APEI
AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC
Next earnings Aug 4, 2026 · consensus $0.37 EPS, $174M rev
Last earnings +0.1% on 2026-05-11
$56.72
▲ +6.96%$56.72▲ +85.60%
over 1Y
L $28.03H $60.86
Earnings Dividend Split Congress buy Congress sellGrouped by date · hover a pin to expand
Today+7.0%
1W+6.0%
1M+8.5%
3M-1.6%
YTD+56.9%
1Y+85.6%
Hold
Conviction
Horizon
Medium (3–12mo)
12-mo target
$•••
Street · 14 analysts
Buy
Turnaround is real — FY25 EPS +147% on margin recovery — but 38.7x P/E already prices in a lot of execution risk.
FY2025 Revenue $649M · FY2025
The read
Fundamentals and price both look middling — no strong edge either way.
APEI has executed a credible turnaround. After two brutal years (FY22 net loss of $115M, FY23 loss of $47.3M tied to the Rasmussen integration), FY25 delivered $649M revenue (+3.9%), operating income of $47.9M (+45%), and diluted EPS of $1.36 (+147%). The balance sheet is the strongest part of the story: $174M cash (+32% YoY), only $94.7M long-term debt, zero current debt, and liabilities/equity of just 0.77x. Operating cash flow of $62M against $15.9M capex generates real free cash flow, and D&A is rolling off (-16.3%), which should keep flowing through to earnings.
The MD&A reveals the real catalyst: the January 2025-announced Combination of APUS, RU, and HCN cleared HLC approval in February 2026, and the legal-entity merger closed March 2, 2026. Step two (full consolidation into one HLC accreditation) is targeted for Q3 2026. This is a genuine structural simplification with $2-4M of one-time professional fees in 2026 — modest against the cost-synergy potential of running one institution instead of three. The April 2024 APU rebrand to a 'global digital university' is the growth lever, but management itself admits in Risk Factors that they have 'fewer dollars to spend per student on marketing' than competitors and have 'experienced challenges attracting' the non-federal-funded students needed for 90/10 Rule compliance.
Is APEI a buy? The one-page verdict, explained →
The options angle
model · matches our verdictCovered call~60d expiry
- Long 100 shares @ ~56.72
- Short call 60 @ ~2.25 est
debit $5,447max +$553max −$5,446BE 54.47
HOLD means own it, don't chase it — harvesting premium against the position matches the verdict.
Educational template, not a trade recommendation. Strikes and premiums are Black-Scholes model estimates from the last close and 30-day realized volatility — real chains, spreads and IV will differ. Options involve substantial risk.
Financials · annual, by fiscal year
| Line item | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $419M | $606M | $601M | $625M | $649M |
| Gross profit | — | — | — | — | — |
| Operating income | $30.4M | -$137M | -$48.3M | $33.1M | $47.9M |
| Net income | $17.8M | -$115M | -$47.3M | $16.1M | $31.6M |
| Diluted EPS | $0.97 | -$6.08 | -$2.93 | $0.55 | $1.36 |
| Net margin | 4.2% | -19.0% | -7.9% | 2.6% | 4.9% |
10-year statements — income, cash flow, balance sheet & CSV export →
Annual figures from SEC 10-K XBRL filings. Open the filing links below for full statement detail.
Key statistics
Valuation
Enterprise value$961M
EV / EBITDA15.0
EV / Sales1.5
EV / FCF20.8
P / FCF22.6
PEG (trailing)0.44
Earnings yield3.0%
FCF yield4.4%
Quality & risk
ROIC (est.)9.7%
Free cash flow$46.1M
Total debt$94.7M
Net cash$79.4M
Altman Z-Score4.68 safe
Piotroski F-Score6/8
Capital returns
Buyback yield0.4%
Dividend yield (est.)9.0%
Shareholder yield9.4%
Shares Δ YoY+2.1%
Computed from SEC XBRL annual figures + the current quote. EV and ROIC use long-term + current debt where filed; estimates, not investment advice.
Disclosure timeline
SEC · 8-Ks + reportsRecent disclosure tone has been improving.
- 8-K Shareholder vote2026-05-26
Annual meeting vote: directors elected, routine proposals ratified
- 8-K Earnings results2026-05-11
Q1 2026 10-Q: first period after March 2 legal-entity merger of APUS/RU/HCN
- 10-Q Quarterly report2026-05-11
Q1 2026 10-Q: first period after March 2 legal-entity merger of APUS/RU/HCN
- DEF 14A Proxy statement2026-04-09
- 8-K Earnings results2026-03-12
FY2025 10-K: NI +96%, OCF +27%, cash $174M; HLC OK'd Combination, merger done 3/2/26
- 10-K Annual report2026-03-12
FY2025 10-K: NI +96%, OCF +27%, cash $174M; HLC OK'd Combination, merger done 3/2/26
- 8-K/A Amended 8-K2025-11-12
Amended prior 8-K to update disclosure; no new material event
- 8-K Earnings results2025-11-10
Q3 2025 10-Q filed; operating performance and cash build continued
- 10-Q Quarterly report2025-11-10
Q3 2025 10-Q filed; operating performance and cash build continued
Recent filings
all on EDGAR ↗4Period ending 2026-07-012026-07-02open ↗4Period ending 2026-06-222026-06-23open ↗144Filing2026-06-22open ↗4Period ending 2026-06-152026-06-17open ↗144Filing2026-06-15open ↗4Period ending 2026-05-222026-05-27open ↗4Period ending 2026-05-222026-05-26open ↗4Period ending 2026-05-222026-05-26open ↗4Period ending 2026-05-222026-05-26open ↗4Period ending 2026-05-222026-05-26open ↗4Period ending 2026-05-222026-05-26open ↗8-KPeriod ending 2026-05-222026-05-26open ↗
Frequently asked
- Is AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC (APEI) a buy?
- APEI currently carries a Hold rating with 3/5 conviction, derived from its latest SEC filings. Turnaround is real — FY25 EPS +147% on margin recovery — but 38.7x P/E already prices in a lot of execution risk.
- What is APEI's fair value?
- A Modified-Graham model based on APEI's SEC fundamentals estimates a fair value of about $51.68. It is an estimate from reported earnings, not a price target.
- Is APEI overvalued or undervalued?
- Against a Modified-Graham fair-value estimate, APEI currently appears fairly valued relative to its SEC-grounded earnings power.
- What is AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC's quality score?
- APEI scores 71.30298833812404/100 (grade B) on a SEC-grounded quality model spanning value, growth, profitability, financial health and momentum.
Sources: SEC EDGAR (CIK 0001201792, latest 10-Q filed 2026-05-11) · EODHD · Proprietary analysis · as of 6/25/2026, 2:31:47 PM.
About this recommendation — produced by TENK/calls (tenkcalls.com), Luxembourg · not investment advice
AI-generated analysis, produced by our proprietary engine from SEC filing data.
Investment recommendation produced by TENK/calls (tenkcalls.com), Luxembourg. Completed Jun 25, 2026, 10:31 AM ET. Ratings & methodology: definitions · All recommendations to date: track record · Conflicts: disclosures. Not investment advice.
Research and education only — not financial advice. TENKis not a registered investment adviser or broker-dealer and gives no personalized advice. Every call is impersonal — identical for all users, generated on a schedule from SEC filings plus a delayed/third-party price feed — may be wrong or out of date, and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. The operator and an affiliated trading operation may hold or trade the securities TENK rates; see Disclosures. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Do your own research.