LOPE vs BWMN vs ULS Stock Comparison

Grand Canyon Education, Bowman Consulting and UL Solutions Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ULS UL Solutions Inc.
$72.98 +10.5% 1M -8.8% 1Y
Market cap
$14.59B
P/E
28.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.15B
Div. yield
0.01%
Consulting Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Grand Canyon Education leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Grand Canyon Education 5, UL Solutions 3, Bowman Consulting 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLOPEBWMNULSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $4.12B $704.67M $14.59B ULS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 18.4x 102.4x 28.9x LOPE
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 16.8x 20.7x 33.8x LOPE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.0% +14.2% +6.6% BWMN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 19.6% 1.3% 16.1% LOPE
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 3.8% 22.9% ULS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 4.4x -0.2x ULS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -26.4% -2.7% -8.8% BWMN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +12.8%/yr +23.5%/yr — BWMN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 32.2% 63.2% 42.6% LOPE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 74/100 43/100 64/100 LOPE

Percentile Scorecard

LOPEBWMNULS

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

AxisLOPEBWMNULS
Valuation 49 #58 of 112 27 #82 of 112 32 #77 of 112
Growth 42 #56 of 96 81 #19 of 96 77 #23 of 96
Profitability 99 #2 of 91 39 #56 of 91 94 #6 of 91
Financial Health 90 #13 of 125 23 #97 of 125 82 #24 of 125
Shareholder Returns 91 #7 of 67 44 #38 of 67 36 #43 of 67
Overall 74 43 64
  • LOPE ranked among 130 companies in Business Services
  • BWMN ranked among 130 companies in Business Services
  • ULS ranked among 130 companies in Business Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodLOPEBWMNULSSPY
1 month +9.1%+0.6%+10.5% -0.8%
3 months +10.9%+63.3%-18.9% +3.5%
6 months -2.8%+37.8%-17.6% +7.0%
Year to date -3.4%+29.7%-7.5% +12.2%
1 year -26.4%-2.7%-8.8% +13.0%
3 years +36.9%+62.7%— +86.3%
3 years, per year +11.0%+17.6%— +23.1%
5 years +82.7%+186.9%— +68.6%
5 years, per year +12.8%+23.5%— +11.0%
10 years +278.8%—— +258.0%
10 years, per year +14.2%—— +13.6%

Risk

MeasureLOPEBWMNULSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 32.2%63.2%42.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 36.3%53.5%40.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.031.510.61 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.82-0.04-0.21 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.0%-56.2%-38.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -26.4%-3.6%-30.4% -1.8%
52-week high $218.48$44.43$104.89 $779.14
52-week low $136.72$25.31$64.05 $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.

MultipleLOPEBWMNULS
P/E now vs peer median 18.8xmedian 21.9x 102.3xmedian 21.9x 29.2xmedian 21.9x
P/S now vs peer median 3.7xmedian 0.9x 1.4xmedian 0.9x 4.7xmedian 0.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 12.3xmedian 12.2x 19.3xmedian 12.2x 19.4xmedian 12.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median 17.4xmedian 14.3x 58.8xmedian 14.3x 33.8xmedian 14.3x
P/B now vs peer median 6.3xmedian 2.3x 2.9xmedian 2.3x 9.1xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 1.71median 1.02 5.88median 1.02 —median 1.02

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 monthsLOPEBWMNULS
Revenue $1.14B $527.60M $3.15B
Gross profit – $281.51M $1.58B
Operating income $279.71M $17.72M $562.00M
Net income $224.21M $7.38M $528.00M
Free cash flow $242.56M $12.56M $436.00M
EPS (diluted) $8.55 $0.41 $2.48
Cash & equivalents $171.06M $10.49M $434.00M
Total debt – $759.87M $301.00M
Shares (diluted) 26.22M 16.60M 204.00M
Enterprise value $3.01B $654.85M $13.35B

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
MetricLOPEBWMNULS
P/E 18.8x 102.3x 29.2x
P/FCF 17.4x 58.8x 33.8x
P/Operating cash flow 15.1x 31.8x 21.7x
P/S 3.7x 1.4x 4.7x
P/B 6.3x 2.9x 9.1x
P/Tangible book 8.1x 4.3x 9.3x
EV/EBITDA 12.3x 19.3x 19.4x
EV/EBIT 14.1x 53.8x 26.0x
EV/Revenue 3.5x 1.8x 4.6x
EV/FCF 16.2x 75.9x 33.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 14.1x 41.0x 21.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.71 5.88 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLOPEBWMNULS
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.0% 14.2% 6.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.2% 19.9% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 15.6% 10.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 21.4% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -2.9% 47.3% 14.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 5.8% 76.6% –
Net income growth (1Y) -5.2% -32.6% 52.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 5.8% 25.1% –
EPS growth (1Y) 1.7% -33.6% 53.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 11.0% 17.4% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -6.5% -33.6% 16.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.3% 49.4% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -7.1% -62.9% 19.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.7% 29.4% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLOPEBWMNULS
Gross margin – 53.4% 50.3%
EBITDA margin 28.1% 9.3% 23.9%
Operating margin 24.5% 3.4% 17.9%
Pretax margin 25.6% 0.7% 22.8%
Net margin 19.6% 1.3% 16.1%
FCF margin 21.2% 2.4% 13.9%
Operating cash flow margin 24.4% 4.4% 21.6%
Return on equity 32.8% 2.9% 35.7%
Return on assets 23.8% 1.2% 17.4%
Return on invested capital – 3.8% 22.9%
Return on capital employed 33.9% 5.2% 25.9%
Asset turnover 1.2x 0.9x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 3.2x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 1.2% 3.5% 1.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLOPEBWMNULS
Debt / assets – 36.4% 9.7%
Debt / equity – 0.9x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA – 4.4x -0.2x
Debt / FCF – 18.0x 0.7x
Liabilities / assets 27.2% 58.6% 48.1%
Equity / assets 72.8% 41.4% 51.9%
Interest coverage – – 17.6x
Current ratio 2.8x 0.9x 1.4x
Quick ratio 2.7x 0.8x 1.3x
Cash ratio 2.3x 0.0x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 16.94 2.09 7.98

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLOPEBWMNULS
Dividend yield – – 0.8%
Net buyback yield 8.1% 3.2% –
Shareholder yield 8.1% 3.2% 0.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 20.8%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 25.2%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 7.8%
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.

ConsensusLOPEBWMNULS
Forward P/E 16.8xFY2026 20.7xFY2026 33.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $9.55FY2026 $2.07FY2026 $2.16FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +5.2%FY2026 +23.2%FY2026 +8.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +25.9% +16.4% +17.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.10BFY2026 $555.17MFY2026 $3.29BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -0.5%FY2026 +27.7%FY2026 +8.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +14.7% +10.4% +1.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLOPEBWMNULS
Held by institutions 100.0% 63.8% 43.6%
Institutions holding 447 136 389
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.8% +3.1% +1.8%
Institutions buying 208 78 231
Institutions selling 182 36 105
Buyers to sellers 1.14 2.17 2.20

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.

LOPEBWMNULS
LOPE 1.00 0.03 0.05
BWMN 0.03 1.00 0.13
ULS 0.05 0.13 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LOPE, BWMN and ULS?

UL Solutions (ULS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) $4.12B, Bowman Consulting (BWMN) $704.67M, UL Solutions (ULS) $14.59B.

Which stock is cheaper, LOPE, BWMN and ULS?

Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) 18.4x, Bowman Consulting (BWMN) 102.4x, UL Solutions (ULS) 28.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) is cheapest (Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) 16.8x, Bowman Consulting (BWMN) 20.7x, UL Solutions (ULS) 33.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Bowman Consulting (BWMN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) +7.0%, Bowman Consulting (BWMN) +14.2%, UL Solutions (ULS) +6.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) has the highest net margin (Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) 19.6%, Bowman Consulting (BWMN) 1.3%, UL Solutions (ULS) 16.1%). On return on invested capital, UL Solutions (ULS) leads (Bowman Consulting (BWMN) 3.8%, UL Solutions (ULS) 22.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Bowman Consulting (BWMN) returned the most: Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) -26.4%, Bowman Consulting (BWMN) -2.7%, UL Solutions (ULS) -8.8%. Over five years, Bowman Consulting (BWMN) compounded fastest (Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) +12.8%/yr, Bowman Consulting (BWMN) +23.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) 0.00%, Bowman Consulting (BWMN) 0.00%, UL Solutions (ULS) 0.01%. Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) and Bowman Consulting (BWMN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) has been the steadiest (Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) 32.2%, Bowman Consulting (BWMN) 63.2%, UL Solutions (ULS) 42.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, LOPE, BWMN and ULS?

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