Covista vs Strategic Education
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The short version
- Covista is the larger business, with $2.0B of revenue in fiscal 2026 against $1.3B for Strategic Education, about 1.5 times as much.
- Covista grew revenue faster (9.3%, against 4.0%).
- Covista kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (19.6% operating margin, against 13.7%).
- Covista turned more of its sales into free cash flow (20.1% FCF margin, against 12.1%).
- Covista earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (17.0%, against 8.4%).
| Latest fiscal year | CVSA · FY26 | STRA · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $4.7B | $1.8B |
| Revenue | $2.0B | $1.3B |
| Free cash flow | $393M | $154M |
| Net income | $252M | $127M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 9.3% | 4.0% |
| 5-year growth | 16.8% | 4.3% |
| Share count change | −6.8% | −3.1% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 57.3% | — |
| Operating margin | 19.6% | 13.7% |
| Net margin | 12.9% | 10.0% |
| FCF margin | 20.1% | 12.1% |
| Return on capital | 17.0% | 8.4% |
| Return on equity | 17.5% | 7.7% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $257M | −$148M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.6x | −0.7x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $240M | $196M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | — | 13.6x |
| Piotroski F-score | 8 | 6 |
Revenue
FY17
CVSA $1.2B
STRA $455M
FY18
CVSA $960M
STRA $634M
FY19
CVSA $1.0B
STRA $997M
FY20
CVSA $866M
STRA $1.0B
FY21
CVSA $899M
STRA $1.1B
FY22
CVSA $1.4B
STRA $1.1B
FY23
CVSA $1.5B
STRA $1.1B
FY24
CVSA $1.6B
STRA $1.2B
FY25
CVSA $1.8B
STRA $1.3B
FY26
CVSA $2.0B
STRA —
CVSA
STRA
Operating margin
FY17
CVSA —
STRA 11.5%
FY18
CVSA —
STRA −3.6%
FY19
CVSA 15.4%
STRA 11.1%
FY20
CVSA 12.7%
STRA 10.6%
FY21
CVSA 12.3%
STRA 6.5%
FY22
CVSA 5.6%
STRA 6.6%
FY23
CVSA 11.6%
STRA 8.4%
FY24
CVSA 13.7%
STRA 12.8%
FY25
CVSA 19.1%
STRA 13.7%
FY26
CVSA 19.6%
STRA —
CVSA
STRA
Free cash flow
FY17
CVSA $188M
STRA $38.1M
FY18
CVSA $193M
STRA $19.3M
FY19
CVSA $147M
STRA $163M
FY20
CVSA $68.1M
STRA $96.1M
FY21
CVSA $152M
STRA $131M
FY22
CVSA −$20.5M
STRA $82.9M
FY23
CVSA $166M
STRA $80.2M
FY24
CVSA $247M
STRA $129M
FY25
CVSA $288M
STRA $154M
FY26
CVSA $393M
STRA —
CVSA
STRA
Return on capital
FY17
CVSA —
STRA —
FY18
CVSA 8.0%
STRA —
FY19
CVSA 8.5%
STRA —
FY20
CVSA 8.3%
STRA 6.1%
FY21
CVSA 6.2%
STRA 3.3%
FY22
CVSA 3.1%
STRA 3.1%
FY23
CVSA 7.9%
STRA 4.4%
FY24
CVSA 9.9%
STRA 7.3%
FY25
CVSA 14.9%
STRA 8.4%
FY26
CVSA 17.0%
STRA —
CVSA
STRA
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.