APEI
American Public Education, Inc.
APEI has the edge over CELH overall, supported by stronger valuation and lower modeled downside.
CELH
Celsius Holdings, Inc.
CELH offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
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.
CELH Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Strong |
CELH's revenue, profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its cash flow is 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 has the edge over CELH in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
CELH PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 21x | $31.89 | — |
| Current | 35x | $31.89 | — |
| Cheap | 40x | $35.95 | +13% |
| Fair | 141x | $127 | +299% |
| Expensive | 650x | $585 | +1735% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
CELH's PE is in its cheap range at 35x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 21x 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.
CELH Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for CELH, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
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 |
CELH has the stronger earnings trend. Trailing diluted EPS is up 338% for APEI versus CELH up 718%.
CELH Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $1.53 | +70% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.90 | +718% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.24 | -37% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.43 | +30% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.25 | -44% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.11 | -85% |
| Q2 2025 | $0.38 | -62% |
| Q1 2025 | $0.33 | -64% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.45 | -42% |
CELH earned $0.90 per share over the past year, about eight times what it earned the year before.
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.
CELH Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $847.2M | +17% |
| Q2 2026 | $817.9M | +11% |
| Q1 2026 | $782.6M | +138% |
| Q4 2025 | $721.6M | +117% |
| Q3 2025 | $725.1M | +173% |
| Q2 2025 | $739.3M | +84% |
| Q1 2025 | $329.3M | -7.4% |
| Q4 2024 | $332.2M | -4.4% |
CELH's revenue has grown year over year for six quarters in a row: $847M last quarter, up 17% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 20% | +31 points |
| Q2 2026 | 9.2% | -10 points |
| Q1 2026 | 18% | +2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 3.6% | +9.2 points |
| Q3 2025 | -11% | -9.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 19% | -4.1 points |
| Q1 2025 | 16% | -7.6 points |
| Q4 2024 | -5.6% | -23 points |
CELH has the edge over APEI on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
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 has the edge over CELH on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
CELH Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $127.7M | -60% |
| Q2 2026 | $205.5M | +479% |
| Q1 2026 | $65.8M | -32% |
| Q4 2025 | -$130M | -285% |
| Q3 2025 | $321.5M | +3599% |
| Q2 2025 | $35.5M | +17% |
| Q1 2025 | $96.4M | -26% |
| Q4 2024 | $70.3M | +16394% |
CELH still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2025 peak: $269M over the past year.
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.
CELH Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.8% | -2M shares |
| 1 year | -1.1% | -2.9M shares |
| 3 years | +7.4% | +17.6M shares |
| 5 years | +8.3% | +19.5M shares |
| Available history | +32% | +62.4M shares |
CELH has the edge over APEI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $300,000 |
| Q2 2026 | $1M |
| Q1 2026 | $8.8M |
| Q4 2025 | $2.5M |
| Q3 2025 | $448,000 |
| Q2 2025 | $879,000 |
| Q1 2025 | $1.9M |
| Q4 2024 | $603,000 |
CELH spent $13M buying back its own shares over the past year, about three 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 the edge over CELH on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
CELH Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | -7.3x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -5.5x | Net Cash |
CELH 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).
CELH Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 51.3 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 56.8 | Neutral |
CELH's weekly RSI is 51 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 57 (neutral).
APEI PE vs Consumer Defensive Sector
| Metric | APEI | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 17x | 19x | 14% below |
| PE % | 2 | 18 | 16 pts below |
APEI has the edge over CELH on valuation relative to its sector.
CELH PE vs Consumer Defensive Sector
| Metric | CELH | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 35x | 19x | 82% above |
| PE % | 11 | 18 | 7 pts below |
CELH is trading at 35x earnings, a 82% premium 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.
CELH Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $29.1 | 9.4% above |
| 20 week MA | $29.6 | 7.8% above |
| 50 week MA | $36.1 | 12% below |
| 100 week MA | $38.8 | 18% below |
| 200 week MA | $44.6 | 29% below |
CELH has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8- and 20-week averages, but 29% below 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 has the edge over CELH on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
CELH Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $1.58 | $14.7 | +832% |
| 2021 | $14.7 | $24.9 | +69% |
| 2022 | $24.9 | $35.6 | +43% |
| 2023 | $35.6 | $54.5 | +53% |
| 2024 | $54.5 | $26.5 | -51% |
| 2025 | $26.5 | $45.6 | +72% |
| 2026 YTD | $45.6 | $31.9 | -30% |
CELH's yearly returns have swung widely, from +832% in 2020 to −51% in 2024. It's down 30% so far in 2026.