BFAM vs STRA vs WW Stock Comparison

Bright Horizons Family Solutions, Strategic Education and Ww International Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
STRA Strategic Education, Inc.
$79.84 +3.9% 1M -4.9% 1Y
Market cap
$1.77B
P/E
12.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.29B
Div. yield
3.01%
Education Services Consumer Discretionary
7 wins
WW Ww International, Inc.
$13.70 -4.5% 1M -58.4% 1Y
Market cap
$136.95M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Personal Services Consumer Discretionary

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Strategic Education leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Strategic Education 7, Bright Horizons Family Solutions 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBFAMSTRAWWLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.48B $1.77B $136.95M BFAM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 20.8x 12.7x — STRA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.3x 10.8x — STRA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.5% +3.5% — BFAM
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.8% 10.5% — STRA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 9.3% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.8x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 3.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -28.8% -4.9% -58.4% STRA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -15.4%/yr +2.7%/yr — STRA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.8% 36.1% 94.9% STRA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 52/100 79/100 — STRA

Percentile Scorecard

BFAMSTRAWW

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

AxisBFAMSTRAWW
Valuation 34 #22 of 33 84 #6 of 33 –
Growth 52 #15 of 30 86 #5 of 30 –
Profitability 50 #15 of 29 61 #12 of 29 –
Financial Health 24 #30 of 39 71 #12 of 39 40 #24 of 39
Shareholder Returns 100 #1 of 14 92 #2 of 14 –
Overall 52 79 –
  • BFAM ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services
  • STRA ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services
  • WW ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodBFAMSTRAWWSPY
1 month +7.2%+3.9%-4.5% -0.2%
3 months -12.5%-1.9%-0.4% +3.9%
6 months -13.5%+2.7%+39.8% +8.2%
Year to date -30.4%-0.4%-53.1% +12.9%
1 year -28.8%-4.9%-58.4% +12.3%
3 years -2.2%-0.5%— +87.4%
3 years, per year -0.7%-0.2%— +23.3%
5 years -56.8%+14.5%— +67.9%
5 years, per year -15.4%+2.7%— +10.9%
10 years +5.4%+37.0%— +261.1%
10 years, per year +0.5%+3.2%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureBFAMSTRAWWSPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.8%36.1%94.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 55.1%41.5%98.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.30-0.022.59 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.60-0.14-0.62 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -67.2%-41.3%-79.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -35.4%-8.9%-60.8% -1.2%
52-week high $109.23$87.62$34.92 $779.14
52-week low $59.18$72.19$9.12 $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.

MultipleBFAMSTRAWW
P/E now vs peer median 20.8xmedian 15.2x 12.7xmedian 15.2x —median 15.2x
P/S now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 1.3x 1.4xmedian 1.3x —median 1.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.3xmedian 9.8x 7.2xmedian 9.8x —median 9.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 14.7xmedian 14.5x 10.5xmedian 14.5x —median 14.5x
P/B now vs peer median 3.7xmedian 2.0x 1.1xmedian 2.0x 0.4xmedian 2.0x
PEG now vs peer median 0.47median 0.35 0.21median 0.35 —median 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 monthsBFAMSTRAWW
Revenue $3.03B $1.29B –
Gross profit $711.35M – –
Operating income $311.11M $180.24M –
Net income $175.04M $134.51M –
Free cash flow $235.93M $168.59M –
EPS (diluted) $3.38 $6.19 –
Cash & equivalents $163.69M $123.76M $160.28M
Total debt $1.29B – $465.47M
Shares (diluted) 51.76M 21.74M 9.99M
Enterprise value $2.92B $1.17B -$570.40M

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
MetricBFAMSTRAWW
P/E 20.8x 12.7x –
P/FCF 14.7x 10.5x –
P/Operating cash flow 10.4x 8.2x –
P/S 1.1x 1.4x –
P/B 3.7x 1.1x 0.4x
P/Tangible book 4.6x 1.3x -0.8x
EV/EBITDA 11.3x 7.2x –
EV/EBIT 14.8x 9.1x –
EV/Revenue 1.5x 1.3x –
EV/FCF 19.5x 9.8x –
EV/Operating cash flow 13.8x 7.6x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.47 0.21 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBFAMSTRAWW
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.5% 3.5% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.8% 6.1% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7.7% – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 12.6% – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 8.8% 14.1% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 26.2% 52.4% –
Net income growth (1Y) -1.0% 16.8% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 39.1% 54.3% –
EPS growth (1Y) 10.4% 26.4% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) 44.4% 59.4% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 0.3% 29.8% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 11.1% 35.8% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -2.8% 35.5% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.2% 52.2% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBFAMSTRAWW
Gross margin 23.5% – –
EBITDA margin 13.5% 17.7% –
Operating margin 10.3% 14.0% –
Pretax margin 8.6% 14.3% –
Net margin 5.8% 10.5% –
FCF margin 7.8% 13.1% –
Operating cash flow margin 11.0% 16.8% –
Return on equity 16.8% 8.2% –
Return on assets 4.6% 6.5% –
Return on invested capital 9.3% – –
Return on capital employed 11.0% 10.0% –
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.6x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.9x 1.6x –
Stock comp / revenue 1.0% 1.7% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBFAMSTRAWW
Debt / assets 34.0% – 49.2%
Debt / equity 1.4x – 1.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.8x – –
Debt / FCF 5.5x – –
Liabilities / assets 75.1% 21.0% 66.4%
Equity / assets 24.9% 79.0% 33.6%
Interest coverage 6.2x – –
Current ratio 0.5x 1.1x 1.7x
Quick ratio 0.4x 0.9x 1.4x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.5x 1.3x
Altman Z-score 2.01 3.56 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBFAMSTRAWW
Dividend yield – 3.0% –
Net buyback yield 18.3% 8.6% –
Shareholder yield 18.3% 11.6% 0.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 41.1% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 32.8% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – -5.8% –
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.

ConsensusBFAMSTRAWW
Forward P/E 13.3xFY2026 10.8xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $5.31FY2026 $7.38FY2026 $-3.38FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +16.7%FY2026 +19.4%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +13.6% +18.7% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.03BFY2026 $1.39BFY2026 $656.64MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +3.3%FY2026 +9.2%FY2026 -7.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +2.5% +1.4% -9.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBFAMSTRAWW
Held by institutions 100.0% 99.0% 77.9%
Institutions holding 384 291 78
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.2% +0.9% +8.1%
Institutions buying 205 149 35
Institutions selling 150 106 17
Buyers to sellers 1.37 1.41 2.06

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.

BFAMSTRAWW
BFAM 1.00 0.28 -0.01
STRA 0.28 1.00 0.01
WW -0.01 0.01 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BFAM, STRA and WW?

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) is the largest by market capitalisation: Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) $3.48B, Strategic Education (STRA) $1.77B, Ww International (WW) $136.95M.

Which stock is cheaper, BFAM, STRA and WW?

Strategic Education (STRA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) 20.8x, Strategic Education (STRA) 12.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Strategic Education (STRA) is cheapest (Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) 13.3x, Strategic Education (STRA) 10.8x). 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: Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) +8.5%, Strategic Education (STRA) +3.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Strategic Education (STRA) returned the most: Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) -28.8%, Strategic Education (STRA) -4.9%, Ww International (WW) -58.4%. Over five years, Strategic Education (STRA) compounded fastest (Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) -15.4%/yr, Strategic Education (STRA) +2.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Strategic Education (STRA) 3.01%, Ww International (WW) 0.00%. Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) and Ww International (WW) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Strategic Education (STRA) has been the steadiest (Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) 47.8%, Strategic Education (STRA) 36.1%, Ww International (WW) 94.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Strategic Education (STRA) leads on 7. 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.