Laureate Education vs Strategic Education
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Laureate Education and Strategic Education side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Laureate Education is the larger business, with $1.7B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $1.3B for Strategic Education.
- Laureate Education grew revenue faster (8.6%, against 4.0%).
- Laureate Education kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (25.3% operating margin, against 13.7%).
- Laureate Education turned more of its sales into free cash flow (15.5% FCF margin, against 12.1%).
- Laureate Education earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (28.6%, against 8.4%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Laureate Education’s earnings: a P/E of 17.7x against 13.6x for Strategic Education.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 10 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Laureate Education
LAUR
9/10
Revenue growth5-year growthOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityPiotroski F-scoreShare count change
Strategic Education
STRA
1/10
Net debt / EBITDA
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | LAUR FY25 | STRA FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $5.5B | $1.8B |
| Revenue | $1.7B | $1.3B |
| Free cash flow | $263M | $154M |
| Net income | $282M | $127M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 8.6% | 4.0% |
| 5-year growth | 10.7% | 4.3% |
| Share count change | −3.4% | −3.1% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 28.3% | — |
| Operating margin | 25.3% | 13.7% |
| Net margin | 16.6% | 10.0% |
| FCF margin | 15.5% | 12.1% |
| Return on capital | 28.6% | 8.4% |
| Return on equity | 26.2% | 7.7% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | −$19.0M | −$148M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −0.0x | −0.7x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $215M | $196M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 17.7x | 13.6x |
| 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.