TAL vs BFAM vs STRA Stock Comparison

TAL Education, Bright Horizons Family Solutions and Strategic Education Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
TAL TAL Education Group
$10.23 -14.8% 1M -18.8% 1Y
Market cap
$5.80B
P/E
6.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.19B
Div. yield
–
Education Services Consumer Discretionary
7 wins
STRA Strategic Education, Inc.
$81.19 +5.7% 1M -3.4% 1Y
Market cap
$1.73B
P/E
12.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.29B
Div. yield
0.03%
Education Services Consumer Discretionary
2 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.

QuestionTALBFAMSTRALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $5.80B $3.67B $1.73B TAL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 6.4x 21.0x 12.9x TAL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 7.0x 13.9x 11.0x TAL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +32.4% +8.5% +3.5% TAL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 28.4% 5.8% 10.5% TAL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 9.3% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 2.8x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.03% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -18.8% -27.0% -3.4% STRA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +19.0%/yr -14.4%/yr +3.2%/yr TAL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 44.3% 47.7% 36.1% STRA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 87/100 51/100 79/100 TAL

Percentile Scorecard

TALBFAMSTRA

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

AxisTALBFAMSTRA
Valuation 88 #5 of 33 31 #23 of 33 84 #6 of 33
Growth 100 #1 of 30 52 #15 of 30 86 #5 of 30
Profitability 86 #5 of 29 50 #15 of 29 61 #12 of 29
Financial Health 74 #11 of 39 24 #30 of 39 71 #12 of 39
Shareholder Returns – 100 #1 of 14 92 #2 of 14
Overall 87 51 79
  • TAL ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services
  • BFAM ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services
  • STRA ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodTALBFAMSTRASPY
1 month -14.8%+11.8%+5.7% -0.8%
3 months -3.1%-5.4%+3.4% +3.5%
6 months -4.5%-9.4%+6.9% +7.0%
Year to date -6.2%-27.4%+1.2% +12.2%
1 year -18.8%-27.0%-3.4% +13.0%
3 years +10.7%+2.0%+1.2% +86.3%
3 years, per year +3.5%+0.7%+0.4% +23.1%
5 years +138.5%-54.0%+17.3% +68.6%
5 years, per year +19.0%-14.4%+3.2% +11.0%
10 years -20.9%+9.9%+49.9% +258.0%
10 years, per year -2.3%+1.0%+4.1% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureTALBFAMSTRASPY
Volatility, 1Y 44.3%47.7%36.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 41.0%55.0%41.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.62-0.29-0.01 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.42-0.57-0.09 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -67.3%-67.2%-41.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -20.8%-32.6%-7.3% -1.8%
52-week high $12.91$109.23$87.62 $779.14
52-week low $8.95$59.18$72.19 $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.

MultipleTALBFAMSTRA
P/E now vs peer median 6.4xmedian 15.5x 21.7xmedian 15.5x 12.9xmedian 15.5x
P/S now vs peer median 2.0xmedian 1.3x 1.2xmedian 1.3x 1.4xmedian 1.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 10.1x 11.7xmedian 10.1x 7.3xmedian 10.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 8.6xmedian 14.7x 15.4xmedian 14.7x 10.7xmedian 14.7x
P/B now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 2.0x 3.8xmedian 2.0x 1.1xmedian 2.0x
PEG now vs peer median 0.06median 0.35 0.49median 0.35 0.22median 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 monthsTALBFAMSTRA
Revenue $3.19B $3.03B $1.29B
Gross profit $1.79B $711.35M –
Operating income $398.90M $311.11M $180.24M
Net income $906.86M $175.04M $134.51M
Free cash flow $731.92M $235.93M $168.59M
EPS (diluted) $1.57 $3.38 $6.19
Cash & equivalents $1.64B $163.69M $123.76M
Total debt – $1.29B –
Shares (diluted) 578.78M 51.76M 21.74M
Enterprise value -$7.18B $3.12B $1.12B

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
MetricTALBFAMSTRA
P/E 6.4x 21.7x 12.9x
P/FCF 8.6x 15.4x 10.7x
P/Operating cash flow 8.6x 10.9x 8.4x
P/S 2.0x 1.2x 1.4x
P/B 1.5x 3.8x 1.1x
P/Tangible book 1.6x 4.8x 1.3x
EV/EBITDA – 11.7x 7.3x
EV/EBIT 8.6x 15.3x 9.3x
EV/Revenue 1.1x 1.6x 1.3x
EV/FCF 4.7x 20.1x 9.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 4.7x 14.3x 7.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.06 0.49 0.22

Growth

14 metrics
MetricTALBFAMSTRA
Revenue growth (1Y) 32.4% 8.5% 3.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 43.9% 10.8% 6.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 37.4% 7.7% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 45.2% 12.6% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 1,299% 8.8% 14.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 74.6% 26.2% 52.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 770.5% -1.0% 16.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 106.1% 39.1% 54.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 824.0% 10.4% 26.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 110.4% 44.4% 59.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 46.7% 0.3% 29.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 60.3% 11.1% 35.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 46.7% -2.8% 35.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 60.3% 14.2% 52.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricTALBFAMSTRA
Gross margin 56.0% 23.5% –
EBITDA margin – 13.5% 17.7%
Operating margin 12.5% 10.3% 14.0%
Pretax margin 28.0% 8.6% 14.3%
Net margin 28.4% 5.8% 10.5%
FCF margin 22.9% 7.8% 13.1%
Operating cash flow margin 22.9% 11.0% 16.8%
Return on equity 23.1% 16.8% 8.2%
Return on assets 14.3% 4.6% 6.5%
Return on invested capital – 9.3% –
Return on capital employed 9.6% 11.0% 10.0%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.8x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.8x 1.9x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue – 1.0% 1.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricTALBFAMSTRA
Debt / assets – 34.0% –
Debt / equity – 1.4x –
Net debt / EBITDA – 2.8x –
Debt / FCF – 5.5x –
Liabilities / assets 39.7% 75.1% 21.0%
Equity / assets 60.3% 24.9% 79.0%
Interest coverage – 6.2x –
Current ratio 1.7x 0.5x 1.1x
Quick ratio 1.3x 0.4x 0.9x
Cash ratio 1.3x 0.2x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 2.39 2.04 3.60

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricTALBFAMSTRA
Dividend yield – – 3.0%
Net buyback yield – 17.5% 8.4%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 17.5% 11.4%
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.

ConsensusTALBFAMSTRA
Forward P/E 7.0xFY2026 13.9xFY2026 11.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.46FY2026 $5.31FY2026 $7.38FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +47.5%FY2026 +16.7%FY2026 +19.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -13.0% +13.6% +18.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.66BFY2026 $3.03BFY2026 $1.39BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +21.6%FY2026 +3.3%FY2026 +9.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +15.9% +2.5% +1.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersTALBFAMSTRA
Held by institutions 41.2% 100.0% 99.0%
Institutions holding 237 384 291
Change in shares held, QoQ +11.9% -1.2% +0.9%
Institutions buying 116 205 149
Institutions selling 99 150 106
Buyers to sellers 1.17 1.37 1.41

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.

TALBFAMSTRA
TAL 1.00 0.00 0.18
BFAM 0.00 1.00 0.28
STRA 0.18 0.28 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, TAL, BFAM and STRA?

TAL Education (TAL) is the largest by market capitalisation: TAL Education (TAL) $5.80B, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) $3.67B, Strategic Education (STRA) $1.73B.

Which stock is cheaper, TAL, BFAM and STRA?

TAL Education (TAL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (TAL Education (TAL) 6.4x, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) 21.0x, Strategic Education (STRA) 12.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, TAL Education (TAL) is cheapest (TAL Education (TAL) 7.0x, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) 13.9x, Strategic Education (STRA) 11.0x). 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: TAL Education (TAL) +32.4%, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) +8.5%, Strategic Education (STRA) +3.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

TAL Education (TAL) has the highest net margin (TAL Education (TAL) 28.4%, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) 5.8%, Strategic Education (STRA) 10.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Strategic Education (STRA) returned the most: TAL Education (TAL) -18.8%, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) -27.0%, Strategic Education (STRA) -3.4%. Over five years, TAL Education (TAL) compounded fastest (TAL Education (TAL) +19.0%/yr, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) -14.4%/yr, Strategic Education (STRA) +3.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: TAL Education (TAL) 0.00%, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) 0.00%, Strategic Education (STRA) 0.03%. TAL Education (TAL) and Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Strategic Education (STRA) has been the steadiest (TAL Education (TAL) 44.3%, Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) 47.7%, Strategic Education (STRA) 36.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, TAL, BFAM and STRA?

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.