LOPE Nasdaq Russell 1000 Earnings call
Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) · Q2 2026 results and valuation
Share price: $117.75 · 2026-11-11
Results Q2 2026 vs Q1 2026 · previous quarter · published 30 Jul 2026 and 30 Apr 2026
Net income down 39.1% on the previous quarter, guidance raised. Management sounded cautious, in its script and in answers to analysts.
Only a basic analysis is available for this company at the moment.
1 · Numbers
−39.1%
Net income vs Q1 2026
Guidance raised
Net income 45.9M vs 75.3M
Revenue −14.5%
Against the same quarter last year (Q2 2025) it is +10.4%, so the move on last quarter looks seasonal or timing-related rather than a trend.
2 · How management spoke
Cautious
Among the least upbeat of all company calls
Answers to analysts: restrained, in line with the script.
Similar to last call.
3 · What stood out
Figure
GCU has invested over $2 billion in the campus.
Valuation
Is Grand Canyon Education undervalued?
Reverse DCF. Free cash flow from the last full fiscal year (2025-12-31), grown for 10 years, discounted back, plus a terminal value. “Implied growth” is the rate the current price assumes.
At 6.7% growth a year (3-year revenue growth), the model's fair value is $175.48 a share — the stock trades 33% below it. Today's price assumes 1.0% growth a year.
Current price
$117.75
close of 2026-11-11
Market implies growth of iThe yearly free-cash-flow growth, for the next 10 years, that today’s share price already assumes. If you believe the company grows faster than this, the stock is cheap under this model; slower, and it is expensive.
+1.0% for 10 yrs
Fair value / share
$175.48
Buy below
$131.61
Price vs fair value
Undervalued 33%
Price vs buy-below price
Undervalued 11%
Read between the lines
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Guidance
Grand Canyon Education anticipates CapEx for 2026 will be between $30 and $35 million.
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Guidance ↑
LOPE increased its third-quarter 2026 guidance for general and administrative expenses by $5 million for contributions in lieu of state income taxes.
Source quote
“Projected general and administrative expenses have increased in our guidance in the third quarter of 2026 by $5 million for the contributions in lieu of state income taxes...”
Tone
How upbeat the language was, compared with other companiesiTone counts positive minus negative finance words, adjusted for length. Executives mostly speak positively, so the labels compare each call with every company's latest call: “typical” is the middle third, “very upbeat” the top tenth, “cautious” the bottom tenth.. Dot: Q2 2026. Ring: Q1 2026.
Script and answers carried a similar tone, so the script's message held up under questioning.
Sentences that drove the tone
“But we are experiencing increased site-level profitability due to the increasing enrollments.”
“But we are not as impacted because we do not have to get our growth from increased lead amounts like other people do.”
“That will increase student enrollment opportunities to grow the ground campus to 50,000 students.”
Full figures
USD · SEC EDGAR XBRL (10-Q, period end 2026-06-30)
| Metric | Q2 2026period end 2026-06-30 | Q1 2026period end 2026-03-31 | Change | Q2 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 264.0M | 308.8M | −14.5% | 247.5M | +6.7% |
| Operating income | 58.2M | 95.5M | −39.1% | 51.8M | +12.3% |
| Net income | 45.9M | 75.3M | −39.1% | 41.5M | +10.4% |
| EPS | 1.75 | 2.80 | −37.5% | 1.48 | +18.2% |
| P/E today 18.7 | 17.3 | 21.3 | −4.0 | 22.9 | −5.6 |
Topics
Most discussed now
- It is very expensive to operate, but the value that it offers to students in terms of the salaries that...
- Various factors could cause Grand Canyon Education's actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied…
- Major structural changes take place
- This is true across industries like artificial intelligence, software, cybersecurity, energy, power, legal services, aerospace, defense…
- Included in its Form 10-Q filed today is the announcement that on July 29, 2026, Grand Canyon Education entered into...
Faded since Q1 2026
- Fading The higher-than-expected effective tax rate is primarily due to state income taxes and a decrease in excess tax benefits of...
- Fading More recently, GCE has assisted GCU in building a workforce development center to produce professionals in the rapidly growing…
- Fading Most significantly, GCU has gone from the brink of bankruptcy to now being the largest private university in America.
- Fading The first quarter operating margin was positively impacted on a year-over-year basis by the higher revenue and the contract…
Latest announcements
Official filings, newest first.
- Material agreement; New financial obligation · SEC 8-K
- Director or officer change · SEC 8-K
- Results of operations · SEC 8-K
- Director or officer change · SEC 8-K
- Shareholder vote results · SEC 8-K
- Regulation FD disclosure · SEC 8-K
- Results of operations · SEC 8-K
- Results of operations · SEC 8-K