# Laureate Education (LAUR.US)

Canonical: https://gigainvestors.com/s/LAUR

Analysis as of: 2026-10-16T07:29:45.544Z. Financial observations: FY2012–FY2026.

Listing currency: USD. Reporting currency: USD.

## Verdict

Not a wonderful business

Quality tests for Buy: not passed (profit record: pass; earnings resilience is evidence only). Published buy qualification: no.

Share price: $39.04 per share; close as of 2026-10-15.

Estimated value: low $24.69 per share, central $28.10 per share, high $32.63 per share. Buy at or below the central value $28.10 per share. Valuation as of 2026-10-16T07:29:45.544Z; scenarios are not confidence intervals.

Expected annual return: 8.0% at the stated quote. About 8.0% a year at today's price (required return 10.0%). required return 10.0% a year (10% floor; US 10-year bond 5.1% + 4 points).

## Checklist

### understandable: fail

- 2 revenue declines in the last 10 years (informational)

- operating margin variation exceeds 0.35

- Financial history: 10 years

- Years with declining revenue: 2

- Years with a net loss: 1

- Operating margin variation: 1.86×

Chart: Operating margin; fiscal year observations.

- FY2017: 0.07×

- FY2018: -0.02×

- FY2019: 0.03×

- FY2020: -0.32×

- FY2021: -0.00×

- FY2022: 0.22×

- FY2023: 0.23×

- FY2024: 0.24×

- FY2025: 0.25×

- LTM to Jun 2026: 0.24×

### moat: fail

- ROIC worst years below threshold (more than 1 bad year allowed)

- ROIC, median of available years: 15.2%

- ROIC, second-lowest year: -0.6%

- Typical minus recent gross margin: -1.4 pp

- Typical gross margin (annual median): 25.8%

- Recent gross margin (lower of latest and 3-year median): 27.3%

- Years with nonpositive capital: 0

- Capital spending / revenue: 6.1%

- ROIC including acquisitions, ten-year median: 10.0%

Chart: ROIC excluding acquisitions; fiscal year observations.

- FY2017: 7.3%

- FY2018: -0.6%

- FY2019: 0.7%

- FY2020: -11.1%

- FY2021: -0.4%

- FY2022: 23.2%

- FY2023: 28.2%

- FY2024: 36.4%

- FY2025: 33.2%

- LTM to Jun 2026: 30.5%

### economics: pass

- Owner earnings / net income, 5-yr: 1.23×

- Cash conversion uses consolidated totals: No

- Owner earnings, five-year total: $1.2B

- Net income, five-year total: $948M

- Return on incremental invested capital: >100%

- Working capital / revenue, annual change: 0.0 pp

- Working capital / revenue, change between three-year averages: 0.9 pp

- Working capital / revenue, final three-year average: 4.6%

Chart: Annual owner cash / profit; fiscal year observations.

- FY2021: 1.49×

- FY2022: 1.51×

- FY2023: 1.43×

- FY2024: 1.11×

- FY2025: 1.03×

### management: pass

- Historical market-dollar context (not the management verdict): 2017 to 2025 (8 years)

- potential debt-funded buybacks (informational)

- buybacks leaned toward cheaper years (informational)

- ROIC first 3 years vs last 3 years: 7.3% vs 33.2%

- Per-share earnings: 0.53 to 1.89 (three-year endpoint medians)

- Management verdict uses per-share economic progress: Yes

- Ordinary dilution, 10-year annual growth: 1.1%

- Ordinary dilution, 5-year annual growth: -6.6%

- Market cap gain: $3.0B

- Cumulative retained earnings: $1.4B

- Diluted shares, 10-year annual growth: 1.1%

- Diluted shares, 5-year annual growth: -6.6%

- $1 test, starting fiscal year: FY2017

- $1 test, ending fiscal year: FY2025

- Per-share value growth: 17.2%

- Per-share value change: $1.36

- Per-share value, starting three-year median: $0.53

- Per-share value, ending three-year median: $1.89

- Buybacks concentrated in cheaper years (correlation): 0.02

- Average buyback yield: 6.8%

- Buyback history: 8 years

- Debt-funded buybacks: Yes

- Acquisition spending: $207M

- Cumulative net income, 10 years: $2.1B

- ROIC, first three-year median: 7.3%

- ROIC, last three-year median: 33.2%

Chart: Earnings per share; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: $2.77

- FY2017: $0.53

- FY2018: $1.74

- FY2019: $4.23

- FY2020: -$2.92

- FY2021: $1.01

- FY2022: $0.41

- FY2023: $0.68

- FY2024: $1.93

- FY2025: $1.89

### accounting: pass

- Sloan accruals: -3.8%

- Receivables to sales index (DSRI): 1.28×

- Restructuring years, last five: 0

- Stock compensation / operating cash flow: 3.6%

- Earnings backed by cash: Yes

- Operating cash / earnings: 1.30×

- Accounting red flags: 0

- Goodwill and intangibles / equity: 0.68×

Chart: Sloan accruals; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: 2.6%

- FY2017: -0.5%

- FY2018: -0.4%

- FY2019: 9.4%

- FY2020: -17.6%

- FY2021: 15.7%

- FY2022: -5.5%

- FY2023: -6.7%

- FY2024: 3.4%

- FY2025: -3.8%

## Holders

- [David Hoeft](https://gigainvestors.com/DAC): tracked 13F investor; follow the investor page for holding quarter and amounts.

## Price story

Price needs cash profits to grow 5% a year for ten years · sales +7.5%

Story as of 2026-10-16T09:59:03.132Z; price observation 2026-10-15.

Price needs cash profits to grow 5% a year for ten years

- 2025-08-13: LAUR Q2 Deep Dive: Enrollment Growth, Digital Expansion, and New Campus Strategy Drive Outlook ([finance.yahoo.com](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/laur-q2-deep-dive-enrollment-030708743.html))

- 2026-07-30: Laureate Education’s (NASDAQ:LAUR) Q2 CY2026 Sales Beat Estimates, Full-Year Outlook Slightly Exceeds Expectations ([finance.yahoo.com](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/laureate-education-nasdaq-laur-q2-130814408.html))

### Sales · FY2025–2026

sales +7.5%; source https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/912766/000162828026009479/laur-20251231.htm; observed 2026-02-19.

- FY2017: $3.3B 

- FY2018: $1.1B 

- FY2019: $1.2B 

- FY2020: $1.0B 

- FY2021: $1.1B 

- FY2022: $1.2B 

- FY2023: $1.5B 

- FY2024: $1.6B 

- FY2025: $1.7B 

- FY2026: $1.8B 

### Gross margin · FY2026

gross margin 27.3%; source https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/912766/000162828026009479/laur-20251231.htm; observed 2026-02-19.

- FY2017: 16.7% 

- FY2018: 21.0% 

- FY2019: 21.7% 

- FY2020: 21.7% 

- FY2021: 25.0% 

- FY2022: 27.0% 

- FY2023: 26.6% 

- FY2024: 26.8% 

- FY2025: 28.3% 

- FY2026: 27.3% 

## Owner memo

Memo as of 2026-10-16T08:06:05.509Z.

### How it makes money

Operates in education & training services; annual sales are USD 1.7 billion.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/912766/000162828026009479/laur-20251231.htm (filed 2026-02-19); FY2025: revenue 1701930000; grossProfit 482176000; margin = grossProfit / revenue.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16); LAUR.US: Laureate Education, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, offers higher education programs and services to students through a portfolio of higher education institutions in Mexico, Peru, and the United States. The company offers a range of undergraduate, graduate, and specialized degree programs in the areas of medicine and health sciences, engineering and information technology, and business and management through campus-based, online, and hybrid programs. It also operates universities and technical-vocational institutions, as well as provides high school education services. The company was formerly known as Sylvan Learning Systems, Inc. and changed its name to Laureate Education, Inc. in May 2004. Laureate Education, Inc. was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.

### Why customers stay

Margins ranged from 26.6% to 28.3% during 2023–25; it earns 15.2% on its capital.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-19); FY2023: grossProfit / revenue = 26.6%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-19); FY2024: grossProfit / revenue = 26.8%.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/912766/000162828026009479/laur-20251231.htm (filed 2026-02-19); FY2025: grossProfit / revenue = 28.3%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-19); 10-year return on capital observations [[2017,0.07252149909881211],[2018,-0.005554434994466738],[2019,0.007440920802116818],[2020,-0.11072319688109161],[2021,-0.004379527299796719],[2022,0.23229667003294363],[2023,0.281666278721777],[2024,0.36422837549885867],[2025,0.33176398474242164],[2026,0.30451453112284105]]; median 0.15240908456587787. ROIC follows the displayed moat series; financial companies use return on tangible equity.

### Can it raise prices

Kept about a 27% gross margin through 2022 cost inflation.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/912766/000162828026009479/laur-20251231.htm (filed 2026-02-19); Gross margin observations: [[2021,0.250493005895826],[2022,0.2695917396445703],[2023,0.2657887148585719]]; range within 2 percentage points.

### Where the cash goes

Paid dividends in 10 of 10 years; bought back USD 215.2 million of shares.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-19); FY2016: growth capex 0; upkeep 240300000; cash acquisitions 0; owner earnings 396426000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-19); FY2017: growth capex 9321000; upkeep 264742000; cash acquisitions 835000; owner earnings 91465000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.11103700869184935.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-19); FY2018: growth capex 0; upkeep 238000000; cash acquisitions 17019000; owner earnings 372065000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.045742007444935694.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-19); FY2019: growth capex 0; upkeep 155641000; cash acquisitions 1205000; owner earnings 1098872000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.0010965790374129107.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-19); FY2021: growth capex 0; upkeep 50400000; cash acquisitions 0; owner earnings 287302000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-19); FY2022: growth capex 0; upkeep 52800000; cash acquisitions 0; owner earnings 105299000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-19); FY2023: growth capex 0; upkeep 56437000; owner earnings 154006000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-19); FY2024: growth capex 0; upkeep 71886000; owner earnings 329798000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/912766/000162828026009479/laur-20251231.htm (filed 2026-02-19); FY2025: growth capex 0; upkeep 103043000; owner earnings 289376000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-19); Dividend observations: [[2016,1505000],[2017,19371000],[2018,11103000],[2019,14007000],[2020,25716000],[2021,1374900000],[2022,253200000],[2023,112478000],[2024,1714000],[2025,455000]]. Zero only counted when supported by a complete cash-flow statement.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/912766/000162828026009479/laur-20251231.htm (filed 2026-02-19); FY2025: cash repurchases 215168000 USD.

### Are managers owners

Insiders own 8.8% of the company.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16); LAUR.US SharesStats.PercentInsiders = 8.846 percentage points; cache date 2026-10-16.

### What the price says

The price assumes cash profits grow 5% yearly over ten years.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-19); Ten-year compound average after fade. Initial solved rate 0.058900124261001996. Price 39.04; FX 1; discount 0.1; same standard ten-year fade to terminal 0.03. FY2015 owner earnings/share -2.838345242572396 → FY2025 1.946405510116229. Closing-price date 2026-10-15.

## Monthly share-price history (USD per share)

- 2017-02: $13.02 per share

- 2017-03: $14.27 per share

- 2017-04: $13.81 per share

- 2017-05: $16.72 per share

- 2017-06: $17.53 per share

- 2017-07: $17.02 per share

- 2017-08: $14.64 per share

- 2017-09: $14.55 per share

- 2017-10: $13.37 per share

- 2017-11: $13.63 per share

- 2017-12: $13.56 per share

- 2018-01: $14.40 per share

- 2018-02: $13.37 per share

- 2018-03: $13.75 per share

- 2018-04: $14.12 per share

- 2018-05: $16.23 per share

- 2018-06: $14.33 per share

- 2018-07: $14.81 per share

- 2018-08: $15.97 per share

- 2018-09: $15.44 per share

- 2018-10: $14.89 per share

- 2018-11: $14.75 per share

- 2018-12: $15.24 per share

- 2019-01: $16.00 per share

- 2019-02: $15.29 per share

- 2019-03: $14.97 per share

- 2019-04: $15.74 per share

- 2019-05: $16.06 per share

- 2019-06: $15.71 per share

- 2019-07: $16.39 per share

- 2019-08: $18.30 per share

- 2019-09: $16.58 per share

- 2019-10: $15.46 per share

- 2019-11: $17.35 per share

- 2019-12: $17.61 per share

- 2020-01: $20.84 per share

- 2020-02: $18.70 per share

- 2020-03: $10.51 per share

- 2020-04: $9.47 per share

- 2020-05: $9.73 per share

- 2020-06: $9.97 per share

- 2020-07: $12.68 per share

- 2020-08: $12.52 per share

- 2020-09: $13.28 per share

- 2020-10: $13.00 per share

- 2020-11: $14.20 per share

- 2020-12: $14.56 per share

- 2021-01: $13.01 per share

- 2021-02: $13.75 per share

- 2021-03: $13.59 per share

- 2021-04: $13.75 per share

- 2021-05: $14.61 per share

- 2021-06: $14.51 per share

- 2021-07: $14.81 per share

- 2021-08: $15.93 per share

- 2021-09: $16.99 per share

- 2021-10: $17.32 per share

- 2021-11: $10.00 per share

- 2021-12: $12.24 per share

- 2022-01: $12.65 per share

- 2022-02: $10.84 per share

- 2022-03: $11.85 per share

- 2022-04: $11.33 per share

- 2022-05: $12.73 per share

- 2022-06: $11.57 per share

- 2022-07: $11.84 per share

- 2022-08: $11.02 per share

- 2022-09: $10.55 per share

- 2022-10: $12.64 per share

- 2022-11: $10.48 per share

- 2022-12: $9.62 per share

- 2023-01: $10.98 per share

- 2023-02: $11.86 per share

- 2023-03: $11.76 per share

- 2023-04: $12.39 per share

- 2023-05: $12.10 per share

- 2023-06: $12.09 per share

- 2023-07: $12.82 per share

- 2023-08: $13.93 per share

- 2023-09: $14.10 per share

- 2023-10: $14.14 per share

- 2023-11: $13.13 per share

- 2023-12: $13.71 per share

- 2024-01: $12.62 per share

- 2024-02: $13.41 per share

- 2024-03: $14.57 per share

- 2024-04: $14.50 per share

- 2024-05: $15.66 per share

- 2024-06: $14.94 per share

- 2024-07: $15.50 per share

- 2024-08: $15.42 per share

- 2024-09: $16.61 per share

- 2024-10: $17.18 per share

- 2024-11: $19.00 per share

- 2024-12: $18.29 per share

- 2025-01: $18.72 per share

- 2025-02: $19.94 per share

- 2025-03: $20.45 per share

- 2025-04: $20.07 per share

- 2025-05: $22.50 per share

- 2025-06: $23.38 per share

- 2025-07: $22.60 per share

- 2025-08: $27.48 per share

- 2025-09: $31.54 per share

- 2025-10: $29.03 per share

- 2025-11: $30.90 per share

- 2025-12: $33.67 per share

- 2026-01: $34.30 per share

- 2026-02: $32.34 per share

- 2026-03: $34.84 per share

- 2026-04: $30.10 per share

- 2026-05: $31.99 per share

- 2026-06: $36.32 per share

- 2026-07: $38.31 per share

- 2026-08: $37.53 per share

- 2026-09: $38.16 per share

- 2026-10: $39.04 per share

## Annual estimated value (USD per share)

- FY2018: low $1.61 per share, central $1.84 per share, high $2.13 per share

- FY2019: low $7.17 per share, central $8.16 per share, high $9.47 per share

- FY2020: low $6.41 per share, central $7.30 per share, high $8.48 per share

- FY2021: low $16.55 per share, central $18.84 per share, high $21.88 per share

- FY2022: low $21.33 per share, central $24.28 per share, high $28.19 per share

- FY2023: low $10.66 per share, central $12.13 per share, high $14.09 per share

- FY2024: low $11.54 per share, central $13.14 per share, high $15.26 per share

- FY2025: low $21.27 per share, central $24.21 per share, high $28.11 per share

Historical values use today's bond yield for every fiscal year

Historical values use today's FX rate into trading currency for every fiscal year

Historical values use current restated fundamentals and current commodity classification; they are not point-in-time estimates

## Sources

[Original 10-K filing](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/912766/000162828026009479/laur-20251231.htm); period 2025-12-31, filed 2026-02-19.

Estimates depend on assumptions and are not guarantees or investment advice. Underlying data remains subject to its source licenses; public reading does not grant bulk redistribution rights.