American Public Education Inc.
11/12/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/12/2025 08:11
Amendment to Current Report (Form 8-K/A)
American Public Education Reports Third Quarter 2025 Financial Results that Exceed Top End of Guidance
CORRECTION: The previous press release understated full year 2025 Net Income guidance. The updated full year 2025 Net Income guidance has been corrected.
Revenue, Net Income, EPS and Adjusted EBITDA All Exceeded Guidance and Prior Year
CHARLES TOWN, W.V. - November 10, 2025 -- American Public Education, Inc. (Nasdaq: APEI) is a company which, through its three subsidiary education institutions, transforms lives, advances careers and improves communities by providing online and campus-based postsecondary education to approximately 108,000 students. APEI has reported unaudited financial and operating results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2025.
Key Third Quarter 2025 Highlights
| · | Consolidated revenue for Q3 2025 increased 7% year-over-year to $163.2 million. |
| o | Revenue for the quarter was driven by year-over-year revenue increases of 19% at Hondros College of Nursing ("HCN"), 16% at Rasmussen University ("RU"), and 8% at American Public University System ("APUS"), partially offset by a decrease of 90% at GSUSA (sold in July 2025); excluding Graduate School USA ("GSUSA") from both periods, revenue would have increased 12% year-over-year. |
| · | Net income available to common stockholders for Q3 2025 was $5.6 million, or 660%, higher than net income available to common stockholders of $0.7 million in Q3 2024. | |
| · | Adjusted EBITDA increased 60% to $20.7 million compared to $12.9 million for Q3 2024, driven by increased revenue and margin expansion of 424 bps. | |
| · | Cash flows from operations increased 56% to $73.5 million from $47.3 million for Q3 2024. | |
| · | Strong balance sheet with $193.1 million of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at September 30, 2025, simplified capital structure and no net debt. | |
| · | Edward H. Codispoti joined the Company as its Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer effective October 20, 2025. |
Management Commentary
"I am very pleased that we have again exceeded our guidance ranges for all metrics by continuing to grow revenue and enrollment and by expanding margins," said Angela Selden, President and Chief Executive Officer of APEI. "Rasmussen delivered double-digit enrollment growth and positive EBITDA in the third quarter. Strong registrations at APUS also meaningfully contributed to revenue growth and margin expansion."
"In the fourth quarter, campus-based enrollments at Rasmussen continue to accelerate with 13% growth. At APUS, the government shutdown has muted military enrollments. We are pleased that several of the military branches are now authorizing tuition assistance ("TA") benefits through the $100 million of TA funds authorized in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Meanwhile, we have implemented various cost savings measures and are continuing to evaluate additional opportunities to mitigate the adverse impacts."
Third Quarter 2025 Financial Results
| · | Total consolidated revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2025, was $163.2 million, an increase of $10.1 million, or 6.6%, compared to $153.1 million in the prior year period. The increase in revenue was primarily due to an $8.2 million, or 16%, increase in revenue in our RU Segment, a $6.2 million, or 8%, increase in our APUS Segment, and a $2.9 million, or 19%, increase in our HCN Segment, partially offset by a $7.3 million, or 90%, reduction in revenue at GSUSA included in Corporate and Other for the period prior to its sale in July 2025; however, excluding GSUSA from the three months ended September 30, 2025, and the prior year quarter, revenue for the quarter would have grown 12%. | |
| · | Total costs and expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2025, were $153.5 million, an increase of $4.5 million, or 3.0%, compared to $149.0 million in the prior year period. Costs and expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2025, include a $3.9 million loss on sale of GSUSA in Corporate and Other and $0.8 million in professional fees in Corporate and Other related to the sale of GSUSA and the planned combination of APUS, RU and HCN, $0.6 million in severance costs in our HCN Segment and Corporate and Other, and a $0.1 million loss on leases in our RU Segment, all on a pre-tax basis. |
| o | Instructional costs and services expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2025, were $74.7 million, a decrease of $0.7 million, or 0.9%, as compared to $75.4 million in the prior year period due to the sale of GSUSA, and gross margin improvement at both RU (710 bps) and APUS (160 bps). Instructional costs and services expenses as a percentage of revenue decreased to 45.8% from 49.2% in the prior year period. | |
| o | Selling and promotional expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2025, were $36.1 million, an increase of $2.7 million, or 8.0%, as compared to $33.5 million in the prior year period, due to an increase in advertising costs. Selling and promotional expenses as a percentage of revenue increased to 22.1% from 21.9% in the prior year period. | |
| o | General and administrative expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2025, were $34.7 million, a decrease of $0.3 million, or 1.0%, as compared to $35.0 million in the prior year period. General and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenue decreased to 21.3% from 22.9% in the prior year period. |
| · | Net income available to common stockholders was $5.6 million, or $0.30 per diluted common share for the three months ended September 30, 2025, as compared to net income of $0.7 million, or $0.04 per diluted common share in the prior year period. | |
| · | Adjusted EBITDA was $20.7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2025, as compared to $12.9 million in the prior year period. Adjusted EBITDA excludes adjustment for stock compensation, loss on disposals of long-lived assets, loss on sale of subsidiary, transition services, severance expense, other professional fees, and loss on leases. |
Balance Sheet and Liquidity
Total cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash was $193.1 million at September 30, 2025, as compared to $158.9 million at December 31, 2024, representing an increase of $34.2 million, or 21.5%. Total unrestricted cash and cash equivalents was $191.3 million at September 30, 2025 as compared to $131.9 million at December 31, 2024, an increase of $59.4 million, or 45.0%.
Registrations and Enrollment
| Q3 2025 | Q3 2024 | % Change | ||||||||||
| American Public University System1 | ||||||||||||
|
For the three months ended September 30, Net Course Registrations |
100,000 | 92,500 | 8.1% | |||||||||
| Rasmussen University2 | ||||||||||||
|
For the three months ended September 30, Total Student Enrollment |
14,900 | 13,500 | 10.4% | |||||||||
| Hondros College of Nursing3 | ||||||||||||
|
For the three months ended September 30, Total Student Enrollment |
3,700 | 3,100 | 17.6% | |||||||||
| 1. | APUS Net Course Registrations represents the approximate aggregate number of courses for which students remain enrolled after the date by which they may drop a course without financial penalty. Excludes students in doctoral programs. | |
| 2. | RU Total Student Enrollment represents students in an active status as of the full-term census or billing date. | |
| 3. | HCN Total Student Enrollment represents the approximate number of students enrolled in a course after the date by which students may drop a course without financial penalty. |
Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Outlook
The following statements are based on APEI's current expectations. These statements are forward-looking and actual results may differ materially. APEI undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason unless required by law. Refer to APEI's earnings conference call and presentation for further details.
| Fourth Quarter 2025 Guidance | ||||||||
| (Approximate) | (% Yr/Yr Change) | |||||||
| APUS Net course registrations | 65,000 to 74,400 | -33% to -23% | ||||||
| HCN Student enrollment | 4,000 | 9% | ||||||
| RU Student enrollment | 15,900 | 9% | ||||||
| - On-ground Healthcare | 7,100 | 13% | ||||||
| - Online | 8,800 | 6% | ||||||
| ($ in millions except EPS) | ||||||||
| APEI Consolidated revenue | $150.0 - $153.5 | -6% to -9% | ||||||
| APEI Net income available to common stockholders | $5.9 - $8.3 | -28% to -50% | ||||||
| APEI Adjusted EBITDA | $18.5 - $22.0 | -41% to -30% | ||||||
| APEI Diluted EPS | $0.32 - $0.45 | -29% to -49% | ||||||
|
Full Year 2025 Guidance |
||||||||
| (Approximate) | (% Yr/Yr Change) | |||||||
| ($ in millions) | ||||||||
| APEI Consolidated Revenue | $640 - $644 | 2% to 3% | ||||||
| APEI Net income available to common stockholders | $18.6 - $21.0 | 85% to 109% | ||||||
| APEI Adjusted EBITDA | $75 - $79 | 4% to 9% | ||||||
| APEI Capital Expenditure (CapEx) | $15 - $17 | -19% to -29% | ||||||
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
American Public Education Inc. published this content on November 12, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Edgar on November 12, 2025 at 14:11 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]