American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.16 EPS

Posted by George Bondi on Aug 12th, 2026

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI – Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.16, FiscalAI reports. American Public Education had a net margin of 6.84% and a return on equity of 15.56%. The company had revenue of $171.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.88 million. American Public Education updated its FY 2026 guidance to 2.480-2.790 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance to 0.180-0.290 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from American Public Education’s conference call:

APEI raised its 2026 outlook after a strong second quarter, increasing revenue guidance to $690 million–$698 million and adjusted EBITDA guidance to $96 million–$104 million. Capital expenditure guidance was lowered to $25 million–$28 million.
Second-quarter revenue rose 5.5% to $171.7 million, while adjusted EBITDA increased 36.8% to $20.7 million and adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 275 basis points to 12%. Net income available to common stockholders improved to $9.8 million, or $0.52 per diluted share, from a prior-year loss.
Health+ revenue grew 11% on 7% enrollment growth, with campus enrollment up approximately 9% as the Fill the Back Row initiative improved capacity utilization. APEI opened its Orlando campus, remains on track for a Detroit campus in 2026, and signed a lease for a Fort Lauderdale campus planned for late 2027.
The institutional combination of American Public University System, Rasmussen University, and Hondros College of Nursing was completed, creating one HLC-accredited institution with approximately 109,000 students. Management expects the combination to enable new revenue synergies, remove Rasmussen’s remaining enrollment restriction, and produce potential cost efficiencies.
Military+ growth remains constrained by deployments affecting Navy, Air Force, and Marine students, although veterans and military-family registrations continue to grow at a mid-teens rate. A roughly $6 million revenue and $4 million adjusted EBITDA shift into the fourth quarter, along with one-time marketing optimization costs, is weighing on third-quarter results.

American Public Education Stock Down 3.5%

APEI opened at $45.72 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $52.61 and a 200-day moving average of $51.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $838.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. American Public Education has a 1-year low of $27.74 and a 1-year high of $61.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APEI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of American Public Education from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Lake Street Capital boosted their price target on American Public Education from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. B. Riley Financial upped their price target on American Public Education from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen raised American Public Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Barrington Research raised their price objective on American Public Education from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Public Education currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.38.

Read Our Latest Research Report on American Public Education

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Public Education news, SVP Thomas Beckett sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 52,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,817,288. This represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 10.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Public Education

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APEI. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in American Public Education by 5,909.5% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,241 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of American Public Education by 84.1% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of American Public Education by 40.5% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 552 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in American Public Education by 96.5% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 1,298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in American Public Education by 259.6% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,000 after acquiring an additional 3,809 shares during the period. 79.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More American Public Education News

Here are the key news stories impacting American Public Education this week:

Positive Sentiment: APEI reported second-quarter EPS of $0.52, exceeding the $0.36 consensus estimate and improving substantially from a $0.02 loss a year earlier. Revenue of $171.73 million also topped expectations of $170.88 million. American Public Education Q2 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates
Positive Sentiment: Northland Securities modestly raised its FY2026 EPS estimate to $2.58 from $2.53 and its FY2027 estimate to $3.06 from $3.05, signaling slightly improved expectations for future profitability.
Positive Sentiment: The company is developing an AI-powered student lifecycle platform with Salesforce. Planned personalized support, proactive advising and connected services could improve student engagement and operational efficiency when the rollout begins in early 2027. AI-Powered Student Lifecycle Platform
Neutral Sentiment: APEI completed its institutional combination after the quarter ended, creating a single HLC-accredited institution. Management expects 2026 revenue of $690 million to $698 million, broadly in line with the $691 million consensus revenue forecast. Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter EPS guidance of $0.18 to $0.29 and revenue guidance of $164.5 million to $167.0 million were substantially below analyst expectations of $0.56 EPS and $169.9 million revenue. Full-year EPS guidance of $2.48 to $2.79 also trailed the $2.93 consensus estimate, likely outweighing the quarterly earnings beat.

American Public Education Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

American Public Education, Inc operates as a provider of online postsecondary education, offering degree and certificate programs through its wholly owned subsidiary, American Public University System (APUS). The company designs and delivers a broad range of undergraduate and graduate programs in fields such as business administration, information technology, criminal justice, homeland security, health sciences, and education. Its curriculum is developed to meet the needs of working adults, military personnel, veterans and civilian students seeking flexible, career-relevant learning opportunities.

APUS is regionally accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and employs a proprietary online learning platform that supports asynchronous instruction, digital course materials and interactive learning tools.