GHC vs BFAM vs CVSA Stock Comparison

Graham Holdings, Bright Horizons Family Solutions and Covista Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
GHC Graham Holdings Co
$1,200.12 +3.8% 1M +17.4% 1Y
Market cap
$5.06B
P/E
9.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.07B
Div. yield
0.04%
Education Services Consumer Discretionary
5 wins
CVSA Covista Inc.
$131.80 +9.1% 1M -13.8% 1Y
Market cap
$4.54B
P/E
18.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.95B
Div. yield
–
Education Services Consumer Discretionary
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Graham Holdings leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Graham Holdings 5, Covista 5, Bright Horizons Family Solutions 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGHCBFAMCVSALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $5.06B $3.62B $4.54B GHC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 9.3x 20.7x 18.0x GHC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.8x 13.9x 15.4x BFAM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.8% +8.5% +9.3% CVSA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.7% 5.8% 12.9% CVSA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 3.5% 9.3% 15.0% CVSA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.9x 2.8x 0.6x GHC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.04% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +17.4% -27.0% -13.8% GHC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +15.5%/yr -14.4%/yr +28.7%/yr CVSA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 23.3% 47.7% 57.4% GHC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 40/100 51/100 66/100 CVSA

Percentile Scorecard

GHCBFAMCVSA

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

AxisGHCBFAMCVSA
Valuation 69 #11 of 33 31 #23 of 33 47 #18 of 33
Growth 28 #22 of 30 52 #15 of 30 72 #9 of 30
Profitability 25 #22 of 29 50 #15 of 29 89 #4 of 29
Financial Health 63 #15 of 39 24 #30 of 39 45 #22 of 39
Shareholder Returns 15 #12 of 14 100 #1 of 14 77 #4 of 14
Overall 40 51 66
  • GHC ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services
  • BFAM ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services
  • CVSA ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodGHCBFAMCVSASPY
1 month +3.8%+11.8%+9.1% -0.8%
3 months +1.7%-5.4%+9.5% +3.5%
6 months +3.3%-9.4%+17.3% +7.0%
Year to date +9.2%-27.4%+27.4% +12.2%
1 year +17.4%-27.0%-13.8% +13.0%
3 years +112.1%+2.0%+163.7% +86.3%
3 years, per year +28.5%+0.7%+38.2% +23.1%
5 years +105.8%-54.0%+253.3% +68.6%
5 years, per year +15.5%-14.4%+28.7% +11.0%
10 years +153.2%+9.9%+461.1% +258.0%
10 years, per year +9.7%+1.0%+18.8% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureGHCBFAMCVSASPY
Volatility, 1Y 23.3%47.7%57.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 23.4%55.0%74.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.28-0.29-0.05 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.75-0.57-0.24 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -20.3%-67.2%-49.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -3.1%-32.6%-14.4% -1.8%
52-week high $1,238.69$109.23$153.98 $779.14
52-week low $1,012.13$59.18$89.36 $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.

MultipleGHCBFAMCVSA
P/E now vs peer median 9.4xmedian 15.5x 21.7xmedian 15.5x 18.4xmedian 15.5x
P/S now vs peer median 1.0xmedian 1.3x 1.2xmedian 1.3x 2.3xmedian 1.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 12.1xmedian 10.1x 11.7xmedian 10.1x 10.7xmedian 10.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 20.6xmedian 14.7x 15.4xmedian 14.7x 11.4xmedian 14.7x
P/B now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 2.0x 3.8xmedian 2.0x 3.1xmedian 2.0x
PEG now vs peer median 0.23median 0.35 0.49median 0.35 0.36median 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 monthsGHCBFAMCVSA
Revenue $5.07B $3.03B $1.95B
Gross profit $1.52B $711.35M $1.12B
Operating income $256.19M $311.11M $383.38M
Net income $550.25M $175.04M $251.57M
Free cash flow $247.96M $235.93M $393.10M
EPS (diluted) $125.75 $3.38 $7.04
Cash & equivalents $156.77M $163.69M $406.32M
Total debt $900.37M $1.29B $662.85M
Shares (diluted) 4.31M 51.76M 35.72M
Enterprise value $154.39M $3.07B $3.66B

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
MetricGHCBFAMCVSA
P/E 9.4x 21.7x 18.4x
P/FCF 20.6x 15.4x 11.4x
P/Operating cash flow 15.7x 10.9x 9.5x
P/S 1.0x 1.2x 2.3x
P/B 1.1x 3.8x 3.1x
P/Tangible book 1.1x 4.8x 6.5x
EV/EBITDA 12.1x 11.7x 10.7x
EV/EBIT 18.6x 15.3x 12.4x
EV/Revenue 0.9x 1.6x 2.4x
EV/FCF 19.2x 20.1x 12.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 14.6x 14.3x 10.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.23 0.49 0.36

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGHCBFAMCVSA
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.8% 8.5% 9.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.4% 10.8% 10.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 1.0% 7.7% 10.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.1% 12.6% 11.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) -6.6% 8.8% 12.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 41.6% 26.2% 31.6%
Net income growth (1Y) -20.5% -1.0% 6.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 36.2% 39.1% 39.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -19.4% 10.4% 13.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 40.4% 44.4% 51.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -33.9% 0.3% 39.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 18.1% 11.1% 34.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -40.8% -2.8% 36.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 32.3% 14.2% 33.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGHCBFAMCVSA
Gross margin 29.9% 23.5% 57.3%
EBITDA margin 7.8% 13.5% 22.6%
Operating margin 5.1% 10.3% 19.6%
Pretax margin 14.1% 8.6% 17.7%
Net margin 10.7% 5.8% 12.9%
FCF margin 4.9% 7.8% 20.1%
Operating cash flow margin 6.4% 11.0% 24.1%
Return on equity 11.5% 16.8% 17.9%
Return on assets 6.7% 4.6% 8.8%
Return on invested capital 3.5% 9.3% 15.0%
Return on capital employed 3.7% 11.0% 16.8%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.8x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.6x 1.9x 1.9x
Stock comp / revenue 0.1% 1.0% 2.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGHCBFAMCVSA
Debt / assets 11.1% 34.0% 22.0%
Debt / equity 0.2x 1.4x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.9x 2.8x 0.6x
Debt / FCF 3.6x 5.5x 1.7x
Liabilities / assets 41.1% 75.1% 52.0%
Equity / assets 58.9% 24.9% 48.0%
Interest coverage 4.9x 6.2x 8.4x
Current ratio 1.9x 0.5x 1.1x
Quick ratio 1.5x 0.4x 1.0x
Cash ratio 1.0x 0.2x 0.7x
Altman Z-score 3.27 2.04 4.22

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGHCBFAMCVSA
Dividend yield 0.6% – –
Net buyback yield 2.4% 17.5% 5.3%
Shareholder yield 3.0% 17.5% 5.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) 35.0% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 77.7% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 528.1% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 83.8% – –

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.

ConsensusGHCBFAMCVSA
Forward P/E 15.8xFY2026 13.9xFY2026 15.4xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $76.14FY2026 $5.31FY2026 $8.57FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +14.5%FY2026 +16.7%FY2026 +3.9%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after -16.0% +13.6% +24.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.97BFY2026 $3.03BFY2026 $2.11BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +1.3%FY2026 +3.3%FY2026 +8.4%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +2.0% +2.5% -1.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGHCBFAMCVSA
Held by institutions 83.3% 100.0% 98.0%
Institutions holding 337 384 375
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.4% -1.2% +0.0%
Institutions buying 149 205 201
Institutions selling 110 150 129
Buyers to sellers 1.35 1.37 1.56

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.

GHCBFAMCVSA
GHC 1.00 0.24 0.29
BFAM 0.24 1.00 -0.03
CVSA 0.29 -0.03 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GHC, BFAM and CVSA?

Graham Holdings (GHC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Graham Holdings (GHC) $5.06B, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) $3.62B, Covista (CVSA) $4.54B.

Which stock is cheaper, GHC, BFAM and CVSA?

Graham Holdings (GHC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Graham Holdings (GHC) 9.3x, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) 20.7x, Covista (CVSA) 18.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) is cheapest (Graham Holdings (GHC) 15.8x, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) 13.9x, Covista (CVSA) 15.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Covista (CVSA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Graham Holdings (GHC) +4.8%, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) +8.5%, Covista (CVSA) +9.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Covista (CVSA) has the highest net margin (Graham Holdings (GHC) 10.7%, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) 5.8%, Covista (CVSA) 12.9%). On return on invested capital, Covista (CVSA) leads (Graham Holdings (GHC) 3.5%, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) 9.3%, Covista (CVSA) 15.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Graham Holdings (GHC) returned the most: Graham Holdings (GHC) +17.4%, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) -27.0%, Covista (CVSA) -13.8%. Over five years, Covista (CVSA) compounded fastest (Graham Holdings (GHC) +15.5%/yr, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) -14.4%/yr, Covista (CVSA) +28.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Graham Holdings (GHC) 0.04%, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) 0.00%, Covista (CVSA) 0.00%. Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) and Covista (CVSA) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Graham Holdings (GHC) has been the steadiest (Graham Holdings (GHC) 23.3%, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) 47.7%, Covista (CVSA) 57.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, GHC, BFAM and CVSA?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Graham Holdings (GHC) leads on 5. 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.