BFAM vs LAUR vs TAL Stock Comparison

Bright Horizons Family Solutions, Laureate Education and TAL Education Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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LAUR Laureate Education, Inc.
$36.01 -6.2% 1M +24.7% 1Y
Market cap
$4.67B
P/E
12.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.91B
Div. yield
–
Education Services Consumer Discretionary
2 wins
TAL TAL Education Group
$10.16 -13.4% 1M -15.5% 1Y
Market cap
$5.64B
P/E
7.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.33B
Div. yield
–
Education Services Consumer Discretionary
6 wins

Head to Head

8 decided of 12

TAL Education leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (TAL Education 6, Laureate Education 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBFAMLAURTALLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.80B $4.67B $5.64B TAL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 18.8x 12.0x 7.7x TAL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 12.6x 18.0x 7.0x TAL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.7% +20.9% +25.3% TAL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — — 22.1% –
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -27.6% +24.7% -15.5% LAUR
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -16.6%/yr +15.8%/yr +20.0%/yr TAL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.6% 33.0% 44.1% LAUR
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 23/100 70/100 92/100 TAL

Percentile Scorecard

BFAMLAURTAL

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

AxisBFAMLAURTAL
Valuation 50 #17 of 33 28 #24 of 33 88 #5 of 33
Growth 10 #27 of 30 97 #2 of 30 100 #1 of 30
Profitability 30 #20 of 28 85 #5 of 28 93 #3 of 28
Financial Health 3 #36 of 37 – 89 #5 of 37
Shareholder Returns – – –
Overall 23 70 92
  • BFAM ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services
  • LAUR ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services
  • TAL ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodBFAMLAURTALSPY
1 month +5.1%-6.2%-13.4% +0.7%
3 months -13.9%-6.2%-17.7% +3.7%
6 months -17.3%+19.7%-8.6% +7.1%
Year to date -33.9%+6.9%-6.9% +12.8%
1 year -27.6%+24.7%-15.5% +11.9%
3 years -9.4%+150.9%+13.1% +85.2%
3 years, per year -3.2%+35.9%+4.2% +22.8%
5 years -59.6%+107.9%+148.4% +67.6%
5 years, per year -16.6%+15.8%+20.0% +10.9%
10 years +0.8%—-25.7% +262.0%
10 years, per year +0.1%—-2.9% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureBFAMLAURTALSPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.6%33.0%44.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 54.7%34.0%40.8% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.290.290.62 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.580.75-0.35 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -67.2%-30.0%-67.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -38.6%-11.0%-21.3% -1.2%
52-week high $109.23$40.46$12.91 $779.14
52-week low $59.18$28.88$8.95 $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.

MultipleBFAMLAURTAL
P/E now vs peer median 18.8xmedian 13.3x 12.9xmedian 13.3x 7.9xmedian 13.3x
P/S now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 1.2x 2.6xmedian 1.2x 1.9xmedian 1.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 9.3x —median 9.3x —median 9.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 13.3xmedian 14.1x 18.4xmedian 14.1x 10.2xmedian 14.1x
P/B now vs peer median 5.2xmedian 2.0x 4.3xmedian 2.0x 1.5xmedian 2.0x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.27 0.21median 0.27 0.07median 0.27

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 monthsBFAMLAURTAL
Revenue $3.07B $1.91B $3.33B
Gross profit $699.13M – $1.89B
Operating income $3.13M $494.48M $538.66M
Net income -$134.21M $388.23M $1.15B
Free cash flow – – $610.95M
EPS (diluted) – $2.77 $1.27
Cash & equivalents $119.23M $189.90M $1.95B
Total debt – – $29.76M
Shares (diluted) 51.76M 139.94M 578.78M
Enterprise value $2.80B $4.67B -$6.84B

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
MetricBFAMLAURTAL
P/E 18.8x 12.9x 7.9x
P/FCF 13.3x 18.4x 10.2x
P/Operating cash flow 9.3x 11.9x 10.2x
P/S 1.1x 2.6x 1.9x
P/B 5.2x 4.3x 1.5x
P/Tangible book 7.3x 4.3x 1.5x
EV/EBITDA – – –
EV/EBIT – – 6.5x
EV/Revenue 1.1x 2.6x 1.1x
EV/FCF – – 5.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 9.3x 11.9x 5.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 0.21 0.07

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBFAMLAURTAL
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.7% 20.9% 25.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 9.6% 10.5% 40.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 0.5% – 31.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 9.9% – 42.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) -99.0% 31.6% 599.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -74.2% 17.2% 93.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -166.9% 88.5% 575.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -52.5% 54.7% 131.1%
EPS growth (1Y) – 101.9% 357.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 61.0% 117.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 10.1% 33.3% 38.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 17.7% 25.6% 64.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – – 38.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – – 64.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBFAMLAURTAL
Gross margin – – 56.9%
EBITDA margin – – –
Operating margin – – 16.2%
Pretax margin – – 28.7%
Net margin – – 22.1%
FCF margin – – 18.4%
Operating cash flow margin 11.6% 21.8% 18.4%
Return on equity -17.0% 33.7% 28.0%
Return on assets -3.7% 15.8% 17.2%
Return on invested capital – – –
Return on capital employed – – 11.3%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.8x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -2.7x 1.1x 0.5x
Stock comp / revenue 1.0% – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBFAMLAURTAL
Debt / assets – – 0.4%
Debt / equity – – 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA – – –
Debt / FCF – – 0.0x
Liabilities / assets 81.7% 53.2% 37.3%
Equity / assets 18.3% 46.8% 62.7%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 0.4x – 1.8x
Quick ratio – – 1.4x
Cash ratio – – 1.4x
Altman Z-score – – 2.61

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBFAMLAURTAL
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield – 0.0% 0.0%
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.

ConsensusBFAMLAURTAL
Forward P/E 12.6xFY2026 18.0xFY2026 7.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.31FY2026 $2.00FY2026 $1.46FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +16.7%FY2026 +16.3%FY2026 +47.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +13.6% +17.0% -13.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.03BFY2026 $2.03BFY2026 $3.66BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +3.3%FY2026 +19.6%FY2026 +21.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +2.5% -4.4% +15.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBFAMLAURTAL
Held by institutions 100.0% 95.8% 41.2%
Institutions holding 385 338 237
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.2% -3.3% +11.9%
Institutions buying 205 161 116
Institutions selling 150 144 99
Buyers to sellers 1.37 1.12 1.17

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.

BFAMLAURTAL
BFAM 1.00 0.09 0.04
LAUR 0.09 1.00 0.21
TAL 0.04 0.21 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BFAM, LAUR and TAL?

TAL Education (TAL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) $2.80B, Laureate Education (LAUR) $4.67B, TAL Education (TAL) $5.64B.

Which stock is cheaper, BFAM, LAUR and TAL?

TAL Education (TAL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) 18.8x, Laureate Education (LAUR) 12.0x, TAL Education (TAL) 7.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, TAL Education (TAL) is cheapest (Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) 12.6x, Laureate Education (LAUR) 18.0x, TAL Education (TAL) 7.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

TAL Education (TAL) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) +6.7%, Laureate Education (LAUR) +20.9%, TAL Education (TAL) +25.3%.

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Laureate Education (LAUR) returned the most: Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) -27.6%, Laureate Education (LAUR) +24.7%, TAL Education (TAL) -15.5%. Over five years, TAL Education (TAL) compounded fastest (Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) -16.6%/yr, Laureate Education (LAUR) +15.8%/yr, TAL Education (TAL) +20.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Laureate Education (LAUR) has been the steadiest (Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) 47.6%, Laureate Education (LAUR) 33.0%, TAL Education (TAL) 44.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, BFAM, LAUR and TAL?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, TAL Education (TAL) 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.