At a glance
Strategic Education Inc is worth $1.72B, about 14 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 4.0% to $1.27B in fiscal 2025, with 10.0% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 4.3% a year. It pays a 3.09% dividend yield, and returned $500.0M to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned −4.7% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +5.3% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 33.7% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 17.5% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 2 months and within a month after the lows.
The business in plain English
Strategic Education owns and runs for-profit universities and job-skills programs. Its main schools are Capella University and Strayer University in the United States and Torrens University in Australia. It earns money mainly from tuition and fees. Many of its U.S. students pay with federal student loans and grants, known as Title IV aid. Revenue was $1.27 billion in fiscal 2025, the year ended December 31, 2025, and about 80% came from the United States.
The largest segment, U.S. Higher Education, brought in $868 million, or 68.5% of revenue. It sells flexible certificate and degree programs to working adults through Capella and Strayer. As of the fall 2025 term, the two schools had 85,306 students: 52% in bachelor's programs, 34% in master's and 9% in doctoral. About 70% were 31 or older, and about 72% studied part-time. Capella is an online school that focuses on master's and doctoral degrees. Strayer also offers the Jack Welch Management Institute MBA and coding courses through Hackbright Academy and Devmountain.
The Australia/New Zealand segment, built around Torrens University, added $252 million, or 19.8%. Education Technology Services brought in $148 million, or 11.7%. It helps employers set up education benefits for their staff, including through Workforce Edge, and runs Sophia Learning, which offers low-cost online general education courses. The U.S. business is seasonal, and enrollment is usually lowest in the summer term.
Price history
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STRA -4.7% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By business segment
| U.S. Higher Education | $868.2M | 68.5% |
| Australia / New Zealand | $251.6M | 19.8% |
| Education Technology Services | $148.4M | 11.7% |
By geography
| United States | $1.02B | 80.2% |
| Non-US | $251.6M | 19.8% |
Latest results
- In Q2 FY2026 (ended Jun 30, 2026), revenue was $337.3M, up 4.9% from a year earlier, and net income was $37.2M (+14.9%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $1.27B (+4.0% year over year; +4.3% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 10% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +4.3% watch |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 13.7% watch |
| Free cash flow margin | 12.1% good |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 7.7% weak |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 6.2% watch |
| Cash and investments | $133.8M (no borrowings found in the filings) good |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $1.03B | $86.3M | $96.1M |
| FY2021 | $1.13B | $55.1M | $131.1M |
| FY2022 | $1.07B | $46.7M | $82.9M |
| FY2023 | $1.13B | $69.8M | $80.2M |
| FY2024 | $1.22B | $112.7M | $128.8M |
| FY2025 | $1.27B | $126.6M | $153.9M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $1.72B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 14.3 |
| Dividend yield | 3.09% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Strategic Education’s market value went from $1.79B at the end of 2016 to $1.72B on Oct 28, 2026, down 4%; since the end of 2025 it is down 9%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $1.72B | -8.6% |
| 2025 | $1.88B | -17.9% |
| 2024 | $2.30B | +1.8% |
| 2023 | $2.26B | +17.8% |
| 2022 | $1.92B | +34.6% |
| 2021 | $1.42B | -38.8% |
| 2020 | $2.33B | -33.3% |
| 2019 | $3.49B | +41.7% |
| 2018 | $2.46B | +23.1% |
| 2017 | $2.00B | +11.8% |
| 2016 | $1.79B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STRA price data to Oct 28, 2026 | -1.1% | -4.7% | +1.6% | +5.3% | +5.7% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -1.1% |
| 2025 | -11.6% |
| 2024 | +3.5% |
| 2023 | +21.4% |
| 2022 | +40.4% |
| 2021 | -37.3% |
| 2020 | -38.8% |
| 2019 | +42.5% |
| 2018 | +28.1% |
| 2017 | +12.8% |
| 2016 | +34.1% |
| 2015 | -19.1% |
| 2014 | +115.5% |
| 2013 | -38.6% |
| 2012 | -38.8% |
| 2011 | -33.7% |
| 2010 | -27.1% |
| 2009 | +0.3% |
| 2008 | +26.7% |
| 2007 | +64.2% |
| 2006 | +14.3% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 6.9% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 33.3%, back to its old high 11.8 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 30.8% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 33.7%, back to its old high 2.2 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Gained 11.2% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 17.5%, back to its old high 0.1 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-29 to 2026-10-29 (23 read): 2 open-market purchases ($106K) and 11 sales ($5.2M), 9 of them under pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plans.
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 24, 2026 | Raymond Karl Mcdonnell CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, Director | sell (plan) | $1.6M |
| Feb 24, 2026 | Raymond Karl Mcdonnell CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, Director | sell (plan) | $1.4M |
| Mar 2, 2026 | Daniel Wayne Jackson CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER | sell (plan) | $464K |
| Mar 2, 2026 | Daniel Wayne Jackson CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER | sell (plan) | $435K |
| Mar 13, 2026 | Lizette Benedi Herraiz GENERAL COUNSEL | sell (plan) | $394K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| Dimensional Fund Advisors LP | 6.6% | Sep 30, 2026 |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 6.33% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Bank of Montreal | 6.28% | Dec 31, 2025 |
| Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. | 6.14% | Dec 31, 2025 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 4.93% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| T. Rowe Price Investment Management, Inc. | 3.6% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Marshfield Associates Inc | 3.51% | Mar 31, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in STRA
| DGRS WisdomTree US Smallcap Quality Dividend Growth Fund | 0.86% |
| LST Leuthold Select Industries ETF | 0.64% |
| FYT First Trust Small Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund | 0.39% |
| SFLO VictoryShares Small Cap Free Cash Flow ETF | 0.39% |
| IJS iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Value ETF | 0.35% |
| OASC OneAscent Small Cap Core ETF | 0.35% |
| SLYV SPDR S&P 600 Small Cap Value ETF | 0.34% |
| SQLV Royce Quant Small‑Cap Quality Value ETF | 0.31% |
What could go wrong
- Heavy reliance on federal student aid. Capella and Strayer depend on Title IV, the federal student loan and grant programs. Failing a compliance review, losing accreditation or missing recertification could cut off this aid for students.
- Caps on revenue from federal aid. A school can lose federal aid eligibility, or keep it only on a provisional basis, if too much of its revenue comes from those programs. States can also restrict enrollment if government-funded revenue runs too high.
- Rules tying federal aid to graduate outcomes. Gainful employment rules, effective July 1, 2024, and accountability measures passed by Congress, effective July 2026, test whether programs pay off for graduates. Failing programs could face extra disclosures or lose federal aid.
- Political scrutiny of for-profit colleges. Congress has examined for-profit education. The Federal Trade Commission sent the schools, among dozens of others, a notice on deceptive practices, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau challenged past transcript withholding. New rules could follow.
- Overseas exposure and acquisition write-downs. Australia and New Zealand supplied 19.8% of fiscal 2025 revenue, adding currency and political risk. Goodwill, the premium paid when acquiring Capella and the Australian business, could be written down if results disappoint.
- Uncertain enrollment and fast-changing competition. The company warns it may not forecast enrollment well. Online education is crowded and shifts quickly with technology, including generative AI, so rivals could pull students away.
Recent events
- Quarterly results released
- Quarterly results released
- Quarterly results released
- Quarterly results released
For income and retirement investors
Strategic Education paid $2.40 per share in regular dividends in every fiscal year from 2020 through 2025, with no increases in that span. In fiscal 2025 that payout used 45.4% of earnings and 37.4% of free cash flow (the cash left after running and investing in the business). The dividend yield was 3.09% as of October 28, 2026. Buybacks rose to $138.9 million in fiscal 2025 from $11.5 million a year earlier, and the share count fell 9.7% between October 2021 and July 2026.
Its record in market downturns is mixed. It dropped 33.3% during the 2008 financial crisis and took about 12 months to recover. It fell 33.7% in the 2020 COVID crash before recovering in about two months. During the 2022 bear market it gained 11.2% overall despite an early 17.5% dip. Still, its deepest fall over about 21 years of price history was 85.5%. Single stocks carry more risk than diversified funds.
Questions investors ask
How does Strategic Education make money?
Mainly by charging tuition at the universities it owns. Revenue was $1.27 billion in fiscal 2025. The U.S. Higher Education segment, made up mostly of Capella University and Strayer University, supplied 68.5%. The Australia/New Zealand segment, built around Torrens University, supplied 19.8%. Education Technology Services supplied 11.7%. It builds education benefit programs for employers through Workforce Edge and offers low-cost online courses through Sophia Learning. About 80% of revenue came from the United States.
Does Strategic Education raise its dividend every year?
No. The company paid $2.40 per share in regular dividends in each fiscal year from 2020 through 2025, so the payout held steady rather than growing. In fiscal 2025 the dividend used 45.4% of earnings and 37.4% of free cash flow, which leaves some cushion. The yield was 3.09% as of October 28, 2026. Because the dividend has stayed flat, inflation slowly reduces its purchasing power over time.
Does Strategic Education depend on federal student loans?
Yes. Its annual report says Capella University and Strayer University depend on Title IV, the federal student loan and grant programs. To keep that access, each school must stay accredited, pass Department of Education compliance reviews, win recertification and keep student loan defaults in check. A school can also lose eligibility if too much of its revenue comes from federal aid. Losing Title IV access would cut off a key source of funding for students.
Does Strategic Education have any debt?
It appears to have little or none. As of June 30, 2026, its financial statements showed no borrowings in the standard debt line items, so the company may carry no debt at all. At that date it held $133.8 million in cash and investments, with total assets of $2.07 billion and shareholders' equity of $1.63 billion. Low debt reduces financial strain, but the company still faces heavy regulatory risk.
How has STRA stock performed over the long term?
Modestly, and with big swings. As of October 28, 2026, the share price rose about 5.3% a year over five years and 5.7% a year over ten years, but fell 4.7% over the prior year. Results have varied widely from one calendar year to the next. The stock lost 38.8% in 2020 and 37.3% in 2021, then gained 40.4% in 2022. On the same date it traded at 14.3 times fiscal 2025 earnings per share, a measure known as the price-to-earnings ratio.