LRN vs TAL vs UTI Stock Comparison

Stride, TAL Education and Universal Technical Institute Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
LRN Stride, Inc.
$79.15 +0.7% 1M -48.1% 1Y
Market cap
$3.42B
P/E
10.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.54B
Div. yield
–
Education Services Consumer Discretionary
TAL TAL Education Group
$10.20 -15.1% 1M -18.7% 1Y
Market cap
$5.76B
P/E
6.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.19B
Div. yield
–
Education Services Consumer Discretionary
8 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

TAL Education leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (TAL Education 8, Universal Technical Institute 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLRNTALUTILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.42B $5.76B $1.21B TAL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 10.2x 6.4x 35.4x TAL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 9.4x 7.0x 36.3x TAL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +2.5% +32.4% +9.1% TAL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 28.4% 3.9% TAL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — 6.9% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — -0.1x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -48.1% -18.7% -34.9% TAL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +18.5%/yr +18.6%/yr +26.2%/yr UTI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 89.5% 44.2% 72.6% TAL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 76/100 87/100 39/100 TAL

Percentile Scorecard

LRNTALUTI

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

AxisLRNTALUTI
Valuation 75 #9 of 33 88 #5 of 33 22 #26 of 33
Growth 55 #14 of 30 100 #1 of 30 59 #13 of 30
Profitability 82 #6 of 29 86 #5 of 29 29 #21 of 29
Financial Health 92 #4 of 39 74 #11 of 39 47 #21 of 39
Shareholder Returns – – –
Overall 76 87 39
  • LRN ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services
  • TAL 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

PeriodLRNTALUTISPY
1 month +0.7%-15.1%+9.2% -0.2%
3 months -17.3%-2.4%-43.3% +3.9%
6 months -14.5%-5.3%-37.6% +8.2%
Year to date +21.9%-6.5%-15.2% +12.9%
1 year -48.1%-18.7%-34.9% +12.3%
3 years +45.4%+10.4%+163.5% +87.4%
3 years, per year +13.3%+3.4%+38.2% +23.3%
5 years +133.1%+134.5%+220.2% +67.9%
5 years, per year +18.5%+18.6%+26.2% +10.9%
10 years +606.7%-24.7%+1,311.5% +261.1%
10 years, per year +21.6%-2.8%+30.3% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureLRNTALUTISPY
Volatility, 1Y 89.5%44.2%72.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 121.1%40.8%90.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.080.620.81 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.54-0.42-0.48 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -64.1%-67.3%-63.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -48.4%-21.0%-56.7% -1.2%
52-week high $153.53$12.91$51.19 $779.14
52-week low $61.02$8.95$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.

MultipleLRNTALUTI
P/E now vs peer median 10.1xmedian 15.2x 6.4xmedian 15.2x 35.6xmedian 15.2x
P/S now vs peer median 1.3xmedian 1.3x 2.0xmedian 1.3x 1.4xmedian 1.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 9.8x —median 9.8x 14.9xmedian 9.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 7.2xmedian 14.5x 8.6xmedian 14.5x -53.4xmedian 14.5x
P/B now vs peer median 2.0xmedian 2.0x 1.5xmedian 2.0x 3.5xmedian 2.0x
PEG now vs peer median 0.40median 0.35 0.06median 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 monthsLRNTALUTI
Revenue $2.54B $3.19B $883.60M
Gross profit $949.60M $1.79B $425.13M
Operating income $466.05M $398.90M $44.26M
Net income $334.31M $906.86M $34.30M
Free cash flow – $731.92M -$22.87M
EPS (diluted) $7.06 $1.57 $0.61
Cash & equivalents $547.75M $1.64B $130.06M
Total debt – – $160.03M
Shares (diluted) 47.33M 578.78M 55.94M
Enterprise value $3.42B -$7.22B $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
MetricLRNTALUTI
P/E 10.1x 6.4x 35.6x
P/FCF 7.2x 8.6x -53.4x
P/Operating cash flow 6.5x 8.6x 16.4x
P/S 1.3x 2.0x 1.4x
P/B 2.0x 1.5x 3.5x
P/Tangible book 2.0x 1.6x 3.8x
EV/EBITDA – – 14.9x
EV/EBIT – 8.5x 27.4x
EV/Revenue 1.3x 1.1x 1.4x
EV/FCF – 4.6x -52.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 6.5x 4.6x 16.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.40 0.06 0.25

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLRNTALUTI
Revenue growth (1Y) 2.5% 32.4% 9.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.3% 43.9% 17.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -2.1% 37.4% 5.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.2% 45.2% 18.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 22.1% 1,299% -47.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 33.1% 74.6% 45.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 5.8% 770.5% -45.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 29.4% 106.1% 59.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 10.1% 824.0% -45.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 25.3% 110.4% 141.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 33.2% 46.7% -30.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 33.7% 60.3% 30.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 46.7% -130.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 60.3% 3.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLRNTALUTI
Gross margin – 56.0% 48.1%
EBITDA margin – – 9.2%
Operating margin – 12.5% 5.0%
Pretax margin – 28.0% 5.1%
Net margin – 28.4% 3.9%
FCF margin – 22.9% -2.6%
Operating cash flow margin 19.9% 22.9% 8.4%
Return on equity 20.3% 23.1% 10.0%
Return on assets 13.5% 14.3% 3.9%
Return on invested capital – – 6.9%
Return on capital employed – 9.6% 6.5%
Asset turnover 1.0x 0.5x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 0.8x 2.2x
Stock comp / revenue 0.9% – 1.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLRNTALUTI
Debt / assets – – 17.8%
Debt / equity – – 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA – – -0.1x
Debt / FCF – – -7.0x
Liabilities / assets 33.9% 39.7% 61.7%
Equity / assets 66.1% 60.3% 38.3%
Interest coverage – – 11.4x
Current ratio 2.6x 1.7x 1.3x
Quick ratio – 1.3x 1.4x
Cash ratio – 1.3x 0.9x
Altman Z-score – 2.39 2.73

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLRNTALUTI
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield – 0.0% 0.0%
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.

ConsensusLRNTALUTI
Forward P/E 9.4xFY2027 7.0xFY2026 36.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.42FY2027 $1.46FY2026 $0.61FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +17.9%FY2027 +47.5%FY2026 -46.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -6.4% -13.0% +23.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.42BFY2027 $3.66BFY2026 $860.77MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -3.9%FY2027 +21.6%FY2026 +3.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +16.4% +15.9% +16.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLRNTALUTI
Held by institutions 100.0% 41.2% 100.0%
Institutions holding 410 237 264
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.2% +11.9% +9.0%
Institutions buying 212 116 157
Institutions selling 135 99 77
Buyers to sellers 1.57 1.17 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.

LRNTALUTI
LRN 1.00 0.00 0.26
TAL 0.00 1.00 0.05
UTI 0.26 0.05 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LRN, TAL and UTI?

TAL Education (TAL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Stride (LRN) $3.42B, TAL Education (TAL) $5.76B, Universal Technical Institute (UTI) $1.21B.

Which stock is cheaper, LRN, TAL and UTI?

TAL Education (TAL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Stride (LRN) 10.2x, TAL Education (TAL) 6.4x, Universal Technical Institute (UTI) 35.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, TAL Education (TAL) is cheapest (Stride (LRN) 9.4x, TAL Education (TAL) 7.0x, 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?

TAL Education (TAL) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Stride (LRN) +2.5%, TAL Education (TAL) +32.4%, Universal Technical Institute (UTI) +9.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

TAL Education (TAL) has the highest net margin (TAL Education (TAL) 28.4%, Universal Technical Institute (UTI) 3.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year TAL Education (TAL) returned the most: Stride (LRN) -48.1%, TAL Education (TAL) -18.7%, Universal Technical Institute (UTI) -34.9%. Over five years, Universal Technical Institute (UTI) compounded fastest (Stride (LRN) +18.5%/yr, TAL Education (TAL) +18.6%/yr, Universal Technical Institute (UTI) +26.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, TAL Education (TAL) has been the steadiest (Stride (LRN) 89.5%, TAL Education (TAL) 44.2%, Universal Technical Institute (UTI) 72.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, LRN, TAL 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, TAL Education (TAL) leads on 8. 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.