BFAM vs STRA vs PRDO Stock Comparison

Bright Horizons Family Solutions, Strategic Education and Perdoceo Education Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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STRA Strategic Education, Inc.
$81.19 +5.7% 1M -3.4% 1Y
Market cap
$1.71B
P/E
12.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.29B
Div. yield
0.03%
Education Services Consumer Discretionary
3 wins
PRDO PERDOCEO EDUCATION Corp
$32.71 +7.3% 1M -11.3% 1Y
Market cap
$2.02B
P/E
11.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$858.61M
Div. yield
0.02%
Education Services Consumer Discretionary
6 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Perdoceo Education leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Perdoceo Education 6, Strategic Education 3, Bright Horizons Family Solutions 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBFAMSTRAPRDOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.62B $1.71B $2.02B BFAM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 20.7x 12.7x 11.4x PRDO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.9x 11.0x 10.6x PRDO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.5% +3.5% +11.7% PRDO
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.8% 10.5% 20.6% PRDO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 9.3% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.8x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.03% 0.02% STRA
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -27.0% -3.4% -11.3% STRA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -14.4%/yr +3.2%/yr +25.4%/yr PRDO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.7% 36.1% 35.9% PRDO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 51/100 79/100 76/100 STRA

Percentile Scorecard

BFAMSTRAPRDO

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

AxisBFAMSTRAPRDO
Valuation 31 #23 of 33 84 #6 of 33 81 #7 of 33
Growth 52 #15 of 30 86 #5 of 30 35 #20 of 30
Profitability 50 #15 of 29 61 #12 of 29 96 #2 of 29
Financial Health 24 #30 of 39 71 #12 of 39 97 #2 of 39
Shareholder Returns 100 #1 of 14 92 #2 of 14 69 #5 of 14
Overall 51 79 76
  • BFAM ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services
  • STRA ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services
  • PRDO ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodBFAMSTRAPRDOSPY
1 month +11.8%+5.7%+7.3% -0.8%
3 months -5.4%+3.4%+3.1% +3.5%
6 months -9.4%+6.9%-0.5% +7.0%
Year to date -27.4%+1.2%+11.5% +12.2%
1 year -27.0%-3.4%-11.3% +13.0%
3 years +2.0%+1.2%+82.6% +86.3%
3 years, per year +0.7%+0.4%+22.3% +23.1%
5 years -54.0%+17.3%+210.0% +68.6%
5 years, per year -14.4%+3.2%+25.4% +11.0%
10 years +9.9%+49.9%+351.2% +258.0%
10 years, per year +1.0%+4.1%+16.3% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureBFAMSTRAPRDOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.7%36.1%35.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 55.0%41.6%42.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.29-0.01-0.02 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.57-0.09-0.32 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -67.2%-41.3%-27.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -32.6%-7.3%-13.8% -1.8%
52-week high $109.23$87.62$37.95 $779.14
52-week low $59.18$72.19$27.41 $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.

MultipleBFAMSTRAPRDO
P/E now vs peer median 21.7xmedian 15.5x 12.9xmedian 15.5x 11.6xmedian 15.5x
P/S now vs peer median 1.2xmedian 1.3x 1.4xmedian 1.3x 2.4xmedian 1.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.7xmedian 10.1x 7.3xmedian 10.1x 3.0xmedian 10.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.4xmedian 14.7x 10.7xmedian 14.7x 9.4xmedian 14.7x
P/B now vs peer median 3.8xmedian 2.0x 1.1xmedian 2.0x 2.0xmedian 2.0x
PEG now vs peer median 0.49median 0.35 0.22median 0.35 0.80median 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 monthsBFAMSTRAPRDO
Revenue $3.03B $1.29B $858.61M
Gross profit $711.35M – $661.90M
Operating income $311.11M $180.24M $210.88M
Net income $175.04M $134.51M $177.12M
Free cash flow $235.93M $168.59M $217.98M
EPS (diluted) $3.38 $6.19 $2.79
Cash & equivalents $163.69M $123.76M $734.82M
Total debt $1.29B – –
Shares (diluted) 51.76M 21.74M 63.59M
Enterprise value $3.07B $1.10B -$2.79B

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
MetricBFAMSTRAPRDO
P/E 21.7x 12.9x 11.6x
P/FCF 15.4x 10.7x 9.4x
P/Operating cash flow 10.9x 8.4x 9.1x
P/S 1.2x 1.4x 2.4x
P/B 3.8x 1.1x 2.0x
P/Tangible book 4.8x 1.3x 2.1x
EV/EBITDA 11.7x 7.3x 3.0x
EV/EBIT 15.3x 9.3x 3.5x
EV/Revenue 1.6x 1.3x 0.9x
EV/FCF 20.1x 9.9x 3.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 14.3x 7.8x 3.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.49 0.22 0.80

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBFAMSTRAPRDO
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.5% 3.5% 11.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.8% 6.1% 5.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7.7% – 9.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 12.6% – 3.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 8.8% 14.1% 13.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 26.2% 52.4% 13.7%
Net income growth (1Y) -1.0% 16.8% 14.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 39.1% 54.3% 11.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 10.4% 26.4% 20.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 44.4% 59.4% 14.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 0.3% 29.8% 6.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 11.1% 35.8% 12.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -2.8% 35.5% 6.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.2% 52.2% 13.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBFAMSTRAPRDO
Gross margin 23.5% – 77.1%
EBITDA margin 13.5% 17.7% 29.0%
Operating margin 10.3% 14.0% 24.6%
Pretax margin 8.6% 14.3% 26.9%
Net margin 5.8% 10.5% 20.6%
FCF margin 7.8% 13.1% 25.4%
Operating cash flow margin 11.0% 16.8% 26.2%
Return on equity 16.8% 8.2% 17.3%
Return on assets 4.6% 6.5% 13.4%
Return on invested capital 9.3% – –
Return on capital employed 11.0% 10.0% 18.5%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.6x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.9x 1.6x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 1.0% 1.7% 1.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBFAMSTRAPRDO
Debt / assets 34.0% – –
Debt / equity 1.4x – –
Net debt / EBITDA 2.8x – –
Debt / FCF 5.5x – –
Liabilities / assets 75.1% 21.0% 22.6%
Equity / assets 24.9% 79.0% 77.4%
Interest coverage 6.2x – 34.1x
Current ratio 0.5x 1.1x 4.7x
Quick ratio 0.4x 0.9x 7.9x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.5x 7.6x
Altman Z-score 2.04 3.60 6.65

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBFAMSTRAPRDO
Dividend yield – 3.0% 1.9%
Net buyback yield 17.5% 8.4% 4.3%
Shareholder yield 17.5% 11.4% 6.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 41.1% 21.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 32.8% 17.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) – -5.8% 11.6%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – -2.1% –

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.

ConsensusBFAMSTRAPRDO
Forward P/E 13.9xFY2026 11.0xFY2026 10.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.31FY2026 $7.38FY2026 $3.08FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +16.7%FY2026 +19.4%FY2026 +27.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +13.6% +18.7% +4.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.03BFY2026 $1.39BFY2026 $877.60MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +3.3%FY2026 +9.2%FY2026 +3.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +2.5% +1.4% -5.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBFAMSTRAPRDO
Held by institutions 100.0% 99.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 384 291 340
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.2% +0.9% +1.9%
Institutions buying 205 149 173
Institutions selling 150 106 113
Buyers to sellers 1.37 1.41 1.53

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.

BFAMSTRAPRDO
BFAM 1.00 0.28 0.16
STRA 0.28 1.00 0.73
PRDO 0.16 0.73 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BFAM, STRA and PRDO?

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) is the largest by market capitalisation: Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) $3.62B, Strategic Education (STRA) $1.71B, Perdoceo Education (PRDO) $2.02B.

Which stock is cheaper, BFAM, STRA and PRDO?

Perdoceo Education (PRDO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) 20.7x, Strategic Education (STRA) 12.7x, Perdoceo Education (PRDO) 11.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Perdoceo Education (PRDO) is cheapest (Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) 13.9x, Strategic Education (STRA) 11.0x, Perdoceo Education (PRDO) 10.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Perdoceo Education (PRDO) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) +8.5%, Strategic Education (STRA) +3.5%, Perdoceo Education (PRDO) +11.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Perdoceo Education (PRDO) has the highest net margin (Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) 5.8%, Strategic Education (STRA) 10.5%, Perdoceo Education (PRDO) 20.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Strategic Education (STRA) returned the most: Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) -27.0%, Strategic Education (STRA) -3.4%, Perdoceo Education (PRDO) -11.3%. Over five years, Perdoceo Education (PRDO) compounded fastest (Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) -14.4%/yr, Strategic Education (STRA) +3.2%/yr, Perdoceo Education (PRDO) +25.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Strategic Education (STRA) has the highest dividend yield: Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) 0.00%, Strategic Education (STRA) 0.03%, Perdoceo Education (PRDO) 0.02%. Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Perdoceo Education (PRDO) has been the steadiest (Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) 47.7%, Strategic Education (STRA) 36.1%, Perdoceo Education (PRDO) 35.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, BFAM, STRA and PRDO?

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