Graham vs Strategic Education
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Graham and Strategic Education side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Graham is the larger business, with $4.9B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $1.3B for Strategic Education, about 3.9 times as much.
- Strategic Education grew revenue faster (4.0%, against 2.5%).
- Strategic Education kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (13.7% operating margin, against 4.8%).
- Strategic Education turned more of its sales into free cash flow (12.1% FCF margin, against 5.6%).
- Strategic Education earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (8.4%, against 3.1%).
Who comes out ahead
Of the 10 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Graham
GHC
1/10
5-year growth
Strategic Education
STRA
9/10
Revenue growthOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityPiotroski F-scoreNet debt / EBITDAShare count change
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | GHC FY25 | STRA FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $5.3B | $1.8B |
| Revenue | $4.9B | $1.3B |
| Free cash flow | $275M | $154M |
| Net income | $292M | $127M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 2.5% | 4.0% |
| 5-year growth | 11.2% | 4.3% |
| Share count change | −0.7% | −3.1% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | — |
| Operating margin | 4.8% | 13.7% |
| Net margin | 6.0% | 10.0% |
| FCF margin | 5.6% | 12.1% |
| Return on capital | 3.1% | 8.4% |
| Return on equity | 6.5% | 7.7% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $638M | −$148M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 1.8x | −0.7x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $34.9M | $196M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | — | 13.6x |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 | 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.