LAUR vs STRA vs UTI Stock Comparison

Laureate Education, Strategic Education and Universal Technical Institute Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
LAUR Laureate Education, Inc.
$37.64 +0.6% 1M +25.8% 1Y
Market cap
$5.07B
P/E
15.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.83B
Div. yield
–
Education Services Consumer Discretionary
6 wins
STRA Strategic Education, Inc.
$79.84 +3.9% 1M -4.9% 1Y
Market cap
$1.66B
P/E
12.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.29B
Div. yield
0.03%
Education Services Consumer Discretionary
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Laureate Education leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Laureate Education 6, Strategic Education 3, Universal Technical Institute 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLAURSTRAUTILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $5.07B $1.66B $1.21B LAUR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 15.8x 12.3x 35.4x STRA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.8x 10.8x 36.3x STRA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +17.9% +3.5% +9.1% LAUR
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 17.6% 10.5% 3.9% LAUR
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 24.7% — 6.9% LAUR
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.1x — -0.1x UTI
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.03% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +25.8% -4.9% -34.9% LAUR
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +17.5%/yr +2.7%/yr +26.2%/yr UTI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 33.0% 36.1% 72.6% LAUR
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 70/100 79/100 39/100 STRA

Percentile Scorecard

LAURSTRAUTI

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

AxisLAURSTRAUTI
Valuation 31 #23 of 33 84 #6 of 33 22 #26 of 33
Growth 83 #6 of 30 86 #5 of 30 59 #13 of 30
Profitability 93 #3 of 29 61 #12 of 29 29 #21 of 29
Financial Health 58 #17 of 39 71 #12 of 39 47 #21 of 39
Shareholder Returns 85 #3 of 14 92 #2 of 14 –
Overall 70 79 39
  • LAUR ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services
  • STRA ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services
  • UTI ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodLAURSTRAUTISPY
1 month +0.6%+3.9%+9.2% -0.2%
3 months -0.2%-1.9%-43.3% +3.9%
6 months +19.9%+2.7%-37.6% +8.2%
Year to date +11.8%-0.4%-15.2% +12.9%
1 year +25.8%-4.9%-34.9% +12.3%
3 years +164.4%-0.5%+163.5% +87.4%
3 years, per year +38.3%-0.2%+38.2% +23.3%
5 years +123.8%+14.5%+220.2% +67.9%
5 years, per year +17.5%+2.7%+26.2% +10.9%
10 years —+37.0%+1,311.5% +261.1%
10 years, per year —+3.2%+30.3% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureLAURSTRAUTISPY
Volatility, 1Y 33.0%36.1%72.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 33.9%41.5%90.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.29-0.020.81 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.78-0.14-0.48 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -46.1%-41.3%-63.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.0%-8.9%-56.7% -1.2%
52-week high $40.46$87.62$51.19 $779.14
52-week low $28.88$72.19$18.46 $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.

MultipleLAURSTRAUTI
P/E now vs peer median 16.3xmedian 15.2x 12.7xmedian 15.2x 35.6xmedian 15.2x
P/S now vs peer median 2.8xmedian 1.3x 1.4xmedian 1.3x 1.4xmedian 1.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.8xmedian 9.8x 7.2xmedian 9.8x 14.9xmedian 9.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 18.1xmedian 14.5x 10.5xmedian 14.5x -53.4xmedian 14.5x
P/B now vs peer median 4.5xmedian 2.0x 1.1xmedian 2.0x 3.5xmedian 2.0x
PEG now vs peer median 0.30median 0.35 0.21median 0.35 0.25median 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 monthsLAURSTRAUTI
Revenue $1.83B $1.29B $883.60M
Gross profit $498.85M – $425.13M
Operating income $446.85M $180.24M $44.26M
Net income $321.53M $134.51M $34.30M
Free cash flow $286.58M $168.59M -$22.87M
EPS (diluted) $2.30 $6.19 $0.61
Cash & equivalents $161.67M $123.76M $130.06M
Total debt $223.17M – $160.03M
Shares (diluted) 139.94M 21.74M 55.94M
Enterprise value $4.36B $1.05B $549.79M

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
MetricLAURSTRAUTI
P/E 16.3x 12.7x 35.6x
P/FCF 18.1x 10.5x -53.4x
P/Operating cash flow 12.7x 8.2x 16.4x
P/S 2.8x 1.4x 1.4x
P/B 4.5x 1.1x 3.5x
P/Tangible book 5.3x 1.3x 3.8x
EV/EBITDA 9.8x 7.2x 14.9x
EV/EBIT 11.7x 9.1x 27.4x
EV/Revenue 2.9x 1.3x 1.4x
EV/FCF 18.3x 9.8x -52.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 12.9x 7.6x 16.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.30 0.21 0.25

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLAURSTRAUTI
Revenue growth (1Y) 17.9% 3.5% 9.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.4% 6.1% 17.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 18.0% – 5.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.5% – 18.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 18.7% 14.1% -47.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 13.6% 52.4% 45.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 25.1% 16.8% -45.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 47.6% 54.3% 59.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 32.4% 26.4% -45.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 53.6% 59.4% 141.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 39.9% 29.8% -30.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 24.4% 35.8% 30.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 25.7% 35.5% -130.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 23.6% 52.2% 3.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLAURSTRAUTI
Gross margin 27.3% – 48.1%
EBITDA margin 29.1% 17.7% 9.2%
Operating margin 24.4% 14.0% 5.0%
Pretax margin 24.2% 14.3% 5.1%
Net margin 17.6% 10.5% 3.9%
FCF margin 15.7% 13.1% -2.6%
Operating cash flow margin 22.3% 16.8% 8.4%
Return on equity 29.4% 8.2% 10.0%
Return on assets 13.7% 6.5% 3.9%
Return on invested capital 24.7% – 6.9%
Return on capital employed 24.3% 10.0% 6.5%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.6x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.6x 2.2x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 1.7% 1.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLAURSTRAUTI
Debt / assets 9.2% – 17.8%
Debt / equity 0.2x – 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.1x – -0.1x
Debt / FCF 0.8x – -7.0x
Liabilities / assets 52.9% 21.0% 61.7%
Equity / assets 47.1% 79.0% 38.3%
Interest coverage 35.9x – 11.4x
Current ratio 0.7x 1.1x 1.3x
Quick ratio 0.6x 0.9x 1.4x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.5x 0.9x
Altman Z-score 3.94 3.56 2.73

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLAURSTRAUTI
Dividend yield – 3.0% –
Net buyback yield 6.4% 8.6% –
Shareholder yield 6.4% 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.

ConsensusLAURSTRAUTI
Forward P/E 18.8xFY2026 10.8xFY2026 36.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.00FY2026 $7.38FY2026 $0.61FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +16.3%FY2026 +19.4%FY2026 -46.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +17.0% +18.7% +23.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.03BFY2026 $1.39BFY2026 $860.77MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +19.6%FY2026 +9.2%FY2026 +3.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -4.4% +1.4% +16.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLAURSTRAUTI
Held by institutions 95.8% 99.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 337 291 264
Change in shares held, QoQ -3.3% +0.9% +9.0%
Institutions buying 161 149 157
Institutions selling 144 106 77
Buyers to sellers 1.12 1.41 2.04

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.

LAURSTRAUTI
LAUR 1.00 0.48 0.34
STRA 0.48 1.00 0.40
UTI 0.34 0.40 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LAUR, STRA and UTI?

Laureate Education (LAUR) is the largest by market capitalisation: Laureate Education (LAUR) $5.07B, Strategic Education (STRA) $1.66B, Universal Technical Institute (UTI) $1.21B.

Which stock is cheaper, LAUR, STRA and UTI?

Strategic Education (STRA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Laureate Education (LAUR) 15.8x, Strategic Education (STRA) 12.3x, Universal Technical Institute (UTI) 35.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Strategic Education (STRA) is cheapest (Laureate Education (LAUR) 18.8x, Strategic Education (STRA) 10.8x, Universal Technical Institute (UTI) 36.3x). 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%, Strategic Education (STRA) +3.5%, Universal Technical Institute (UTI) +9.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Laureate Education (LAUR) has the highest net margin (Laureate Education (LAUR) 17.6%, Strategic Education (STRA) 10.5%, Universal Technical Institute (UTI) 3.9%). On return on invested capital, Laureate Education (LAUR) leads (Laureate Education (LAUR) 24.7%, Universal Technical Institute (UTI) 6.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Laureate Education (LAUR) returned the most: Laureate Education (LAUR) +25.8%, Strategic Education (STRA) -4.9%, Universal Technical Institute (UTI) -34.9%. Over five years, Universal Technical Institute (UTI) compounded fastest (Laureate Education (LAUR) +17.5%/yr, Strategic Education (STRA) +2.7%/yr, Universal Technical Institute (UTI) +26.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Laureate Education (LAUR) 0.00%, Strategic Education (STRA) 0.03%, Universal Technical Institute (UTI) 0.00%. Laureate Education (LAUR) and Universal Technical Institute (UTI) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Laureate Education (LAUR) has been the steadiest (Laureate Education (LAUR) 33.0%, Strategic Education (STRA) 36.1%, Universal Technical Institute (UTI) 72.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, LAUR, STRA and UTI?

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 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.