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Stride
(NYSE:LRN)
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Rating:75Outperform
Price Target:
$89.00
▲(3.98% Upside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:10/21/26
The score is primarily driven by strong financial performance (profitability expansion, improving leverage, and solid free cash flow) and an attractive low P/E valuation. These positives are tempered by weak technical positioning (trading below key moving averages with muted momentum) and a mixed earnings-call outlook due to enrollment softness, recent tech-related friction, and expected gross-margin compression.
Positive Factors
Sustained profitability and revenue expansion
Stride has demonstrated durable operating progress through multi-year revenue growth, expanding net margins, and mid-to-high teen EBIT margins. This combination indicates operating leverage and stronger earnings capacity, providing a foundation for continued investment in technology, curriculum, and student support.
Negative Factors
Enrollment and application weakness
Lower enrollment and applications create a direct headwind for a business whose managed-school revenue is tied substantially to student participation. Persistent weakness would limit revenue growth, reduce operating leverage, and make future guidance more dependent on in-year enrollment recovery.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Sustained profitability and revenue expansion
Stride has demonstrated durable operating progress through multi-year revenue growth, expanding net margins, and mid-to-high teen EBIT margins. This combination indicates operating leverage and stronger earnings capacity, providing a foundation for continued investment in technology, curriculum, and student support.
Read all positive factors
Stride (LRN) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$3.34B
Dividend YieldN/A
Average Volume (3M)819.20K
Price to Earnings (P/E)10.1
Beta (1Y)0.29
Revenue Growth2.48%
EPS Growth7.90%
CountryUS
Employees9,200
SectorConsumer Defensive
Sector Strength42
IndustryEducation & Training Services
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)7.90
Shares Outstanding42,048,855
10 Day Avg. Volume1,066,587
30 Day Avg. Volume819,196
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio0.59
Price to Book (P/B)2.26
Price to Sales (P/S)1.46
P/FCF Ratio10.38
Enterprise Value/Market Cap1.00
Enterprise Value/Revenue1.31
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit3.50
Enterprise Value/Ebitda5.68
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$102.50Price Target Upside19.76% Upside
Rating ConsensusModerate Buy
Number of Analyst Covering3
EPS Forecast (FY)7.81
Revenue Forecast (FY)$2.54B
Stride Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
Stride, Inc. is an ed-tech company that specializes in providing a variety of online learning tools and services. The firm delivers personalized educational experiences to students, primarily from kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-12), across ...
How the Company Makes Money
Stride primarily makes money by delivering education services and learning products through a mix of public-sector (managed public school) and consumer/enterprise channels. A major revenue stream comes from its managed public school programs, wher...
Stride Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Oct 20, 2026
(Q1-2027)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Jan 26, 2027
Earnings Call Sentiment Neutral
The call conveyed a mixed but cautiously constructive outlook. Stride reported 3% revenue growth, higher adjusted EBITDA, strong revenue per enrollment, a solid cash position, positive in-year enrollment activity, and multiple operational and strategic initiatives. However, these positives were balanced by lower-than-expected enrollment, technology-related user-experience problems, declines in adjusted operating income and EPS, general education and career learning challenges, and expected gross-margin compression. Management remained confident in the market opportunity and reaffirmed its fiscal 2028 targets, but execution improvements are still required.Positive Updates
First-Quarter Revenue Growth
Revenue was $639.4 million, compared with $620.9 million in the prior year, an increase of 3%.
Negative Updates
Enrollment Below Expectations
First-quarter enrollment was lower than anticipated. Total enrollment as of September 30 was 241 thousand, compared with 248 thousand in the prior year, while the decline in net new enrollments was not offset by stable returning-student retention and strong conversion metrics.
Read all updates
Q1-2027 Updates
Positive
Negative
First-Quarter Revenue Growth
Revenue was $639.4 million, compared with $620.9 million in the prior year, an increase of 3%.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
For the second quarter of fiscal 27, Stride expects revenue in the range of $625 million to $645 million, adjusted operating income between $135 million and $145 million, and capital expenditures between $19 million and $21 million; for the full year, it expects revenue in the range of $2.53 billion to $2.61 billion, adjusted operating income between $505 million to $513 million, capital expenditures between $70 million and $80 million, and an effective tax rate between 24% to 26%. It expects revenue per enrollment to be up 1.5% to 2.5% from fiscal 2026, full year gross margin to be down 100 to 200 basis points compared with fiscal 2026, stock based compensation to be in the range of $15 to $19 million, and selling, general, and administrative expenses to be down 10% to 15% year over year. The guidance assumes in-year enrollment growth for Q2 and Q3; at the midpoint, the Q3 to Q4 decline will offset the gains in Q2 and Q3, ending the year with enrollment in line with where it was on count day, while on the high end the Q3 to Q4 decline would not be enough to offset those gains, resulting in net growth in the year versus count day.Stride Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
86
Very Positive
Balance Sheet
78
Positive
Cash Flow
74
Positive
| Breakdown | TTM | Jun 2026 | Jun 2025 | Jun 2024 | Jun 2023 | Jun 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 2.54B | 2.52B | 2.41B | 2.04B | 1.84B | 1.69B |
| Gross Profit | 949.59M | 950.60M | 943.92M | 763.60M | 647.07M | 596.48M |
| EBITDA | 585.05M | 579.50M | 508.39M | 386.18M | 291.31M | 253.26M |
| Net Income | 334.31M | 338.19M | 287.94M | 204.18M | 126.87M | 107.13M |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 2.53B | 2.44B | 2.29B | 1.92B | 1.76B | 1.64B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 789.17M | 958.00M | 985.27M | 692.29M | 522.73M | 389.40M |
| Total Debt | 619.03M | 545.98M | 549.76M | 528.21M | 543.81M | 565.67M |
| Total Liabilities | 859.19M | 803.22M | 814.34M | 744.44M | 813.37M | 830.96M |
| Stockholders Equity | 1.67B | 1.63B | 1.48B | 1.18B | 947.30M | 812.58M |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | 423.18M | 354.97M | 372.81M | 217.21M | 136.60M | 139.26M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 504.81M | 433.81M | 432.82M | 278.80M | 203.15M | 206.88M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -201.02M | -179.83M | -88.00M | -139.87M | -118.24M | -110.76M |
| Financing Cash Flow | -274.48M | -281.98M | -62.94M | -49.12M | -63.50M | -93.31M |
Stride Technical Analysis
Negative
85.59
Price Trends
81.89
Negative
84.88
Negative
85.72
Negative
Market Momentum
-0.40
Positive
46.47
Neutral
42.38
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For LRN, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 85.59 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 80.19, above the 50-day MA of 81.89, and below the 200-day MA of 85.72, indicating a bearish trend. The MACD of -0.40 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 46.47 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 42.38 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for LRN.
Stride Risk Analysis
Stride disclosed 45 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Stride reported the most risks in the "Tech & Innovation" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
Stride Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (62)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
80 Outperform | $1.82B | 13.29 | 8.19% | 2.94% | 3.53% | 23.97% | |
79 Outperform | $2.12B | 12.15 | 17.70% | 1.83% | 11.68% | 18.98% | |
75 Outperform | $3.34B | 10.05 | 20.59% | ― | 2.48% | 7.90% | |
65 Neutral | $2.80B | 31.11 | 12.02% | ― | 0.14% | ― | |
63 Neutral | $1.34B | -7.13 | -17.74% | ― | 22.69% | -112.56% | |
62 Neutral | $20.33B | 14.63 | -3.31% | 3.23% | 1.93% | -12.26% |
* Consumer Defensive Sector Average
LRN
Stride
79.40
-73.24
-47.98%
PRDO
Perdoceo Education
33.90
-2.41
-6.63%
STRA
Strategic Education
81.74
0.28
0.35%
COUR
Coursera
5.08
-4.08
-44.54%
MH
McGraw Hill, Inc.
14.62
1.95
15.39%
Stride Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board ChangesShareholder Meetings
Stride Enhances Governance and Capital Allocation Strategy
Positive
Oct 9, 2026
On October 8–9, 2026, Stride entered a cooperation agreement with major shareholder Fivespan Partners and moved to refresh its board, appointing investor Dylan Haggart as a director and education-technology veteran Steven Guttentag as a boar...
Business Operations and StrategyStock BuybackFinancial Disclosures
Stride posts strong fiscal 2026 results, boosts buybacks
Positive
Aug 4, 2026
On August 4, 2026, Stride reported fourth quarter and full-year fiscal 2026 results for the period ended June 30, 2026, showing solid annual growth despite weaker fourth-quarter revenue. Full-year revenue rose 4.7% to $2.52 billion, while income f...
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board ChangesFinancial Disclosures
Stride appoints new CEO amid strong preliminary results
Positive
Jul 30, 2026
On July 29, 2026, Stride executed a major leadership transition, with long-serving CEO and board chair James J. Rhyu stepping down without dispute over company matters, and independent director Robert E. Knowling appointed chief executive officer....
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.