American Public Education (APEI) Q3 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Q3 revenue, net income, diluted EPS and Adjusted EBITDA exceeded guidance; FY 2026 guidance was raised across key metrics.

• Health + growth led results, while Military + revenue reflected registration timing that shifted ~$6M into Q4; operations began as one HLC-accredited institution.

Financial highlights

• Revenue was $169.1M, up 3.6% YoY; excluding $0.8M of prior-year GSUSA revenue, growth was 4.2%.

• Net income available to common stockholders rose 6.0% to $5.9M; diluted EPS increased 6.7% to $0.32.

• Adjusted EBITDA was $17.5M vs. $20.7M, down 15.3%; margin was 10.4% vs. 12.7%, pressured by the revenue shift, higher selling and promotional expense, and marketing and integration investments.

• Q3 operating income was $7.9M vs. $9.7M; 9M revenue rose 5.1% to $515.6M and net income reached $33.4M.

Outlook and guidance

• FY 2026 guidance: revenue $695M–$701M; net income $48.5M–$53.2M; Adjusted EBITDA $98M–$105M; diluted EPS $2.59–$2.84.

• FY capital expenditure guidance fell to $23M–$26M from $25M–$28M; Q4 guidance is revenue $179.4M–$185.4M, net income $15.2M–$19.8M, Adjusted EBITDA $30.6M–$37.6M and EPS $0.81–$1.07.

• Q4 guidance assumes Military + registrations of 100,000–105,000, up 21.7%–27.7% YoY, and Health + enrollment of 20,100, up 1.0%; it includes the ~$6M Q3 revenue shift.

• 2029 targets are $890M–$1.0B revenue and a 20%–21% Adjusted EBITDA margin; net income and EPS guidance excludes potential non-recurring strategic initiative costs.