American public education companies American Public Education, Inc. (Nasdaq ticker: APEI) announced their financial and operational results for the third quarter ending September 30, 2026, on Monday. The company provides higher education services to approximately 106,600 students through online and on-campus education.

The company's President and CEO, Angela Selden, stated: "Our revenue, net profit, adjusted EBITDA, and diluted earnings per share in the third quarter all exceeded expectations. These results primarily reflect the continued growth of Health. The driving forces for this growth come from campus and online healthcare professional admissions, as well as pricing strategies. This third quarter was also the first time we operated partially under the identity of a single Higher Learning Commission accredited institution American Public University System after completing the institutional integration at the beginning of August."

Selden added, "As the integration of institutions is basically complete, we will continue to focus on implementing our long-term plans and accelerate the growth momentum of Health + and Military +."

Key Performance Highlights for the Third Quarter of 2026 (Compared to the Third Quarter of 2025)

• Combined revenue amounted to 169.1 million US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 3.6%, compared to 163.2 million US dollars in the same period last year.
• Excluding the revenue generated from the sale of Graduate School USA ( GSUSA ) in July 2025, consolidated revenue is expected to grow by 4.2% compared to the same period last year.
• Merged revenue also reflects that approximately $6 million in income was deferred to the fourth quarter of 2026 due to Military and registration timing reasons.
• Health + Branch revenue increased by 9.0% year-on-year to $86.4 million, mainly driven by an increase in enrollments in healthcare programs; this growth benefited from the continued success of the " Fill the Back Row " campus enrollment plan, as well as a slight increase in tuition fees implemented in the second half of 2025.
• Military + Branch revenue decreased by 0.5% year-on-year to $82.7 million, mainly reflecting that due to timing of registration, some of the revenue was deferred to the fourth quarter of 2026.
• Net profit attributable to common shareholders increased by 6.0% to $5.9 million, compared with $5.6 million in the same period of the previous year.
• After adjustment, EBITDA amounted to 17.5 million US dollars, compared to 20.7 million US dollars in the same period last year. This reflects the shift of revenue to the fourth quarter, an increase of 5.7 million US dollars in sales and promotional expenses, as well as the company's investment in marketing optimization and integration.
• After dilution, the net earnings per common share increased by 6.7% to $0.32, compared to $0.30 in the same period last year.
• The cash flow generated from operating activities amounted to 11.8 million US dollars, compared to 21.7 million US dollars in the same period last year. The company stated that this reflects a temporary implementation issue related to the Title IV disbursements it believes arose after the integration with the institution.

Balance Sheet and Liquidity

• As of September 30, 2026, the total amount of cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments amounted to $216.4 million, an increase of $39.9 million from $176.5 million as of December 31, 2025, representing a growth of 22.6%.

Repurchase Plan

The company stated that it had previously obtained approval from the board of directors on March 10, 2026, to initiate a common stock repurchase program with a maximum total amount of $50 million. Over the three months and nine months ending September 30, 2026, the company repurchased 186,032 shares and 274,237 shares of common stock, respectively. During the three-month period, the weighted average diluted number of outstanding shares decreased to 18.7 million, which is lower than the 18.8 million shares in the same period last year.

Outlook for the Fourth Quarter and the Whole Year of 2026

The following statements are based on the current expectations of APEI and are considered forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ significantly from these expectations. Except as required by law, APEI has no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements. For more details, please refer to the company's financial report conference calls and presentation materials.

2026 Third Quarter Financial Report Conference Call

The company will hold a teleconference on Monday, November 9, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time in the United States to discuss the financial results for the third quarter ending September 30, 2026.

• Date: Monday, November 9, 2026
• Time: 5:00 PM Eastern Time (2:00 PM Pacific Time)
• US toll-free phone: 1 833-461-5787
• International phone number: 1 585-542-9983
• Meeting Number: 619 738 671
• Live Streaming: 3Q26 Webcast Link

The company will also provide live streaming links on its website https :// www.apei.com / overview / default.aspx for investors who wish to listen to the conference call over the internet. If you plan to participate by making a phone call, please dial 5 to 10 minutes before the conference begins.

The call meeting replay will also be available on the company's website until November 9, 2027.

Non-GAAP financial indicators

This press release contains non-financial indicators such as EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA profit margins, the profit margin of segment EBITDA, and the profit margin of segment EBITDA. APEI believes that these indicators help investors better assess the company's operating profits and cash generation capabilities.

For the three months ending September 30, 2026 and 2025, after adjustments, EBITDA excludes stock-based compensation, losses from disposal of long-term assets, severance payments, other professional expenses, as well as losses from the sale of subsidiaries and leasing losses during the three months of 2025.

The company stated that these non-GAAP indicators should not be considered in isolation, nor should they replace the indicators calculated in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) in the United States (GAAP). The main limitation is that non-GAAP indicators exclude expenses that are required to be recognized under GAAP; in addition, these indicators also incorporate management's judgment as to which expenses should be excluded.

APEI indicates that while disclosing the performance of GAAP, it also provides EBITDA and the adjusted EBITDA. Investors are urged to refer to the adjustment tables in the appendices of this press release, which show the EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA compared to the corresponding GAAP financial indicators, and not to rely solely on a single financial indicator to assess the business.

About American Public Education

American Public Education, Inc. (Nasdaq ticker: APEI) utilizes American Public University System (abbreviated as System) to help students transform their lives through education, advance their careers, and serve local and global communities. The system has approximately 106,600 students and over 250,000 alumni worldwide, and includes four academic divisions: American Military University ( AMU ), American Public University ( APU ), Rasmussen University ( RU ), and Hondros College of Nursing ( HCN ). This system has been accredited by Higher Learning Commission, an institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education for accreditation. The system is a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Public Education, Inc.

As of September 30, 2026, AMU, APU, RU, and HCN together have more than 250,000 alumni.

The company also stated that the system has no affiliation with the US military or American University.

Forward-looking statements

In this press release, any non-historical statements regarding American Public Education, Inc (“APEI” or “the Company”) are forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates, and projections regarding APEI and the industry. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, expectations for growth, enrollment, demand, revenue, net profit, earnings per share, EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA profit margins, APEI growth and profitability, as well as plans related to recent, current, and future initiatives, including recently completed corporate integrations and their expected benefits and future impacts.

Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, which may result in significant differences between actual results and those stated or implied in these statements.These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: APEI's failure to comply or facing adverse actions due to regulatory and accreditation body requirements, including the "90/10 Rule" standard, as well as the inability to maintain institutional accreditation and its related impacts; changes in the higher education regulatory environment resulting from the U.S. federal elections, including any actions taken by the current administration regarding the operation of the Department of Education, or changes, cancellations, or implementations of laws, regulations, standards, policies, and practices; government shutdowns and their uncertainties regarding APEI, Military and their potential and existing students, as well as the inability of APEI to mitigate these impacts; uncertainties regarding government budgets and federal employees; institutional integration; APEI's dependence on its ability to attract and retain students; changes in market demand; declines in enrollment at subsidiaries; APEI's inability to effectively promote its programs; APEI's inability to maintain a stable relationship with the military and sustain course registration and enrollment of military students; loss or interruption of funding obtained through Title IV or TA programs, including delays in system changes implemented by the Department of Education to reflect institutional integration, which affect the timing of student financial aid processing by Title IV, or reductions, cancellations, or suspensions of federal funding; adverse effects of changes made to improve the student experience and enhance the ability to identify and enroll more successful students; the need to successfully adapt to future market demands by updating existing programs and developing new ones; APEI's loss of eligibility to participate in Title IV programs or the ability to process Title IV student financial aid; economic and market conditions as well as changes in interest rates; difficulties related to mergers and acquisitions; APEI's debt and its refinancing; APEI's dependence on technical infrastructure and ongoing investments, including those from third-party suppliers; failure to achieve the expected benefits from cost-saving, cost-reduction, and revenue-generation measures; APEI's ability to manage and limit bad debt exposure;As well as the various risks described in the "Risk Factors" section of its annual 10-K report for the year ending December 31, 2025, Form, and in other documents submitted to SEC. Investors should not rely excessively on any forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, APEI shall not have any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available or other events occur in the future.

Company Contact Information

Frank Tutalo

Investor Relations

Shannon Devine

GAAP Net Profit versus Adjusted EBITDA Adjustment:

The following table shows the adjustment relationship between the company's GAAP net profit for three months and nine months as of September 30, 2026, and September 30, 2025, and the adjusted EBITDA.

GAAP Net Profit versus Adjusted EBITDA Adjustment:

The following table shows the adjusted relationship between the net profit GAAP for three months and twelve months ending December 31, 2026, and the net profit EBITDA after outlook adjustment.