Grand Canyon Education

LOPE

Education & Training Services · Consumer Defensive

Price

$147.46

+1.19 (+0.81%)

Market Cap

$3.84B

Exchange

NASDAQ

Winston Score

Winston is happy

A high-quality business with solid fundamentals.

Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Jun 30, 2026

How the score breaks down

Quality

Strong

Growth

Good

Cash Flow

Exceptional

Stability

Exceptional

Valuation

Strong

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Share count falling — buybacks

−36.2% over 4y

The company has reduced its share count over this period, returning value to shareholders through buybacks.

Diluted shares outstanding: 44.0M (2021) → 28.0M (2025)

Winston Score History

The full picture

Grand Canyon Education (GCE) is a company that helps run a large private university called Grand Canyon University (GCU), based in Phoenix, Arizona. GCE handles the business side of things — like marketing, technology, and student support — so the university can focus on teaching. GCU serves tens of thousands of students, many of them working adults taking online classes to earn college degrees.

GCE makes money by charging GCU a service fee, which is a percentage of the university's tuition revenue. This means GCE's income grows when more students enroll at GCU. Nearly all of GCE's business is tied to GCU, which makes the relationship between the two organizations its biggest strength and its biggest risk. If GCU faces regulatory trouble, enrollment drops, or the partnership changes, GCE's revenue would be directly affected — so investors watch the regulatory environment around for-profit and online education closely.

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Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+6.7% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow revenue growth

EPS Growth

+18.2% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady EPS growth

R&D Spend

$0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (2%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

2.3%ownership

Relatively low insider ownership

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$171M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth context

Grand Canyon Education is growing revenue at 7% year-over-year. The Winston Score measures business quality today — these growth metrics show what could matter tomorrow.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

Each metric is explained in plain language so you know exactly what you're looking at. Start your free trial now.

Quality

Profit per sale

Gross Margin

49.4%

Healthy — 49.4% gross margin

Profit after running costs

Operating Margin

22.0%

Excellent — 22.0% operating margin

Return on the money invested

ROCE

41.0%

Exceptional — 41.0% return on capital

ROIC above 25%. Every dollar invested in the business earns more than 25 cents back per year.

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Growth

Sales growth

Sales YoY

+7.0%

Slow sales growth (+7.0% YoY)

Profit growth

EPS YoY

+0.2%

Flat earnings

Single-digit earnings growth — steady but not exciting.

How steady the profit is

EPS Consistency

7/8 quarters

Every recent quarter grew earnings vs last year

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash

Cash Conversion

124%

Turns 124% of profit into real cash

Spare cash per sale

FCF Margin

21.2%

Converts sales into free cash efficiently (21.2%)

Free cash flow margin above 20%. Out of every $100 in sales, more than $20 is real cash they keep.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns

Debt / Equity

0.16

Conservative — low debt load (0.16)

Covers its interest

Interest Cover

100.00x

—

Comfortably covers interest (100.0x)

Interest coverage above 8. Profits cover interest many times over.

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Valuation

Price vs profit

P/E Ratio (TTM)

17.7x

Fair value — P/E 17.7

P/E in the normal range. Price is roughly $15 for every $1 of yearly profit.

Cheaper or dearer next year

P/E vs Forward

+3.4

GROWING

Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (17.7 → 14.3)

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Dividends

Not applicable for this business.

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