China | $1.10B | -12% | +23% | 43% | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Shoucheng 0697.HK | Hong Kong | $1.33B | -27% | -1% | 16% | 15.5× | 21.2% | +15.3% |
| Afya AFYA | United States | $960M | -25% | +17% | 32% | 5.9× | -16.3% | +23.2% |
| Sats SATS.OL | Norway | $937M | +10% | +5% | 18% | 15.2× | -5.9% | +10.6% |
| Voyageurs du Monde ALVDM.PA | France | $896M | +28% | +4% | 8% | 18.1× | 1.8% | +46.3% |
| Trainline TRN.L | United Kingdom | $887M | -5% | +1% | 27% | 7.9× | -8.0% | +46.5% |
| Changbai Mountain Tourism 603099.SS | China | $1.54B | +8% | +2% | 20% | 71.9× | 15.4% | +39.7% |
| Webbeds WEB.AX | Australia | $871M | +45% | +20% | 25% | 15.7× | 4.5% | +50.3% |
| Dongguan Kingsun Optoelectronic 002638.SZ | China | $849M | -16% | -24% | -34% | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Shaanxi Tourism Culture Industry 603402.SS | China | $832M | -36% | -18% | 54% | 18.7× | -15.9% | +27.6% |
| TripAdvisor TRIP | United States | $820M | -38% | -4% | 5% | 10.1× | -6.6% | +25.6% |
| China Travel International Investment Hong Kong 0308.HK | Hong Kong | $809M | 0% | -7% | 11% | 23.4× | 5.4% | +15.7% |
| Mader MAD.AX | Australia | $806M | -29% | +15% | 9% | 15.7× | 5.2% | +26.9% |
| Caissa Tourism 000796.SZ | China | $805M | -36% | +42% | -10% | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Saga SAGA.L | United Kingdom | $1.67B | +56% | +37% | 16% | 18.6× | 12.6% | +14.3% |
| Perdoceo Education PRDO | United States | $1.68B | -25% | +12% | 25% | 9.1× | -16.0% | +4.2% |
| Dalian Sunasia Tourism 600593.SS | China | $793M | +19% | +5% | 32% | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Emei Shan Tourism 000888.SZ | China | $789M | -16% | -8% | 15% | 21.7× | 3.2% | +15.1% |