AACG vs BFAM vs LRN Stock Comparison

ATA Creativity Global, Bright Horizons Family Solutions and Stride Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AACG ATA Creativity Global
$0.70 -19.5% 1M -48.9% 1Y
Market cap
$22.37M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$37.51M
Div. yield
–
Education Services Consumer Discretionary
LRN Stride, Inc.
$79.15 +0.7% 1M -48.1% 1Y
Market cap
$3.28B
P/E
10.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.54B
Div. yield
–
Education Services Consumer Discretionary
4 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Bright Horizons Family Solutions leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Bright Horizons Family Solutions 6, Stride 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAACGBFAMLRNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $22.37M $3.48B $3.28B BFAM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -3.3x 20.8x 10.1x LRN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 13.3x 9.4x LRN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +0.2% +8.5% +2.5% BFAM
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -17.9% 5.8% — BFAM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -76.1% 9.3% — BFAM
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 2.8x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -48.9% -28.8% -48.1% BFAM
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -20.8%/yr -15.4%/yr +18.5%/yr LRN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 87.3% 47.8% 89.5% BFAM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 21/100 52/100 76/100 LRN

Percentile Scorecard

AACGBFAMLRN

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisAACGBFAMLRN
Valuation 28 #24 of 33 34 #22 of 33 75 #9 of 33
Growth 24 #23 of 30 52 #15 of 30 55 #14 of 30
Profitability 18 #24 of 29 50 #15 of 29 82 #6 of 29
Financial Health 13 #34 of 39 24 #30 of 39 92 #4 of 39
Shareholder Returns – 100 #1 of 14 –
Overall 21 52 76
  • AACG ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services
  • BFAM ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services
  • LRN ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodAACGBFAMLRNSPY
1 month -19.5%+7.2%+0.7% -0.2%
3 months -27.8%-12.5%-17.3% +3.9%
6 months -42.1%-13.5%-14.5% +8.2%
Year to date -11.4%-30.4%+21.9% +12.9%
1 year -48.9%-28.8%-48.1% +12.3%
3 years -27.1%-2.2%+45.4% +87.4%
3 years, per year -10.0%-0.7%+13.3% +23.3%
5 years -68.9%-56.8%+133.1% +67.9%
5 years, per year -20.8%-15.4%+18.5% +10.9%
10 years -80.4%+5.4%+606.7% +261.1%
10 years, per year -15.1%+0.5%+21.6% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureAACGBFAMLRNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 87.3%47.8%89.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 88.6%55.1%121.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.26-0.30-0.08 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.56-0.60-0.54 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -81.1%-67.2%-64.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -50.0%-35.4%-48.4% -1.2%
52-week high $1.40$109.23$153.53 $779.14
52-week low $0.64$59.18$61.02 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleAACGBFAMLRN
P/E now vs peer median -3.3xmedian 15.2x 20.8xmedian 15.2x 10.1xmedian 15.2x
P/S now vs peer median 0.6xmedian 1.3x 1.1xmedian 1.3x 1.3xmedian 1.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 9.8x 11.3xmedian 9.8x —median 9.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 31.4xmedian 14.5x 14.7xmedian 14.5x 7.2xmedian 14.5x
P/B now vs peer median 4.9xmedian 2.0x 3.7xmedian 2.0x 2.0xmedian 2.0x
PEG now vs peer median -1.25median 0.35 0.47median 0.35 0.40median 0.35

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsAACGBFAMLRN
Revenue $37.51M $3.03B $2.54B
Gross profit $11.16B $711.35M $949.60M
Operating income -$8.96M $311.11M $466.05M
Net income $325.78M $175.04M $334.31M
Free cash flow – $235.93M –
R&D $328.76M – –
EPS (diluted) $-0.21 $3.38 $7.06
Cash & equivalents $12.18M $163.69M $547.75M
Total debt $6.52M $1.29B –
Shares (diluted) 31.70M 51.76M 47.33M
Enterprise value -$13.64M $2.92B $3.28B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricAACGBFAMLRN
P/E -3.3x 20.8x 10.1x
P/FCF 31.4x 14.7x 7.2x
P/Operating cash flow – 10.4x 6.5x
P/S 0.6x 1.1x 1.3x
P/B 4.9x 3.7x 2.0x
P/Tangible book -359.5x 4.6x 2.0x
EV/EBITDA – 11.3x –
EV/EBIT -1.4x 14.8x –
EV/Revenue 0.3x 1.5x 1.3x
EV/FCF – 19.5x –
EV/Operating cash flow – 13.8x 6.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -1.25 0.47 0.40

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAACGBFAMLRN
Revenue growth (1Y) 0.2% 8.5% 2.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.2% 10.8% 10.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 2.8% 7.7% -2.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.0% 12.6% 11.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) -49.3% 8.8% 22.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -26.3% 26.2% 33.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 6,569% -1.0% 5.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 259.8% 39.1% 29.4%
EPS growth (1Y) -32.3% 10.4% 10.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 2.6% 44.4% 25.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 0.3% 33.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 11.1% 33.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – -2.8% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 14.2% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAACGBFAMLRN
Gross margin 29,757% 23.5% –
EBITDA margin – 13.5% –
Operating margin -23.9% 10.3% –
Pretax margin -19.2% 8.6% –
Net margin -17.9% 5.8% –
FCF margin – 7.8% –
Operating cash flow margin – 11.0% 19.9%
Return on equity 5,070% 16.8% 20.3%
Return on assets 528.3% 4.6% 13.5%
Return on invested capital -76.1% 9.3% –
Return on capital employed -72.2% 11.0% –
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.8x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 1.9x 1.5x
Stock comp / revenue – 1.0% 0.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAACGBFAMLRN
Debt / assets 3.9% 34.0% –
Debt / equity 0.5x 1.4x –
Net debt / EBITDA – 2.8x –
Debt / FCF – 5.5x –
Liabilities / assets 92.2% 75.1% 33.9%
Equity / assets 7.8% 24.9% 66.1%
Interest coverage – 6.2x –
Current ratio 0.3x 0.5x 2.6x
Quick ratio 0.3x 0.4x –
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.2x –
Altman Z-score -1.93 2.01 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAACGBFAMLRN
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield – 18.3% –
Shareholder yield 0.0% 18.3% –
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusAACGBFAMLRN
Forward P/E – 13.3xFY2026 9.4xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year – $5.31FY2026 $8.42FY2027
EPS growth, next FY – +16.7%FY2026 +17.9%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after – +13.6% -6.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year – $3.03BFY2026 $2.42BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY – +3.3%FY2026 -3.9%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after – +2.5% +16.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAACGBFAMLRN
Held by institutions 0.5% 100.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 8 384 410
Change in shares held, QoQ -13.5% -1.2% +1.2%
Institutions buying 2 205 212
Institutions selling 3 150 135
Buyers to sellers 0.67 1.37 1.57

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

AACGBFAMLRN
AACG 1.00 -0.02 -0.01
BFAM -0.02 1.00 0.23
LRN -0.01 0.23 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AACG, BFAM and LRN?

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) is the largest by market capitalisation: ATA Creativity Global (AACG) $22.37M, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) $3.48B, Stride (LRN) $3.28B.

Which stock is cheaper, AACG, BFAM and LRN?

Stride (LRN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (ATA Creativity Global (AACG) -3.3x, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) 20.8x, Stride (LRN) 10.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Stride (LRN) is cheapest (Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) 13.3x, Stride (LRN) 9.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: ATA Creativity Global (AACG) +0.2%, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) +8.5%, Stride (LRN) +2.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) has the highest net margin (ATA Creativity Global (AACG) -17.9%, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) 5.8%). On return on invested capital, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) leads (ATA Creativity Global (AACG) -76.1%, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) 9.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) returned the most: ATA Creativity Global (AACG) -48.9%, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) -28.8%, Stride (LRN) -48.1%. Over five years, Stride (LRN) compounded fastest (ATA Creativity Global (AACG) -20.8%/yr, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) -15.4%/yr, Stride (LRN) +18.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) has been the steadiest (ATA Creativity Global (AACG) 87.3%, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) 47.8%, Stride (LRN) 89.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AACG, BFAM and LRN?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.