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Stride Posts Record Quarterly Results

RESTON, Va., Jan. 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Stride, Inc. (NYSE: LRN), one of the nation’s most successful technology-based education companies, today announced its results for the second fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2024.

Second Quarter Fiscal 2025 Highlights Compared to 2024

  • Revenue of $587.2 million, compared with $504.9 million.
  • Income from operations of $125.1 million, compared with $84.3 million.
  • Net income of $96.4 million, compared with $66.8 million.
  • Diluted net income per share of $2.03, compared with $1.54.
  • Adjusted operating income of $135.6 million, compared with $94.9 million. (1)
  • Adjusted EBITDA of $160.4 million, compared with $118.3 million. (1)

Second Quarter Fiscal 2025 Summary Financial Metrics

  Three Months Ended December 31,   Change 2024/2023
  2024   2023   $   %
  (In thousands, except percentages and per share data)
Revenues $ 587,211   $ 504,868   $ 82,343   16.3 %
                     
Income from operations   125,100     84,289     40,811   48.4 %
Adjusted operating income (1)   135,570     94,873     40,697   42.9 %
                     
Net income   96,393     66,836     29,557   44.2 %
Net income per share, diluted   2.03     1.54     0.49   31.8 %
                     
EBITDA (1)   152,495     110,752     41,743   37.7 %
Adjusted EBITDA (1)   160,420     118,348     42,072   35.5 %

  (1) To supplement our financial statements presented in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), we also present non-GAAP financial measures including adjusted operating income (loss), EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA. Management believes that these additional metrics provide useful information to investors relating to our financial performance. A reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures is provided below.


Six Month Fiscal 2025 Highlights Compared to 2024

  • Revenue of $1,138.3 million, compared with $985.0 million.
  • Income from operations of $172.4 million, compared with $87.6 million.
  • Net income of $137.3 million, compared with $71.7 million.
  • Diluted net income per share of $2.93, compared with $1.66.
  • Adjusted operating income of $193.9 million, compared with $109.6 million. (1)
  • Adjusted EBITDA of $244.3 million, compared with $158.1 million. (1)

Six Month Fiscal 2025 Summary Financial Metrics

  Six Months Ended December 31,   Change 2024/2023
  2024   2023     $   %
  (In thousands, except percentages and per share data)
Revenues $ 1,138,295     985,049     153,246   15.6 %
                     
Income from operations   172,444     87,609     84,835   96.8 %
Adjusted operating income (1)   193,930     109,634     84,296   76.9 %
                     
Net income   137,275     71,714     65,561   91.4 %
Net income per share, diluted   2.93     1.66     1.27   76.5 %
                     
EBITDA (1)   227,973     142,089     85,884   60.4 %
Adjusted EBITDA (1)   244,347     158,111     86,236   54.5 %

  (1) To supplement our financial statements presented in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), we also present non-GAAP financial measures including adjusted operating income (loss), EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA. Management believes that these additional metrics provide useful information to investors relating to our financial performance. A reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures is provided below.


Revenue Data

    Three Months Ended             Six Months Ended          
    December 31,   Change 2024 / 2023   December 31,   Change 2024 / 2023
    2024   2023   $   %   2024   2023   $   %
    (In thousands, except percentages)
                                             
General Education   $ 354,315   $ 313,902   $ 40,413     12.9 %   $ 683,722     613,241   $ 70,481     11.5 %
Career Learning                                            
Middle – High School     213,079     165,080     47,999     29.1 %     411,965     316,053     95,912     30.3 %
Adult     19,817     25,886     (6,069 )   (23.4 %)     42,608     55,755     (13,147 )   (23.6 %)
Total Career Learning     232,896     190,966     41,930     22.0 %     454,573     371,808     82,765     22.3 %
Total Revenues   $ 587,211   $ 504,868   $ 82,343     16.3 %   $ 1,138,295     985,049   $ 153,246     15.6 %


Enrollment and Revenue Per Enrollment Data

Second quarter enrollments averaged 230.6K, up 19.4% compared to 193.1K enrollments in the second quarter of fiscal year 2024. Of the total average enrollments, 94.8K were Career Learning enrollments, up 30.9% compared to 72.4K Career Learning enrollments in the second quarter of fiscal 2024.

Enrollments only include those students in full service public or private programs where Stride provides a combination of curriculum, technology, and instructional and support services, inclusive of administrative support and may include enrollments for which Stride receives no public funding or revenue. Stride does not report enrollments for our Adult Learning business.

Revenue per enrollment for the second quarter was $2,395, flat compared to $2,396 in the second quarter of fiscal year 2024. General Education revenue per enrollment was $2,497, up 1.3%, and Career Learning revenue per enrollment was $2,248, down 1.4%, compared to the second quarter of fiscal year 2024, respectively. If the mix of enrollments changes, our revenues will be impacted to the extent the average revenues per enrollments are significantly different.

Cash Flow and Capital Allocation

As of December 31, 2024, the Company’s cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled $738.1 million, compared with $714.2 million reported at June 30, 2024.

Capital expenditures for the three months ended December 31, 2024 were $14.8 million, compared to $12.7 million in the three months ended December 31, 2023, and were comprised of $0.5 million of property and equipment, $9.8 million of capitalized software development and $4.5 million of capitalized curriculum development.

Fiscal Year 2025 Outlook

The Company is raising its revenue and adjusted operating forecast for the full fiscal year 2025:

  • Revenue in the range of $2.320 billion to $2.355 billion.
  • Capital expenditures in the range of $60 million to $65 million. Note that capital expenditures include the purchase of property and equipment, and capitalized software and curriculum development costs as defined on our Statement of Cash Flows.
  • Effective tax rate of 24% to 26%.
  • Adjusted operating income in the range of $430 million to $450 million. (1)

The Company is forecasting the following for the third quarter of fiscal year 2025:

  • Revenue in the range of $585 million to $600 million.
  • Capital expenditures in the range of $15 million to $17 million. Note that capital expenditures include the purchase of property and equipment, and capitalized software and curriculum development costs as defined on our Statement of Cash Flows.
  • Adjusted operating income in the range of $130 million to $140 million. (1)
(1) In addition to providing an outlook for revenue and capital expenditures, adjusted operating income is provided as a supplemental non-GAAP financial measure as management believes that it provides useful information to our investors. A reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures is provided below. Please also see Special Note on Forward-Looking Statements below.


Conference Call

The Company will discuss its second quarter fiscal year 2025 financial results during a conference call scheduled for Tuesday, January 28, 2025 at 5:00 p.m. eastern time (ET).

A live webcast of the call will be available at https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/534139423. To participate in the live call, investors and analysts should dial (800) 715-9871 (domestic) or +1 (646) 307-1963 (international) and provide the conference ID number 8901384. Please access the website at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the call.

A replay of the call will be posted at https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/534139423 as soon as it is available.

About Stride Inc.

Stride Inc. (NYSE: LRN) is redefining lifelong learning with innovative, high-quality education solutions. Serving learners in primary, secondary, and postsecondary settings, Stride provides a wide range of services including K-12 education, career learning, professional skills training, and talent development. Stride reaches learners in all 50 states and over 100 countries. Learn more at stridelearning.com.

Investor Contact

Timothy Casey
Vice President, Investor Relations
Stride, Inc.
[email protected]

Special Note on Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. We have tried, whenever possible, to identify these forward-looking statements using words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “continues,” “likely,” “may,” “opportunity,” “potential,” “projects,” “will,” “will be,”expects,” “plans,” “intends” and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements, whether in the negative or the affirmative. These statements reflect our current beliefs and are based upon information currently available to us. Accordingly, such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, such statements. These risks, uncertainties, factors and contingencies include, but are not limited to: reduction of per pupil funding amounts at the schools we serve; inability to achieve a sufficient level of new enrollments to sustain our business model; limitations of the enrollment data we present, which may not fully capture trends in the performance of our business; failure to enter into new school contracts or renew existing contracts, in part or in their entirety; failure of the schools we serve or us to comply with federal, state and local regulations, resulting in a loss of funding, an obligation to repay funds previously received, or contractual remedies; governmental investigations that could result in fines, penalties, settlements, or injunctive relief; declines or variations in academic performance outcomes of the students and schools we serve as curriculum standards, testing programs and state accountability metrics evolve; harm to our reputation resulting from poor performance or misconduct by operators or us in any school in our industry and/or in any school in which we operate; legal and regulatory challenges from opponents of virtual public education or for-profit education companies; changes in national and local economic and business conditions and other factors, such as natural disasters, pandemics and outbreaks of contagious diseases and other adverse public health developments; discrepancies in interpretation of legislation by regulatory agencies that may lead to payment or funding disputes; termination of our contracts, or a reduction in the scope of services, with schools; failure to develop the Career Learning business; entry of new competitors with superior technologies and lower prices; unsuccessful integration of mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures; failure to further develop, maintain and enhance our technology, products, services and brands; inadequate recruiting, training and retention of effective teachers and employees; infringement of our intellectual property; disruptions to our Internet-based learning and delivery systems, including, but not limited to, our data storage systems and third-party cloud systems and facilities, resulting from cybersecurity attacks; misuse or unauthorized disclosure of student and personal data; failure to prevent or mitigate a cybersecurity incident that affects our systems; and risks related to artificial intelligence; and other risks and uncertainties associated with our business described in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that the expectations will be attained or that any deviation will not be material. All information in this press release is as of today’s date, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the Company’s expectations.

Financial Statements

The financial statements set forth below are not the complete set of Stride, Inc.’s financial statements for the three and six months ended December 31, 2024 and are presented below without footnotes. Readers are encouraged to obtain and carefully review Stride Inc.’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three and six months ended December 31, 2024, including all financial statements contained therein and the footnotes thereto, filed with the SEC, which may be retrieved from the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or from Stride Inc.’s website at www.stridelearning.com.

STRIDE, INC.

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

    Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended
    December 31,   December 31,
    2024     2023     2024     2023  
    (In thousands except share and per share data)            
Revenues   $ 587,211     $ 504,868     $ 1,138,295     $ 985,049  
Instructional costs and services     347,353       303,694       682,584       610,987  
Gross margin     239,858       201,174       455,711       374,062  
Selling, general, and administrative expenses     114,758       116,885       283,267       286,453  
Income from operations     125,100       84,289       172,444       87,609  
Interest expense, net     (2,670 )     (2,022 )     (5,023 )     (4,090 )
Other income, net     7,330       6,538       16,108       11,703  
Income before income taxes and income (loss) from equity method investments     129,760       88,805       183,529       95,222  
Income tax expense     (33,361 )     (22,190 )     (44,638 )     (23,726 )
Income (loss) from equity method investments     (6 )     221       (1,616 )     218  
Net income attributable to common stockholders   $ 96,393     $ 66,836     $ 137,275     $ 71,714  
Net income attributable to common stockholders per share:                        
Basic   $ 2.24     $ 1.57     $ 3.20     $ 1.69  
Diluted   $ 2.03     $ 1.54     $ 2.93     $ 1.66  
Weighted average shares used in computing per share amounts:                        
Basic     43,017,190       42,561,035       42,942,750       42,530,523  
Diluted     47,462,688       43,463,763       46,905,355       43,214,119  
                         

STRIDE, INC.

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

    December 31,    June 30,
    2024     2024  
          (audited)
    (In thousands except share and per share data)
ASSETS            
Current assets            
Cash and cash equivalents   $ 515,049     $ 500,614  
Accounts receivable, net of allowance of $35,517 and $31,298     582,548       472,754  
Inventories, net     20,707       36,748  
Prepaid expenses     51,367       29,164  
Marketable securities     202,447       191,672  
Other current assets     16,361       14,494  
Total current assets     1,388,479       1,245,446  
Operating lease right-of-use assets, net     48,563       54,503  
Property and equipment, net     84,685       50,856  
Capitalized software, net     77,299       81,952  
Capitalized curriculum development costs, net     53,759       53,232  
Intangible assets, net     55,170       60,282  
Goodwill     246,676       246,676  
Deferred tax asset           7,200  
Deposits and other assets     116,150       120,318  
Total assets   $ 2,070,781     $ 1,920,465  
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY            
Current liabilities            
Accounts payable   $ 30,896     $ 40,970  
Accrued liabilities     82,664       60,796  
Accrued compensation and benefits     44,508       64,878  
Deferred revenue     16,797       35,742  
Current portion of finance lease liability     43,212       29,146  
Current portion of operating lease liability     12,583       12,748  
Total current liabilities     230,660       244,280  
Long-term finance lease liability     50,731       26,452  
Long-term operating lease liability     39,202       45,192  
Long-term debt     415,522       414,675  
Deferred tax liability     470        
Other long-term liabilities     16,091       13,841  
Total liabilities     752,676       744,440  
Commitments and contingencies            
Stockholders’ equity            
Preferred stock, par value $0.0001; 10,000,000 shares authorized; zero shares issued or outstanding            
Common stock, par value $0.0001; 100,000,000 shares authorized; 48,890,343 and 48,576,164 shares issued; and 43,555,600 and 43,241,421 shares outstanding, respectively     4       4  
Additional paid-in capital     724,839       720,033  
Accumulated other comprehensive loss     (43 )     (42 )
Retained earnings     695,787       558,512  
Treasury stock of 5,334,743 shares at cost     (102,482 )     (102,482 )
Total stockholders’ equity     1,318,105       1,176,025  
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity   $ 2,070,781     $ 1,920,465  
             

STRIDE, INC.

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

    Six Months Ended
    December 31,
    2024     2023  
    (In thousands)
Cash flows from operating activities            
Net income   $ 137,275     $ 71,714  
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:            
Depreciation and amortization expense     55,529       54,480  
Stock-based compensation expense     16,374       16,022  
Deferred income taxes     9,289       425  
Provision for credit losses     9,624       15,332  
Amortization of fees on debt     847       834  
Noncash operating lease expense     6,222       7,913  
Other     1,869       1,430  
Changes in assets and liabilities:            
Accounts receivable     (119,416 )     (61,247 )
Inventories, prepaid expenses, deposits and other current and long-term assets     (4,084 )     883  
Accounts payable     (8,983 )     (15,994 )
Accrued liabilities     20,248       (20,987 )
Accrued compensation and benefits     (20,303 )     (14,340 )
Operating lease liability     (6,437 )     (8,587 )
Deferred revenue and other liabilities     (16,694 )     (9,849 )
Net cash provided by operating activities     81,360       38,029  
Cash flows from investing activities            
Purchase of property and equipment     (1,153 )     (1,703 )
Capitalized software development costs     (18,601 )     (18,402 )
Capitalized curriculum development costs     (9,841 )     (8,731 )
Other acquisitions, loans and investments, net of distributions     (950 )     (275 )
Proceeds from the maturity of marketable securities     140,740       80,361  
Purchases of marketable securities     (145,865 )     (120,047 )
Net cash used in investing activities     (35,670 )     (68,797 )
Cash flows from financing activities            
Repayments on finance lease obligations     (16,714 )     (22,491 )
Repurchase of restricted stock for income tax withholding     (11,963 )     (3,161 )
Net cash used in financing activities     (28,677 )     (25,652 )
Net change in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash     17,013       (56,420 )
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, beginning of period     500,614       410,807  
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of period   $ 517,627     $ 354,387  
             
Reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash to balance sheet as of December 31st:            
Cash and cash equivalents   $ 515,049     $ 354,387  
Deposits and other assets (restricted cash)     2,578        
Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash   $ 517,627     $ 354,387  
             

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement our financial statements presented in accordance with GAAP, we have presented adjusted operating income (loss), EBITDA, and adjusted EBITDA, which are not presented in accordance with GAAP.

  • Adjusted operating income (loss) is defined as income (loss) from operations as adjusted for stock-based compensation and the amortization of intangible assets.
  • EBITDA is defined as income (loss) from operations as adjusted for depreciation and amortization.
  • Adjusted EBITDA is defined as income (loss) from operations as adjusted for stock-based compensation and depreciation and amortization.
  • Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted operating income (loss) exclude stock-based compensation, which consists of expenses for stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units, and performance stock units.

Management believes that the presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures provides useful information to investors relating to our financial performance. Adjusted operating income (loss) and Adjusted EBITDA remove stock-based compensation, which is a non-cash charge that varies based on market volatility and the terms and conditions of the awards. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA remove depreciation and amortization, which can vary depending upon accounting methods and the book value of assets. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA provide a measure of corporate performance exclusive of capital structure and the method by which assets were acquired.

Our management uses these non-GAAP financial measures:

  • as additional measures of operating performance because they assist us in comparing our performance on a consistent basis; and
  • in presentations to the members of our Board of Directors to enable our Board to review the same measures used by management to compare our current operating results with corresponding prior periods.

Other companies may define these non-GAAP financial measures differently and, as a result, our use of these non-GAAP financial measures may not be directly comparable to similar non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. Although we use these non-GAAP financial measures to assess the performance of our business, the use of non-GAAP financial measures is limited as they include and/or do not include certain items not included and/or included in the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure.

These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for, revenues, income (loss) from operations, net income (loss) and net income (loss) per share or other related financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. Adjusted EBITDA is not intended to be a measure of liquidity. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these non-GAAP financial measures.

A reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures is provided below.

Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2025

Reconciliation of Income from Operations to Adjusted Operating Income

  Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended
  December 31,   December 31,
    2024       2023       2024       2023  
  (In thousands)        
Income from operations $ 125,100     $ 84,289     $ 172,444     $ 87,609  
Amortization of intangible assets   2,545       2,988       5,112       6,003  
Stock-based compensation expense   7,925       7,596       16,374       16,022  
Adjusted operating income   135,570       94,873       193,930       109,634  


Reconciliation of Net Income to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA

  Three Months Ended
December 31, 
  Six Months Ended
December 31, 
    2024       2023       2024       2023  
  (In thousands)
Net income $ 96,393     $ 66,836     $ 137,275     $ 71,714  
Interest expense, net   2,670       2,022       5,023       4,090  
Other income, net   (7,330 )     (6,538 )     (16,108 )     (11,703 )
Income tax expense   33,361       22,190       44,638       23,726  
(Income) loss from equity method investments   6       (221 )     1,616       (218 )
Depreciation and amortization   27,395       26,463       55,529       54,480  
EBITDA   152,495       110,752       227,973       142,089  
Stock-based compensation expense   7,925       7,596       16,374       16,022  
Adjusted EBITDA $ 160,420     $ 118,348     $ 244,347     $ 158,111  


Fiscal Year 2025 Outlook

Reconciliation of Income from Operations to Adjusted Operating Income (unaudited)

  Three Months Ended
March 31, 2025
  Year Ended
June 30, 2025
  Low   High   Low   High
  (In millions)
Income from operations $ 119.8     $ 127.3     $ 387.5     $ 402.5  
Stock-based compensation expense   8.0       10.0       33.0       37.0  
Amortization of intangible assets   2.2       2.7       9.5       10.5  
Adjusted operating income $ 130.0     $ 140.0     $ 430.0     $ 450.0  

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