APEI
American Public Education, Inc.
APEI's fundamentals are mixed, but it looks cheap: trading at 17x earnings, below its usual 28x. Analysts expect strong earnings growth.
APEI Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Strong |
APEI's profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue and cash flow are stable.
APEI PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 14x | $41.16 | — |
| Current | 17x | $41.16 | — |
| Cheap | 19x | $47.19 | +15% |
| Fair | 28x | $67.88 | +65% |
| Expensive | 40x | $97.56 | +137% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
APEI's PE is in its cheap range at 17x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 14x next year's earnings.
APEI Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for APEI, with profitability improving.
APEI Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $3.01 | +23% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.02 | +$3.64 |
| Q4 2024 | $0.55 | +$3.49 |
| Q3 2024 | $0.56 | +$4.49 |
| Q2 2024 | $0.25 | +$4.11 |
| Q1 2024 | -$2.62 | +$4.13 |
| Q4 2023 | -$2.94 | +$3.15 |
| Q3 2023 | -$3.93 | +$1.31 |
| Q2 2023 | -$3.86 | +$1.19 |
APEI's earnings per share have climbed steadily: $2.45 over the past year, about four times what it earned the year before, and higher year over year for 10 quarters in a row.
APEI Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $169.1M | +3.6% |
| Q2 2026 | $171.7M | +5.5% |
| Q1 2026 | $174.7M | +6.2% |
| Q4 2025 | $158.3M | -3.5% |
| Q3 2025 | $163.2M | +6.6% |
| Q2 2025 | $162.8M | +6.5% |
| Q1 2025 | $164.6M | +6.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $164.1M | +7.4% |
APEI's revenue grew through 2024 and has held roughly level since: $169M last quarter, up 3.6% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 4.7% | -1.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | 7.9% | +3.6 points |
| Q1 2026 | 12% | +5 points |
| Q4 2025 | 12% | -1.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 5.9% | +3.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | 4.3% | +2.9 points |
| Q1 2025 | 7.4% | +4.1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 13% | +2.7 points |
APEI's operating margin was 4.7% last quarter, down 1.3 points from the same quarter a year ago.
APEI Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3.8M | -78% |
| Q2 2026 | $7.4M | -33% |
| Q1 2026 | $60.8M | +84% |
| Q4 2025 | -$15.6M | -$13.9M |
| Q3 2025 | $17.5M | +126% |
| Q2 2025 | $11.1M | +53% |
| Q1 2025 | $33.1M | +128% |
| Q4 2024 | -$1.8M | +$5.8M |
APEI generated $56M in free cash flow over the past year, down 6% from the year before.
APEI Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.7% | -125K shares |
| 1 year | -0.4% | -70K shares |
| 3 years | +3.9% | +694K shares |
| 5 years | -0.8% | -155K shares |
| Available history | +15% | +2.4M shares |
APEI has 19M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $9.9M |
| Q2 2026 | $4.1M |
| Q1 2026 | $8.7M |
| Q4 2025 | $333,000 |
| Q3 2025 | $206,000 |
| Q2 2025 | $30,000 |
| Q1 2025 | $3.7M |
| Q4 2024 | $13,000 |
APEI spent $23M buying back its own shares over the past year, about six times what it spent the year before.
APEI Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.7x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -1.8x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -1.2x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -1.5x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -1.3x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -1.2x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.7x | Net Cash |
APEI has more cash than debt.
APEI Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 42.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 13.7 | Oversold |
APEI's weekly RSI is 42 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 14 (oversold).
APEI PE vs Consumer Defensive Sector
| Metric | APEI | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 17x | 19x | 14% below |
| PE % | 2 | 18 | 16 pts below |
APEI is trading at 17x earnings, a 14% discount to the Consumer Defensive sector's median of 19x.
APEI Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $43.8 | 6% below |
| 20 week MA | $46.7 | 12% below |
| 50 week MA | $47.8 | 14% below |
| 100 week MA | $37.9 | 8.5% above |
| 200 week MA | $24.4 | 68% above |
APEI has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 68% above its 200-week average.
APEI Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $27.3 | $31.8 | +16% |
| 2021 | $31.8 | $23.0 | -28% |
| 2022 | $23.0 | $12.8 | -45% |
| 2023 | $12.8 | $9.65 | -24% |
| 2024 | $9.65 | $21.5 | +123% |
| 2025 | $21.5 | $37.5 | +74% |
| 2026 YTD | $37.5 | $41.2 | +9.8% |
APEI's yearly returns have swung widely, from +123% in 2024 to −45% in 2022. It's up 9.8% so far in 2026.