LAUR vs LFS vs BFAM Stock Comparison

Laureate Education, Leifras and Bright Horizons Family Solutions Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
LAUR Laureate Education, Inc.
$36.36 -3.3% 1M +21.8% 1Y
Market cap
$5.01B
P/E
15.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.83B
Div. yield
–
Education Services Consumer Discretionary
9 wins
LFS LEIFRAS Co., Ltd.
$2.10 -1.9% 1M -36.9% 1Y
Market cap
$54.94M
P/E
17.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$78.98M
Div. yield
–
Education Services Consumer Discretionary
1 win

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Laureate Education leads on 9 of the 12 questions below (Laureate Education 9, Bright Horizons Family Solutions 1, Leifras 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLAURLFSBFAMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $5.01B $54.94M $3.40B LAUR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 15.7x 17.4x 20.4x LAUR
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.2x — 13.0x BFAM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +17.9% +6.9% +8.5% LAUR
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 17.6% 3.8% 5.8% LAUR
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 24.7% 22.6% 9.3% LAUR
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.1x -2.9x 2.8x LFS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +21.8% -36.9% -29.7% LAUR
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +16.0%/yr — -16.1%/yr LAUR
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 33.2% 247.9% 47.9% LAUR
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 69/100 55/100 51/100 LAUR

Percentile Scorecard

LAURLFSBFAM

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

AxisLAURLFSBFAM
Valuation 31 #23 of 33 63 #13 of 33 34 #22 of 33
Growth 79 #7 of 30 38 #19 of 30 52 #15 of 30
Profitability 93 #3 of 28 41 #17 of 28 48 #15 of 28
Financial Health 56 #17 of 37 81 #8 of 37 19 #30 of 37
Shareholder Returns 85 #3 of 14 – 100 #1 of 14
Overall 69 55 51
  • LAUR ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services
  • LFS ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services
  • BFAM ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodLAURLFSBFAMSPY
1 month -3.3%-1.9%+8.5% +0.9%
3 months -5.3%-5.0%-16.4% +5.9%
6 months +15.1%+9.4%-15.7% +8.5%
Year to date +8.0%-24.2%-31.8% +13.3%
1 year +21.8%-36.9%-29.7% +12.4%
3 years +155.4%—-4.2% +88.1%
3 years, per year +36.7%—-1.4% +23.5%
5 years +109.9%—-58.4% +68.2%
5 years, per year +16.0%—-16.1% +11.0%
10 years ——+3.9% +263.4%
10 years, per year ——+0.4% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureLAURLFSBFAMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 33.2%247.9%47.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 34.3%138.2%55.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.281.33-0.30 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.66-0.15-0.62 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -46.1%-83.7%-67.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -10.1%-81.5%-36.7% -0.9%
52-week high $40.46$11.37$109.23 $779.14
52-week low $28.88$1.68$59.18 $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.

MultipleLAURLFSBFAM
P/E now vs peer median 15.7xmedian 14.9x 17.4xmedian 14.9x 20.4xmedian 14.9x
P/S now vs peer median 2.7xmedian 1.2x 0.7xmedian 1.2x 1.1xmedian 1.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.5xmedian 9.3x 7.9xmedian 9.3x 11.1xmedian 9.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 17.5xmedian 14.5x 21.5xmedian 14.5x 14.4xmedian 14.5x
P/B now vs peer median 4.4xmedian 1.8x 4.6xmedian 1.8x 3.6xmedian 1.8x
PEG now vs peer median 0.29median 0.35 —median 0.35 0.46median 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 monthsLAURLFSBFAM
Revenue $1.83B $78.98M $3.03B
Gross profit $498.85M $24.53M $711.35M
Operating income $446.85M $4.30M $311.11M
Net income $321.53M $3.04M $175.04M
Free cash flow $286.58M $2.56M $235.93M
EPS (diluted) $2.30 $0.12 $3.38
Cash & equivalents $161.67M $15.94M $163.69M
Total debt $223.17M $10.41M $1.29B
Shares (diluted) 139.94M 25.19M 51.76M
Enterprise value $4.30B -$9.21M $2.85B

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
MetricLAURLFSBFAM
P/E 15.7x 17.4x 20.4x
P/FCF 17.5x 21.5x 14.4x
P/Operating cash flow 12.3x 21.1x 10.2x
P/S 2.7x 0.7x 1.1x
P/B 4.4x 4.6x 3.6x
P/Tangible book 5.1x 4.6x 4.5x
EV/EBITDA 9.5x 7.9x 11.1x
EV/EBIT 11.3x 9.3x 14.6x
EV/Revenue 2.8x 0.5x 1.5x
EV/FCF 17.7x 15.7x 19.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 12.4x 15.4x 13.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.29 – 0.46

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLAURLFSBFAM
Revenue growth (1Y) 17.9% 6.9% 8.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.4% – 10.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 18.0% 16.8% 7.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.5% – 12.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 18.7% 18.1% 8.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 13.6% – 26.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 25.1% 7.5% -1.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 47.6% – 39.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 32.4% 13.2% 10.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 53.6% – 44.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 39.9% -48.2% 0.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 24.4% – 11.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 25.7% -43.8% -2.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 23.6% – 14.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLAURLFSBFAM
Gross margin 27.3% 31.1% 23.5%
EBITDA margin 29.1% 6.5% 13.5%
Operating margin 24.4% 5.4% 10.3%
Pretax margin 24.2% 5.6% 8.6%
Net margin 17.6% 3.8% 5.8%
FCF margin 15.7% 3.2% 7.8%
Operating cash flow margin 22.3% 3.3% 11.0%
Return on equity 29.4% 25.6% 16.8%
Return on assets 13.7% 10.3% 4.6%
Return on invested capital 24.7% 22.6% 9.3%
Return on capital employed 24.3% 26.8% 11.0%
Asset turnover 0.8x 2.6x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 0.9x 1.9x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% – 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLAURLFSBFAM
Debt / assets 9.2% 3.7% 34.0%
Debt / equity 0.2x 0.1x 1.4x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.1x -2.9x 2.8x
Debt / FCF 0.8x 0.4x 5.5x
Liabilities / assets 52.9% 61.0% 75.1%
Equity / assets 47.1% 39.0% 24.9%
Interest coverage 35.9x 52.8x 6.2x
Current ratio 0.7x 1.5x 0.5x
Quick ratio 0.6x 1.4x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.3x 1.1x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 3.86 5.36 1.99

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLAURLFSBFAM
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield 6.6% – 18.6%
Shareholder yield 6.6% – 18.6%
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.

ConsensusLAURLFSBFAM
Forward P/E 18.2xFY2026 – 13.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.00FY2026 – $5.31FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +16.3%FY2026 – +16.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +17.0% – +13.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.03BFY2026 – $3.03BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +19.6%FY2026 – +3.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -4.4% – +2.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLAURLFSBFAM
Held by institutions 95.8% – 100.0%
Institutions holding 337 – 384
Change in shares held, QoQ -3.3% – -1.2%
Institutions buying 161 – 205
Institutions selling 144 – 150
Buyers to sellers 1.12 – 1.37

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.

LAURLFSBFAM
LAUR 1.00 0.03 -0.03
LFS 0.03 1.00 0.06
BFAM -0.03 0.06 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LAUR, LFS and BFAM?

Laureate Education (LAUR) is the largest by market capitalisation: Laureate Education (LAUR) $5.01B, Leifras (LFS) $54.94M, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) $3.40B.

Which stock is cheaper, LAUR, LFS and BFAM?

Laureate Education (LAUR) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Laureate Education (LAUR) 15.7x, Leifras (LFS) 17.4x, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) 20.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) is cheapest (Laureate Education (LAUR) 18.2x, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) 13.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Laureate Education (LAUR) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Laureate Education (LAUR) +17.9%, Leifras (LFS) +6.9%, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) +8.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Laureate Education (LAUR) has the highest net margin (Laureate Education (LAUR) 17.6%, Leifras (LFS) 3.8%, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) 5.8%). On return on invested capital, Laureate Education (LAUR) leads (Laureate Education (LAUR) 24.7%, Leifras (LFS) 22.6%, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) 9.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Laureate Education (LAUR) returned the most: Laureate Education (LAUR) +21.8%, Leifras (LFS) -36.9%, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) -29.7%. Over five years, Laureate Education (LAUR) compounded fastest (Laureate Education (LAUR) +16.0%/yr, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) -16.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Laureate Education (LAUR) has been the steadiest (Laureate Education (LAUR) 33.2%, Leifras (LFS) 247.9%, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) 47.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Laureate Education (LAUR) leads on 9. 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.