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Make better investment decisions with Simply Wall St's easy, visual tools that give you a competitive edge. The core valuation framework for Strategic Education is largely intact, with the model fair value holding steady at US$87.0, even as published price targets in recent research have been trimmed by mid single digit dollar amounts. Those target cuts line up with analysts reacting to mixed Q4 trends, where weaker US enrollment sat alongside an EBITDA beat supported by cost controls and AI related efficiencies. Read on to see how this tug of war between enrollment risk and margin progress is shaping the evolving analyst narrative and what it could mean for how you track the stock from here. Analyst Price Targets don't always capture the full story. Head over to our Company Report to find new ways to value Strategic Education. Truist kept a Buy rating while trimming its price target to US$95 from US$105, signalling that, even with more cautious assumptions, the firm still sees upside potential relative to recent trading levels. Truist highlighted Q4 EBITDA beating its expectations, pointing to cost cutting and AI related efficiencies as evidence that management is finding ways to protect profitability even as US enrollment trends remain mixed. Truist recently downgraded the stock, and BMO Capital, Truist, and Barrington have all cut price targets by mid single digit to around US$10 amounts. This suggests a more conservative stance on execution risk and valuation. The sharper than expected decline in US enrollment referenced by Truist has become a focal point for bears. They see student demand and volume visibility as key constraints on growth and on how much value they are willing to ascribe to margin gains. Do your thoughts align with the Bull or Bear Analysts? Perhaps you think there's more to the story. Head to the Simply Wall St Community to discover more perspectives! See how Strategic Education's fair value stacks up across multiple valuation models — not just analyst targets. Fair value stays at US$87.0, with no change from the prior estimate. Assumed long term revenue growth remains at 3.55%. Forecast net profit margin stays essentially unchanged at 15.54%. Assumed future P/E multiple is stable at 8.78x, compared with 8.79x previously. The discount rate remains effectively unchanged at 7.14%, compared with 7.14% previously. Narratives connect a comp...

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report lululemon athletica inc. (LULU) : Free Stock Analysis Report Strategic Education Inc. (STRA) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Even though Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA ) posted strong earnings, investors appeared to be underwhelmed. Our analysis says that investors should be optimistic, as the strong profit is built on solid foundations. This technology could replace computers: discover the 20 stocks are working to make quantum computing a reality. For anyone who wants to understand Strategic Education's profit beyond the statutory numbers, it's important to note that during the last twelve months statutory profit was reduced by US$22m due to unusual items. It's never great to see unusual items costing the company profits, but on the upside, things might improve sooner rather than later. When we analysed the vast majority of listed companies worldwide, we found that significant unusual items are often not repeated. And, after all, that's exactly what the accounting terminology implies. Assuming those unusual expenses don't come up again, we'd therefore expect Strategic Education to produce a higher profit next year, all else being equal. That might leave you wondering what analysts are forecasting in terms of future profitability. Luckily, you can click here to see an interactive graph depicting future profitability, based on their estimates. Unusual items (expenses) detracted from Strategic Education's earnings over the last year, but we might see an improvement next year. Because of this, we think Strategic Education's earnings potential is at least as good as it seems, and maybe even better! Better yet, its EPS are growing strongly, which is nice to see. At the end of the day, it's essential to consider more than just the factors above, if you want to understand the company properly. Obviously, we love to consider the historical data to inform our opinion of a company. But it can be really valuable to consider what other analysts are forecasting. So feel free to check out our free graph representing analyst forecasts. This note has only looked at a single factor that sheds light on the nature of Strategic Education's profit. But there is always more to discover if you are capable of focussing your mind on minutiae. Some people consider a high return on equity to be a good sign of a quality business. So you may wish to see this free collection of companies boasting high return on equity, or this list of stocks with high insider ownership. Have feedback on this article? C...

As the craze of earnings season draws to a close, here’s a look back at some of the most exciting (and some less so) results from Q1. Today, we are looking at consumer discretionary stocks, starting with Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA). This sector includes everything from cable TV services to hotel stays to gym memberships. While diverse, the way people buy and experience these products is being upended by the internet and digitization. Consumer discretionary companies are working to adapt to secular trends such as streaming video, online marketplaces for lodging accommodations, and connected fitness. That discretionary purchases are, by definition, something consumers can give up makes it even more imperative for companies in the space to adapt. The 20 consumer discretionary stocks we track reported a mixed Q1. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.4% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 9.2% below. In light of this news, share prices of the companies have held steady. On average, they are relatively unchanged since the latest earnings results. Formed through the merger of Strayer Education and Capella Education in 2018, Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) is a career-focused higher education provider. Strategic Education reported revenues of $305.9 million, flat year on year. This print fell short of analysts’ expectations by 1.2%. Overall, it was a slower quarter for the company with a significant miss of analysts’ EPS and revenue estimates. The stock is down 11.3% since reporting and currently trades at $74.18. Read our full report on Strategic Education here, it’s free. Established in 1993, Monarch (NASDAQ:MCRI) operates luxury casinos and resorts, offering high-end gaming, dining, and hospitality experiences. Monarch reported revenues of $136.6 million, up 8.9% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 5.2%. The business had an exceptional quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 19.2% since reporting. It currently trades at $117.51. Is now the time to buy Monarch? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free. One of the ‘Big Four’ airlines in the US, Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) is a major global air carrier that serves both business and leisure travelers through...

Hasbro, Inc. HAS reported preliminary results for the first quarter ended March 29, 2026, indicating growth in both revenues and operating profit. The performance was supported by continued strength in MAGIC: THE GATHERING. The company also reiterated its full-year 2026 guidance and plans to release complete results before the market opens on May 20, 2026. Following the news, shares of HAS gained 6.6% during the trading session yesterday. Preliminary figures showed solid growth across key financial metrics. Revenues are expected to be in the range of $970 million to $985 million, indicating an increase of 9% to 11% compared with the year-ago quarter. Operating profit is projected between $235 million and $245 million, up 38% to 44% from the prior-year period. Adjusted operating profit is expected to be between $250 million and $260 million, representing growth of 12% to 17% compared with the same period last year. The company reaffirmed its full-year 2026 outlook. Total revenues are expected to grow 3% to 5% in constant currency. Adjusted operating margin is projected in the range of 24% to 25%. Adjusted EBITDA is expected between $1.40 billion and $1.45 billion. The company identified unauthorized access to its network, which has now been contained with support from cybersecurity experts. The incident did not affect first-quarter financial results but led to delays in reporting due to temporary system shutdowns. Further review of potentially impacted data remains ongoing. The company is executing business continuity plans to maintain operations. Order processing and product shipments are ongoing. MAGIC: THE GATHERING releases have continued as planned, including the April 2026 launch of Secrets of Strixhaven. Within the Consumer Products segment, shipments are ongoing. Some impact is expected in the second quarter due to delays in order processing, shipping and invoicing. Most of the delayed shipments are expected to be recovered in the second half of 2026. The second quarter is also expected to include certain costs related to the investigation and advisory services linked to the network incident. Further updates are expected during the upcoming earnings call. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Shares of Hasbro have gained 23.7% in the past six months compared with the Zacks Toys-Games-Hobbies industry’s 7.8% rise. The company is benefiting from disci...

Strategic Education (STRA) came out with quarterly earnings of $1.42 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.51 per share. This compares to earnings of $1.3 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of -5.65%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this for-profit education company would post earnings of $1.47 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.74, delivering a surprise of +18.37%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times. Strategic Education, which belongs to the Zacks Schools industry, posted revenues of $305.93 million for the quarter ended March 2026, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.79%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $303.59 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates two times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. Strategic Education shares have added about 4.3% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 4.3%. While Strategic Education has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Strategic Education was favorable. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to outperform the market in the near future. You can see the complet...

Carnival Corporation & plc CCL reported better-than-expected first-quarter fiscal 2026 (ended Feb. 28, 2026) results, with both adjusted earnings and revenues surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The top and bottom lines also increased on a year-over-year basis. Carnival delivered a strong start to the year, reporting record first-quarter operating results that exceeded guidance, supported by healthy demand fundamentals and solid execution across its portfolio. The outperformance led management to raise its full-year operational outlook by nearly $150 million, partially offsetting higher fuel costs. The company continues to target solid yield growth, disciplined cost control and approximately $7 billion in adjusted EBITDA. Looking ahead, Carnival is advancing its next phase of value creation through PROPEL (Powering Growth and Returns, Responsibly), its new long-term framework. The initiative focuses on converting strong demand into higher returns, earnings growth and cash flow while maintaining disciplined capacity expansion and a strong balance sheet. In the quarter under review, the company reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 20 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 18 cents. In the year-ago quarter, CCL posted an adjusted EPS of 13 cents. Carnival Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Carnival Corporation Quote Revenues in the quarter totaled $6.17 billion, beating the consensus mark of $6.11 billion. The metric also increased 6.1% year over year. During the quarter, passenger ticket revenues amounted to $4.02 billion, up from $3.83 billion reported in the prior-year quarter. Our estimate for passenger ticket revenues was also pegged at $3.95 billion. Onboard and other revenues increased to $2.14 billion from $1.98 billion reported in the year-ago quarter. Our estimate for Onboard and other revenues was pegged at $2.12 billion. Adjusted net income in the quarter amounted to $275 million compared with $174 million reported in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted EBITDA totaled $1.27 billion, up from $1.21 billion reported in the prior-year quarter. As of Feb. 28, 2026, cash and cash equivalents were $1.42 billion compared with $1.93 billion as of Nov. 30, 2025. Total debt (current and long-term) as of Feb. 28, 2026, was $25.29 billion compared with $26.64 billion as of Nov. 30, 2025. The company delivered an exceptionally str...

HERNDON, Va., March 19, 2026--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Strategic Education, Inc. (Strategic Education) (NASDAQ: STRA) today announced that it will host a conference call to discuss its first quarter results on Thursday, April 23, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. ET. A news release outlining the results will be issued before the market opens the same day. This call will be available via webcast. To access the live webcast of the conference call on April 23, please go to www.strategiceducation.com in the Investor Relations section 15 minutes prior to the start time of the call to register. Following the call, the webcast will be archived and available at www.strategiceducation.com in the Investor Relations section. To participate in the live call, investors should register here prior to the call to receive dial-in information and a PIN. About Strategic Education, Inc. Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ: STRA) (www.strategiceducation.com) is dedicated to helping advance economic mobility through higher education. We primarily serve working adult students globally through our core focus areas: 1) Education Technology Services, developing and maintaining relationships with employers to build education benefits programs providing employees access to affordable and industry-relevant training, certificate, and degree programs, including through Workforce Edge, a full-service education benefits administration solution for employers, and Sophia Learning, which offers low-cost online general education-level courses that are ACE-recommended for college credit; 2) U.S. Higher Education, including Capella University and Strayer University, each institutionally accredited, and collectively offering flexible and affordable associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs; and 3) Australia/New Zealand, comprised primarily of Torrens University. This portfolio of high quality, innovative, relevant, and affordable programs and institutions helps our students prepare for success in today’s workforce and find a path to bettering their lives. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260319449803/en/ Contacts Terese Wilke Senior Director of Investor Relations (612) 977-6331 [email protected]

Get insights on thousands of stocks from the global community of over 7 million individual investors at Simply Wall St. Strategic Education (STRA) has drawn fresh attention after reporting fourth quarter results that surpassed analyst expectations for earnings per share and revenue, alongside insider stock purchases and ongoing share buybacks by senior leadership. See our latest analysis for Strategic Education. At a share price of $80.53, the stock’s recent 7.2% 1 month share price return contrasts with a slightly negative 3 month move, while the 5 year total shareholder return of 6.9% suggests relatively modest long term progress and currently improving momentum. If the recent earnings beat has you rethinking where you deploy capital next, this is a good moment to uncover 20 top founder-led companies With the shares trading at $80.53, sitting at a discount to the average analyst price target and an indicated gap to some intrinsic value estimates, the key question is simple: is there genuine value here, or is the market already factoring in the company’s future growth potential? With the fair value narrative sitting at $103.33 against the last close of $80.53, the gap between price and valuation assumptions is hard to ignore. Read the complete narrative. Want to see how steady enrollment trends, margin ambitions and a richer earnings mix are baked into that fair value gap? The narrative walks through revenue expectations, profit margin targets and the future earnings multiple that all need to line up for $103.33 to make sense. Result: Fair Value of $103.33 (UNDERVALUED) Have a read of the narrative in full and understand what's behind the forecasts. However, this story can change quickly if regulatory shifts in Australia, or pressure on revenue per student from higher scholarships and employer programs, start to squeeze returns. Find out about the key risks to this Strategic Education narrative. Does this all sound optimistic or still too cautious for you? Act while the details are fresh, and weigh the upside and trade offs in the 5 key rewards. If this story has sharpened your thinking, do not stop here. Use the Simply Wall St screener to spot other opportunities before they move without you. Target potential value plays by checking companies on the radar of the 49 high quality undervalued stocks. Strengthen your income focus by reviewing companies highlig...

Strategic Education (STRA) reported Q4 adjusted earnings late Thursday of $1.75 per diluted share, u

Image source: The Motley Fool. Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026 at 5 p.m. ET Chief Executive Officer — Karl McDonnell Chief Financial Officer — Daniel Jackson Need a quote from a Motley Fool analyst? Email [email protected] Karl McDonnell: Thank you, Terese, and good afternoon, everyone. We are very pleased with our fourth quarter and 2025 full-year results that we released earlier today. And at the outset, and as is normally the case, let me say that the results that I referenced today are adjusted and reflect a constant currency comparison. For the fourth quarter, our revenue increased 4% from the prior year, and our operating expenses declined 1%, resulting in operating income growth of 35% and a 390 basis point expansion in our operating margin to 16.9%. Earnings per share was $1.75, which was an increase of 38%. For the full year 2025, our revenue increased 4%, and our operating income increased 25%, generating 260 basis points of operating expansion to 15.5%. Our adjusted earnings per share was $6.21, an increase of 28% from the prior year. Our ongoing AI-driven productivity improvements across the portfolio resulted in approximately $30,000,000 of expense reductions, which was used to both fund new growth opportunities and expand our operating margin. We remain on track to generate at least an additional $70,000,000 expense savings through 2027 and as was the case this year, those savings will be used both to fund additional growth and continue to expand our operating margin. 2025 was another record year for Education Technology Services (ETS), which grew revenue by more than 40% to nearly $150,000,000. And notwithstanding our continued strong investment in ETS, which included a 44% increase in expenses, ETS' operating income increased 38% to $59,000,000, generating an operating margin of 40%. ETS' share of Strategic Education, Inc.'s operating income grew to roughly one-third of consolidated operating income in 2025, reflecting progress with our higher-margin technology and services business. Sophia Learning grew average total by 47% and revenue by 41% in the fourth quarter, and by 4240% respectively for the full year. These results were driven by strong growth in both consumer and employer-affiliated subscribers. Workforce Edge also had a record year, with strong revenue growth driven by employer-affiliated enrollment, platform fees, and new employer partnerships....