LOPE vs FCN vs ULS Stock Comparison

Grand Canyon Education, Fti Consulting and UL Solutions Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
FCN Fti Consulting, Inc
$196.04 +42.5% 1M +17.5% 1Y
Market cap
$5.34B
P/E
24.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.98B
Div. yield
–
Consulting Industrials
3 wins
ULS UL Solutions Inc.
$76.20 +11.5% 1M -11.2% 1Y
Market cap
$15.39B
P/E
30.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.19B
Div. yield
0.72%
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, Fti Consulting 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLOPEFCNULSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.14B $5.34B $15.39B ULS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 12.5x 24.1x 30.0x LOPE
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 12.8x 19.4x 35.6x LOPE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.3% +7.8% +6.1% FCN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 21.9% 5.9% 16.1% LOPE
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 11.5% 18.9% ULS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 1.9x -0.3x ULS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 0.00% 0.72% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -31.5% +17.5% -11.2% FCN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +7.8%/yr +6.3%/yr — LOPE
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 37.0% 34.7% 42.2% FCN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 84/100 70/100 66/100 LOPE

Percentile Scorecard

LOPEFCNULS

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

AxisLOPEFCNULS
Valuation 73 #32 of 114 48 #60 of 114 32 #78 of 114
Growth 65 #35 of 98 73 #27 of 98 81 #19 of 98
Profitability 100 #1 of 95 71 #28 of 95 94 #7 of 95
Financial Health 90 #13 of 126 63 #47 of 126 80 #26 of 126
Shareholder Returns 91 #7 of 71 96 #4 of 71 43 #41 of 71
Overall 84 70 66
  • LOPE ranked among 131 companies in Business Services
  • FCN ranked among 131 companies in Business Services
  • ULS ranked among 131 companies in Business Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodLOPEFCNULSSPY
1 month -21.5%+42.5%+11.5% -5.9%
3 months -17.9%+30.0%-1.0% -4.6%
6 months -25.7%+21.1%-23.3% +0.2%
Year to date -26.5%+14.8%-3.4% +7.5%
1 year -31.5%+17.5%-11.2% +8.2%
3 years -10.1%-9.5%— +68.3%
3 years, per year -3.5%-3.3%— +19.0%
5 years +45.4%+35.7%— +56.5%
5 years, per year +7.8%+6.3%— +9.4%
10 years +152.4%+380.6%— +251.5%
10 years, per year +9.7%+17.0%— +13.4%

Risk

MeasureLOPEFCNULSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 37.0%34.7%42.2% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 44.5%33.2%41.0% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.57-0.300.69 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.850.51-0.26 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -44.6%-43.5%-38.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -32.3%-1.2%-27.4% -5.9%
52-week high $180.48$198.36$104.89 $779.14
52-week low $122.17$130.44$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.

MultipleLOPEFCNULS
P/E now vs peer median 12.5xmedian 21.1x 24.1xmedian 21.1x 30.0xmedian 21.1x
P/S now vs peer median 2.7xmedian 0.9x 1.3xmedian 0.9x 4.8xmedian 0.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 8.4xmedian 11.7x 15.1xmedian 11.7x 19.9xmedian 11.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 11.9xmedian 15.3x 15.1xmedian 15.3x 32.0xmedian 15.3x
P/B now vs peer median 4.9xmedian 2.3x 4.0xmedian 2.3x 8.9xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 0.88median 0.88 4.03median 0.88 —median 0.88

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 monthsLOPEFCNULS
Revenue $1.15B $3.98B $3.19B
Gross profit – $1.28B $1.62B
Operating income $313.16M $352.21M $568.00M
Net income $250.95M $233.42M $539.00M
Free cash flow $264.85M $353.71M $481.00M
EPS (diluted) $9.74 $8.04 $2.51
Cash & equivalents $58.76M $88.10M $1.02B
Total debt – $851.38M $764.00M
Shares (diluted) 25.77M 29.04M 204.00M
Enterprise value $2.15B $4.63B $13.42B

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
MetricLOPEFCNULS
P/E 12.5x 24.1x 30.0x
P/FCF 11.9x 15.1x 32.0x
P/Operating cash flow 10.4x 13.6x 20.9x
P/S 2.7x 1.3x 4.8x
P/B 4.9x 4.0x 8.9x
P/Tangible book 6.4x 4.1x 9.1x
EV/EBITDA 8.4x 15.1x 19.9x
EV/EBIT 9.5x 17.3x 26.7x
EV/Revenue 2.6x 1.5x 4.8x
EV/FCF 11.3x 17.3x 31.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 9.9x 15.6x 20.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.88 4.03 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLOPEFCNULS
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.3% 7.8% 6.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.8% 6.0% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 8.6% 10.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 6.1% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 21.4% 1.1% 9.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 9.0% 1.7% –
Net income growth (1Y) 18.8% -12.3% 50.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 8.7% -1.0% –
EPS growth (1Y) 28.5% -3.8% 50.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 14.3% 6.0% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 8.3% 264.4% 25.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.3% 77.1% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 9.5% 706.3% 23.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 10.8% 200.0% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLOPEFCNULS
Gross margin – 32.2% 50.7%
EBITDA margin 31.0% 10.2% 23.9%
Operating margin 27.3% 8.8% 17.8%
Pretax margin 28.3% 7.9% 23.0%
Net margin 21.9% 5.9% 16.1%
FCF margin 23.1% 8.9% 15.1%
Operating cash flow margin 26.3% 9.9% 23.2%
Return on equity 38.3% 17.6% 32.1%
Return on assets 27.7% 6.7% 15.8%
Return on invested capital – 11.5% 18.9%
Return on capital employed 39.4% 13.6% 22.2%
Asset turnover 1.3x 1.1x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 1.7x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 1.2% 1.1% 2.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLOPEFCNULS
Debt / assets – 24.6% 20.7%
Debt / equity – 0.6x 0.4x
Net debt / EBITDA – 1.9x -0.3x
Debt / FCF – 2.4x 1.6x
Liabilities / assets 28.5% 61.8% 52.9%
Equity / assets 71.5% 38.2% 47.1%
Interest coverage – 9.0x 20.3x
Current ratio 2.6x 1.7x 2.1x
Quick ratio 2.5x 2.0x 2.0x
Cash ratio 1.4x 0.1x 1.2x
Altman Z-score 14.54 3.80 6.72

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLOPEFCNULS
Dividend yield – – 0.7%
Net buyback yield 12.0% 13.0% –
Shareholder yield 12.0% 13.0% 0.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 21.2%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 23.7%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 10.7%
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.

ConsensusLOPEFCNULS
Forward P/E 12.8xFY2026 19.4xFY2026 35.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $9.55FY2026 $10.13FY2026 $2.14FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +5.2%FY2026 +14.7%FY2026 +7.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +25.9% +16.6% +18.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.10BFY2026 $4.17BFY2026 $3.31BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -0.5%FY2026 +10.0%FY2026 +8.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +14.7% +7.0% +2.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLOPEFCNULS
Held by institutions 100.0% 100.0% 43.6%
Institutions holding 449 377 391
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.8% -3.6% +1.8%
Institutions buying 210 158 231
Institutions selling 182 173 105
Buyers to sellers 1.15 0.91 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.

LOPEFCNULS
LOPE 1.00 0.33 0.10
FCN 0.33 1.00 0.15
ULS 0.10 0.15 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LOPE, FCN and ULS?

UL Solutions (ULS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) $3.14B, Fti Consulting (FCN) $5.34B, UL Solutions (ULS) $15.39B.

Which stock is cheaper, LOPE, FCN and ULS?

Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) 12.5x, Fti Consulting (FCN) 24.1x, UL Solutions (ULS) 30.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) is cheapest (Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) 12.8x, Fti Consulting (FCN) 19.4x, UL Solutions (ULS) 35.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Fti Consulting (FCN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) +5.3%, Fti Consulting (FCN) +7.8%, UL Solutions (ULS) +6.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) has the highest net margin (Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) 21.9%, Fti Consulting (FCN) 5.9%, UL Solutions (ULS) 16.1%). On return on invested capital, UL Solutions (ULS) leads (Fti Consulting (FCN) 11.5%, UL Solutions (ULS) 18.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Fti Consulting (FCN) returned the most: Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) -31.5%, Fti Consulting (FCN) +17.5%, UL Solutions (ULS) -11.2%. Over five years, Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) compounded fastest (Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) +7.8%/yr, Fti Consulting (FCN) +6.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Fti Consulting (FCN) 0.00%, UL Solutions (ULS) 0.72%. Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) and Fti Consulting (FCN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Fti Consulting (FCN) has been the steadiest (Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) 37.0%, Fti Consulting (FCN) 34.7%, UL Solutions (ULS) 42.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, LOPE, FCN 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.