STRA vs LAUR vs PRDO Stock Comparison

Strategic Education, Laureate Education and Perdoceo Education Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
1 more company in this comparison (EDU) Create a free account to keep reading and compare up to 10 companies.
STRA Strategic Education, Inc.
$77.55 +2.2% 1M -7.5% 1Y
Market cap
$1.72B
P/E
12.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.29B
Div. yield
3.09%
Education Services Consumer Discretionary
2 wins
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
4 wins
PRDO PERDOCEO EDUCATION Corp
$31.48 +4.9% 1M -14.2% 1Y
Market cap
$1.97B
P/E
11.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$858.61M
Div. yield
1.97%
Education Services Consumer Discretionary
4 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Laureate Education leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Laureate Education 4, Perdoceo Education 4, Strategic Education 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSTRALAURPRDOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.72B $5.01B $1.97B LAUR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 12.3x 15.7x 11.1x PRDO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 10.5x 18.2x 10.2x PRDO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +3.5% +17.9% +11.7% LAUR
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.5% 17.6% 20.6% PRDO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 24.7% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.1x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 3.09% 0.00% 1.97% STRA
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -7.5% +21.8% -14.2% LAUR
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +2.6%/yr +16.0%/yr +24.3%/yr PRDO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 36.2% 33.2% 35.9% LAUR
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 79/100 69/100 74/100 STRA

Percentile Scorecard

STRALAURPRDO

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

AxisSTRALAURPRDO
Valuation 84 #6 of 33 31 #23 of 33 81 #7 of 33
Growth 86 #5 of 30 79 #7 of 30 35 #20 of 30
Profitability 59 #12 of 28 93 #3 of 28 96 #2 of 28
Financial Health 72 #11 of 37 56 #17 of 37 97 #2 of 37
Shareholder Returns 92 #2 of 14 85 #3 of 14 62 #6 of 14
Overall 79 69 74
  • STRA ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services
  • LAUR ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services
  • PRDO ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodSTRALAURPRDOSPY
1 month +2.2%-3.3%+4.9% +0.9%
3 months -11.5%-5.3%-8.9% +5.9%
6 months -1.8%+15.1%-8.3% +8.5%
Year to date -3.3%+8.0%+7.3% +13.3%
1 year -7.5%+21.8%-14.2% +12.4%
3 years -3.3%+155.4%+75.8% +88.1%
3 years, per year -1.1%+36.7%+20.7% +23.5%
5 years +13.7%+109.9%+196.4% +68.2%
5 years, per year +2.6%+16.0%+24.3% +11.0%
10 years +37.5%—+345.3% +263.4%
10 years, per year +3.2%—+16.1% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureSTRALAURPRDOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 36.2%33.2%35.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 41.7%34.3%42.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.020.28-0.03 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.210.66-0.40 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -41.3%-46.1%-27.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.5%-10.1%-17.0% -0.9%
52-week high $87.62$40.46$37.95 $779.14
52-week low $72.19$28.88$27.41 $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.

MultipleSTRALAURPRDO
P/E now vs peer median 12.3xmedian 14.9x 15.7xmedian 14.9x 11.1xmedian 14.9x
P/S now vs peer median 1.3xmedian 1.2x 2.7xmedian 1.2x 2.3xmedian 1.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 7.0xmedian 9.3x 9.5xmedian 9.3x 2.7xmedian 9.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 10.2xmedian 14.5x 17.5xmedian 14.5x 9.0xmedian 14.5x
P/B now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 1.8x 4.4xmedian 1.8x 1.9xmedian 1.8x
PEG now vs peer median 0.21median 0.35 0.29median 0.35 0.77median 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 monthsSTRALAURPRDO
Revenue $1.29B $1.83B $858.61M
Gross profit – $498.85M $661.90M
Operating income $180.24M $446.85M $210.88M
Net income $134.51M $321.53M $177.12M
Free cash flow $168.59M $286.58M $217.98M
EPS (diluted) $6.19 $2.30 $2.79
Cash & equivalents $123.76M $161.67M $734.82M
Total debt – $223.17M –
Shares (diluted) 21.74M 139.94M 63.59M
Enterprise value $1.12B $4.30B -$2.84B

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
MetricSTRALAURPRDO
P/E 12.3x 15.7x 11.1x
P/FCF 10.2x 17.5x 9.0x
P/Operating cash flow 8.0x 12.3x 8.7x
P/S 1.3x 2.7x 2.3x
P/B 1.1x 4.4x 1.9x
P/Tangible book 1.2x 5.1x 2.0x
EV/EBITDA 7.0x 9.5x 2.7x
EV/EBIT 8.8x 11.3x 3.1x
EV/Revenue 1.2x 2.8x 0.8x
EV/FCF 9.5x 17.7x 3.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 7.4x 12.4x 2.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.21 0.29 0.77

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSTRALAURPRDO
Revenue growth (1Y) 3.5% 17.9% 11.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.1% 10.4% 5.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 18.0% 9.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 11.5% 3.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 14.1% 18.7% 13.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 52.4% 13.6% 13.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 16.8% 25.1% 14.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 54.3% 47.6% 11.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 26.4% 32.4% 20.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 59.4% 53.6% 14.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 29.8% 39.9% 6.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 35.8% 24.4% 12.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 35.5% 25.7% 6.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 52.2% 23.6% 13.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSTRALAURPRDO
Gross margin – 27.3% 77.1%
EBITDA margin 17.7% 29.1% 29.0%
Operating margin 14.0% 24.4% 24.6%
Pretax margin 14.3% 24.2% 26.9%
Net margin 10.5% 17.6% 20.6%
FCF margin 13.1% 15.7% 25.4%
Operating cash flow margin 16.8% 22.3% 26.2%
Return on equity 8.2% 29.4% 17.3%
Return on assets 6.5% 13.7% 13.4%
Return on invested capital – 24.7% –
Return on capital employed 10.0% 24.3% 18.5%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.8x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 1.3x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 1.7% 0.8% 1.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSTRALAURPRDO
Debt / assets – 9.2% –
Debt / equity – 0.2x –
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.1x –
Debt / FCF – 0.8x –
Liabilities / assets 21.0% 52.9% 22.6%
Equity / assets 79.0% 47.1% 77.4%
Interest coverage – 35.9x 34.1x
Current ratio 1.1x 0.7x 4.7x
Quick ratio 0.9x 0.6x 7.9x
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.3x 7.6x
Altman Z-score 3.49 3.86 6.50

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSTRALAURPRDO
Dividend yield 3.1% – 2.0%
Net buyback yield 8.8% 6.6% 4.5%
Shareholder yield 11.9% 6.6% 6.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) 41.1% – 21.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) 32.8% – 17.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) -5.8% – 11.6%
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.

ConsensusSTRALAURPRDO
Forward P/E 10.5xFY2026 18.2xFY2026 10.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $7.38FY2026 $2.00FY2026 $3.08FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +19.4%FY2026 +16.3%FY2026 +27.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +18.7% +17.0% +4.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.39BFY2026 $2.03BFY2026 $877.60MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.2%FY2026 +19.6%FY2026 +3.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.4% -4.4% -5.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSTRALAURPRDO
Held by institutions 99.0% 95.8% 100.0%
Institutions holding 291 337 340
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.9% -3.3% +1.9%
Institutions buying 149 161 173
Institutions selling 106 144 113
Buyers to sellers 1.41 1.12 1.53

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.

STRALAURPRDO
STRA 1.00 0.49 0.73
LAUR 0.49 1.00 0.55
PRDO 0.73 0.55 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, STRA, LAUR and PRDO?

Laureate Education (LAUR) is the largest by market capitalisation: Strategic Education (STRA) $1.72B, Laureate Education (LAUR) $5.01B, Perdoceo Education (PRDO) $1.97B.

Which stock is cheaper, STRA, LAUR and PRDO?

Perdoceo Education (PRDO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Strategic Education (STRA) 12.3x, Laureate Education (LAUR) 15.7x, Perdoceo Education (PRDO) 11.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Perdoceo Education (PRDO) is cheapest (Strategic Education (STRA) 10.5x, Laureate Education (LAUR) 18.2x, Perdoceo Education (PRDO) 10.2x). 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: Strategic Education (STRA) +3.5%, Laureate Education (LAUR) +17.9%, Perdoceo Education (PRDO) +11.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Perdoceo Education (PRDO) has the highest net margin (Strategic Education (STRA) 10.5%, Laureate Education (LAUR) 17.6%, Perdoceo Education (PRDO) 20.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Laureate Education (LAUR) returned the most: Strategic Education (STRA) -7.5%, Laureate Education (LAUR) +21.8%, Perdoceo Education (PRDO) -14.2%. Over five years, Perdoceo Education (PRDO) compounded fastest (Strategic Education (STRA) +2.6%/yr, Laureate Education (LAUR) +16.0%/yr, Perdoceo Education (PRDO) +24.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Strategic Education (STRA) has the highest dividend yield: Strategic Education (STRA) 3.09%, Laureate Education (LAUR) 0.00%, Perdoceo Education (PRDO) 1.97%. Laureate Education (LAUR) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Laureate Education (LAUR) has been the steadiest (Strategic Education (STRA) 36.2%, Laureate Education (LAUR) 33.2%, Perdoceo Education (PRDO) 35.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 4. 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.