Laureate Education vs Stride
Add, change or remove companies; up to four.
KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Laureate Education and Stride side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Stride is the larger business, with $2.5B of revenue in fiscal 2026 against $1.7B for Laureate Education.
- Laureate Education grew revenue faster (8.6%, against 4.7%).
- Laureate Education kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (25.3% operating margin, against 17.9%).
- Stride turned more of its sales into free cash flow (17.2% FCF margin, against 15.5%).
- Stride earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (31.3%, against 28.6%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Laureate Education’s earnings: a P/E of 17.7x against 10.8x for Stride.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 11 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Laureate Education
LAUR
7/11
Revenue growth5-year growthOperating marginNet marginReturn on equityPiotroski F-scoreShare count change
Stride
LRN
4/11
Gross marginFCF marginReturn on capitalNet debt / EBITDA
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | LAUR FY25 | LRN FY26 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $5.5B | $3.5B |
| Revenue | $1.7B | $2.5B |
| Free cash flow | $263M | $433M |
| Net income | $282M | $338M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 8.6% | 4.7% |
| 5-year growth | 10.7% | 10.4% |
| Share count change | −3.4% | −2.2% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 28.3% | 37.8% |
| Operating margin | 25.3% | 17.9% |
| Net margin | 16.6% | 13.4% |
| FCF margin | 15.5% | 17.2% |
| Return on capital | 28.6% | 31.3% |
| Return on equity | 26.2% | 21.7% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | −$19.0M | −$423M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −0.0x | −0.7x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $215M | $189M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 17.7x | 10.8x |
| Piotroski F-score | 8 | 6 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.