TAL vs LAUR vs LRN Stock Comparison

TAL Education, Laureate Education and Stride Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
TAL TAL Education Group
$10.18 -15.0% 1M -19.6% 1Y
Market cap
$5.85B
P/E
6.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.19B
Div. yield
–
Education Services Consumer Discretionary
6 wins
LAUR Laureate Education, Inc.
$39.03 +6.3% 1M +31.1% 1Y
Market cap
$5.36B
P/E
16.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.83B
Div. yield
–
Education Services Consumer Discretionary
3 wins
LRN Stride, Inc.
$79.40 +1.1% 1M -47.7% 1Y
Market cap
$3.35B
P/E
9.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.52B
Div. yield
–
Education Services Consumer Discretionary
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

TAL Education leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (TAL Education 6, Laureate Education 3, Stride 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionTALLAURLRNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $5.85B $5.36B $3.35B TAL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 6.4x 16.7x 9.9x TAL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 7.0x 19.5x 10.2x TAL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +32.4% +17.9% +4.7% TAL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 28.4% 17.6% 13.4% TAL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 24.7% 16.8% LAUR
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.1x -0.9x LRN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -19.6% +31.1% -47.7% LAUR
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +16.1%/yr +17.6%/yr +18.9%/yr LRN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 44.2% 32.9% 89.5% LAUR
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 86/100 69/100 76/100 TAL

Percentile Scorecard

TALLAURLRN

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

AxisTALLAURLRN
Valuation 88 #5 of 33 31 #23 of 33 84 #6 of 33
Growth 100 #1 of 30 76 #8 of 30 55 #14 of 30
Profitability 82 #6 of 29 93 #3 of 29 89 #4 of 29
Financial Health 74 #11 of 39 58 #17 of 39 92 #4 of 39
Shareholder Returns – 87 #3 of 16 60 #7 of 16
Overall 86 69 76
  • TAL ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services
  • LAUR ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services
  • LRN ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodTALLAURLRNSPY
1 month -15.0%+6.3%+1.1% -1.0%
3 months -1.3%+5.5%-8.6% +2.9%
6 months -9.4%+25.9%-19.1% +6.4%
Year to date -6.7%+15.9%+22.3% +11.4%
1 year -19.6%+31.1%-47.7% +13.1%
3 years +0.1%+174.3%+78.4% +79.4%
3 years, per year +0.0%+40.0%+21.3% +21.5%
5 years +111.2%+125.2%+137.9% +67.7%
5 years, per year +16.1%+17.6%+18.9% +10.9%
10 years -16.6%—+452.9% +255.2%
10 years, per year -1.8%—+18.7% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureTALLAURLRNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 44.2%32.9%89.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 40.7%34.0%121.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.610.30-0.07 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.440.95-0.53 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -67.3%-46.1%-64.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -21.1%-3.5%-48.3% -2.5%
52-week high $12.91$40.46$153.53 $779.14
52-week low $8.95$28.88$61.02 $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.

MultipleTALLAURLRN
P/E now vs peer median 6.4xmedian 16.9x 16.9xmedian 16.9x 10.0xmedian 16.9x
P/S now vs peer median 2.0xmedian 1.3x 2.9xmedian 1.3x 1.3xmedian 1.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 9.4x 10.2xmedian 9.4x 4.8xmedian 9.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 8.5xmedian 14.5x 18.8xmedian 14.5x 7.6xmedian 14.5x
P/B now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 2.0x 4.7xmedian 2.0x 2.0xmedian 2.0x
PEG now vs peer median 0.06median 0.33 0.32median 0.33 0.29median 0.33

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 monthsTALLAURLRN
Revenue $3.19B $1.83B $2.52B
Gross profit $1.79B $498.85M $950.60M
Operating income $398.90M $446.85M $450.77M
Net income $906.86M $321.53M $338.19M
Free cash flow $731.92M $286.58M $433.23M
EPS (diluted) $1.57 $2.30 $7.14
Cash & equivalents $1.64B $161.67M $754.50M
Total debt – $223.17M $418.00M
Shares (diluted) 578.78M 139.94M 47.33M
Enterprise value -$7.13B $4.65B $246.08M

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
MetricTALLAURLRN
P/E 6.4x 16.9x 10.0x
P/FCF 8.5x 18.8x 7.6x
P/Operating cash flow 8.5x 13.2x 7.6x
P/S 2.0x 2.9x 1.3x
P/B 1.5x 4.7x 2.0x
P/Tangible book 1.6x 5.5x 2.0x
EV/EBITDA – 10.2x 4.8x
EV/EBIT 8.5x 12.2x 6.1x
EV/Revenue 1.1x 3.0x 1.1x
EV/FCF 4.6x 19.0x 6.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 4.6x 13.4x 6.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.06 0.32 0.29

Growth

14 metrics
MetricTALLAURLRN
Revenue growth (1Y) 32.4% 17.9% 4.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 43.9% 10.4% 11.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 37.4% 18.0% 0.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 45.2% 11.5% 13.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 1,299% 18.7% 25.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 74.6% 13.6% 39.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 770.5% 25.1% 17.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 106.1% 47.6% 38.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 824.0% 32.4% 20.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 110.4% 53.6% 34.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 46.7% 39.9% 0.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 60.3% 24.4% 28.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 46.7% 25.7% 0.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 60.3% 23.6% 29.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricTALLAURLRN
Gross margin 56.0% 27.3% 37.8%
EBITDA margin – 29.1% 23.0%
Operating margin 12.5% 24.4% 17.9%
Pretax margin 28.0% 24.2% 17.5%
Net margin 28.4% 17.6% 13.4%
FCF margin 22.9% 15.7% 17.2%
Operating cash flow margin 22.9% 22.3% 17.2%
Return on equity 23.1% 29.4% 20.7%
Return on assets 14.3% 13.7% 13.9%
Return on invested capital – 24.7% 16.8%
Return on capital employed 9.6% 24.3% 20.9%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.8x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.8x 1.3x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.8% 1.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricTALLAURLRN
Debt / assets – 9.2% 17.2%
Debt / equity – 0.2x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.1x -0.9x
Debt / FCF – 0.8x 1.0x
Liabilities / assets 39.7% 52.9% 33.0%
Equity / assets 60.3% 47.1% 67.0%
Interest coverage – 35.9x –
Current ratio 1.7x 0.7x 5.9x
Quick ratio 1.3x 0.6x 5.7x
Cash ratio 1.3x 0.3x 3.3x
Altman Z-score 2.39 4.03 5.49

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricTALLAURLRN
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield – 6.1% 3.0%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 6.1% 3.0%
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.

ConsensusTALLAURLRN
Forward P/E 7.0xFY2026 19.5xFY2026 10.2xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $1.46FY2026 $2.00FY2026 $7.75FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +47.5%FY2026 +16.3%FY2026 +8.5%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after -13.0% +17.5% -2.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.66BFY2026 $2.03BFY2026 $2.39BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +21.6%FY2026 +19.6%FY2026 -5.1%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +15.9% -4.4% +16.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersTALLAURLRN
Held by institutions 41.2% 95.8% 100.0%
Institutions holding 237 337 410
Change in shares held, QoQ +11.9% -3.3% +1.2%
Institutions buying 116 161 212
Institutions selling 99 144 135
Buyers to sellers 1.17 1.12 1.57

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.

TALLAURLRN
TAL 1.00 0.27 0.03
LAUR 0.27 1.00 0.18
LRN 0.03 0.18 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, TAL, LAUR and LRN?

TAL Education (TAL) is the largest by market capitalisation: TAL Education (TAL) $5.85B, Laureate Education (LAUR) $5.36B, Stride (LRN) $3.35B.

Which stock is cheaper, TAL, LAUR and LRN?

TAL Education (TAL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (TAL Education (TAL) 6.4x, Laureate Education (LAUR) 16.7x, Stride (LRN) 9.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, TAL Education (TAL) is cheapest (TAL Education (TAL) 7.0x, Laureate Education (LAUR) 19.5x, Stride (LRN) 10.2x). 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%, Laureate Education (LAUR) +17.9%, Stride (LRN) +4.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

TAL Education (TAL) has the highest net margin (TAL Education (TAL) 28.4%, Laureate Education (LAUR) 17.6%, Stride (LRN) 13.4%). On return on invested capital, Laureate Education (LAUR) leads (Laureate Education (LAUR) 24.7%, Stride (LRN) 16.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Laureate Education (LAUR) returned the most: TAL Education (TAL) -19.6%, Laureate Education (LAUR) +31.1%, Stride (LRN) -47.7%. Over five years, Stride (LRN) compounded fastest (TAL Education (TAL) +16.1%/yr, Laureate Education (LAUR) +17.6%/yr, Stride (LRN) +18.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Laureate Education (LAUR) has been the steadiest (TAL Education (TAL) 44.2%, Laureate Education (LAUR) 32.9%, Stride (LRN) 89.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, TAL, LAUR and LRN?

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 6. 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.