STRA vs TAL Stock Comparison

Strategic Education and TAL Education Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
STRA Strategic Education, Inc.
$81.19 +5.7% 1M -3.4% 1Y
Market cap
$1.71B
P/E
12.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.29B
Div. yield
0.03%
Education Services Consumer Discretionary
2 wins
TAL TAL Education Group
$10.23 -14.8% 1M -18.8% 1Y
Market cap
$5.84B
P/E
6.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.19B
Div. yield
–
Education Services Consumer Discretionary
7 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

TAL Education leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (TAL Education 7, Strategic Education 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSTRATALLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.71B $5.84B TAL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 12.7x 6.4x TAL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 11.0x 7.0x TAL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +3.5% +32.4% TAL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.5% 28.4% TAL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.03% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -3.4% -18.8% STRA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.2%/yr +19.0%/yr TAL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 36.1% 44.3% STRA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 79/100 87/100 TAL

Percentile Scorecard

STRATAL

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

AxisSTRATAL
Valuation 84 #6 of 33 88 #5 of 33
Growth 86 #5 of 30 100 #1 of 30
Profitability 61 #12 of 29 86 #5 of 29
Financial Health 71 #12 of 39 74 #11 of 39
Shareholder Returns 92 #2 of 14 –
Overall 79 87
  • STRA ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services
  • TAL ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodSTRATALSPY
1 month +5.7%-14.8% -0.8%
3 months +3.4%-3.1% +3.5%
6 months +6.9%-4.5% +7.0%
Year to date +1.2%-6.2% +12.2%
1 year -3.4%-18.8% +13.0%
3 years +1.2%+10.7% +86.3%
3 years, per year +0.4%+3.5% +23.1%
5 years +17.3%+138.5% +68.6%
5 years, per year +3.2%+19.0% +11.0%
10 years +49.9%-20.9% +258.0%
10 years, per year +4.1%-2.3% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureSTRATALSPY
Volatility, 1Y 36.1%44.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 41.6%41.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.010.62 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.09-0.42 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -41.3%-67.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.3%-20.8% -1.8%
52-week high $87.62$12.91 $779.14
52-week low $72.19$8.95 $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.

MultipleSTRATAL
P/E now vs peer median 12.9xmedian 15.5x 6.4xmedian 15.5x
P/S now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 1.3x 2.0xmedian 1.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 7.3xmedian 10.1x —median 10.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 10.7xmedian 14.7x 8.6xmedian 14.7x
P/B now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 2.0x 1.5xmedian 2.0x
PEG now vs peer median 0.22median 0.35 0.06median 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 monthsSTRATAL
Revenue $1.29B $3.19B
Gross profit – $1.79B
Operating income $180.24M $398.90M
Net income $134.51M $906.86M
Free cash flow $168.59M $731.92M
EPS (diluted) $6.19 $1.57
Cash & equivalents $123.76M $1.64B
Shares (diluted) 21.74M 578.78M
Enterprise value $1.10B -$7.14B

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
MetricSTRATAL
P/E 12.9x 6.4x
P/FCF 10.7x 8.6x
P/Operating cash flow 8.4x 8.6x
P/S 1.4x 2.0x
P/B 1.1x 1.5x
P/Tangible book 1.3x 1.6x
EV/EBITDA 7.3x –
EV/EBIT 9.3x 8.6x
EV/Revenue 1.3x 1.1x
EV/FCF 9.9x 4.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 7.8x 4.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.22 0.06

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSTRATAL
Revenue growth (1Y) 3.5% 32.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.1% 43.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 37.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 45.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 14.1% 1,299%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 52.4% 74.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 16.8% 770.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 54.3% 106.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 26.4% 824.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 59.4% 110.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 29.8% 46.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 35.8% 60.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 35.5% 46.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 52.2% 60.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSTRATAL
Gross margin – 56.0%
EBITDA margin 17.7% –
Operating margin 14.0% 12.5%
Pretax margin 14.3% 28.0%
Net margin 10.5% 28.4%
FCF margin 13.1% 22.9%
Operating cash flow margin 16.8% 22.9%
Return on equity 8.2% 23.1%
Return on assets 6.5% 14.3%
Return on invested capital – –
Return on capital employed 10.0% 9.6%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 0.8x
Stock comp / revenue 1.7% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSTRATAL
Debt / assets – –
Debt / equity – –
Net debt / EBITDA – –
Debt / FCF – –
Liabilities / assets 21.0% 39.7%
Equity / assets 79.0% 60.3%
Interest coverage – –
Current ratio 1.1x 1.7x
Quick ratio 0.9x 1.3x
Cash ratio 0.5x 1.3x
Altman Z-score 3.60 2.39

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSTRATAL
Dividend yield 3.0% –
Net buyback yield 8.4% –
Shareholder yield 11.4% 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.

ConsensusSTRATAL
Forward P/E 11.0xFY2026 7.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $7.38FY2026 $1.46FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +19.4%FY2026 +47.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +18.7% -13.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.39BFY2026 $3.66BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.2%FY2026 +21.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.4% +15.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSTRATAL
Held by institutions 99.0% 41.2%
Institutions holding 291 237
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.9% +11.9%
Institutions buying 149 116
Institutions selling 106 99
Buyers to sellers 1.41 1.17

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.

STRATAL
STRA 1.00 0.18
TAL 0.18 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, STRA and TAL?

TAL Education (TAL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Strategic Education (STRA) $1.71B, TAL Education (TAL) $5.84B.

Which stock is cheaper, STRA and TAL?

TAL Education (TAL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Strategic Education (STRA) 12.7x, TAL Education (TAL) 6.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, TAL Education (TAL) is cheapest (Strategic Education (STRA) 11.0x, TAL Education (TAL) 7.0x). 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: Strategic Education (STRA) +3.5%, TAL Education (TAL) +32.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

TAL Education (TAL) has the highest net margin (Strategic Education (STRA) 10.5%, TAL Education (TAL) 28.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Strategic Education (STRA) returned the most: Strategic Education (STRA) -3.4%, TAL Education (TAL) -18.8%. Over five years, TAL Education (TAL) compounded fastest (Strategic Education (STRA) +3.2%/yr, TAL Education (TAL) +19.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Strategic Education (STRA) 0.03%, TAL Education (TAL) 0.00%. TAL Education (TAL) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Strategic Education (STRA) has been the steadiest (Strategic Education (STRA) 36.1%, TAL Education (TAL) 44.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do STRA and TAL move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.18, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, STRA and TAL?

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 7. 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.