Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) Updates FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided EPS guidance of 9.550-10.160 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 10.000. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Grand Canyon Education also updated its Q1 2026 guidance to 2.700-2.730 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on LOPE shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Grand Canyon Education from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Grand Canyon Education currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.00.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Performance

Shares of LOPE traded up $5.44 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $167.79. 470,608 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 291,475. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $169.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a PE ratio of 22.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.74. Grand Canyon Education has a 1-year low of $149.83 and a 1-year high of $223.04.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.19 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $308.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $307.92 million. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 19.38% and a return on equity of 32.41%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Grand Canyon Education will post 8.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Grand Canyon Education News

Here are the key news stories impacting Grand Canyon Education this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 reported EPS slightly beat expectations: GCE reported quarterly EPS of $3.21, narrowly topping consensus and showing year‑over‑year EPS growth — a clear near‑term earnings beat that supports the share price. Press Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Full‑year FY2026 EPS guidance provided as a range of 9.550–10.160, which roughly brackets consensus (10.00) — the range leaves room for upside but also contains downside risk depending on execution. (Guidance announced 2/18)
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 2026 EPS guidance set at 3.570–3.850, giving investors a clear Q4 target but without a published street consensus in these releases. (Guidance announced 2/18)
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 2026 guidance materially below consensus: management guided Q1 EPS to 2.700–2.730 vs. consensus ~3.19 — a significant near‑term shortfall that typically pressures the stock. (Guidance announced 2/18)
• Negative Sentiment: Q2 2026 guidance also well below consensus: guidance 1.560–1.680 vs. consensus ~2.75, signaling front‑loaded weakness early in FY2026 and raising concern about near‑term revenue/earnings cadence. (Guidance announced 2/18)
• Neutral Sentiment: Q3 2026 guidance provided at 1.720–1.910; no consensus included in the release, so investors will watch how this quarter stacks up to expectations. (Guidance announced 2/18)
• Negative Sentiment: Balance‑sheet / cash note from third‑party reporting: one data provider flagged a large drop in cash & equivalents YoY and highlighted that some third‑party numbers showed revenue/EPS slightly missing certain estimates — this raises some caution around liquidity and data reconciliation. Quiver Article

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOPE. Toronto Dominion Bank bought a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the third quarter valued at about $48,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 24.8% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Grand Canyon Education in the 4th quarter valued at about $115,000. Finally, Group One Trading LLC acquired a new position in Grand Canyon Education during the 3rd quarter valued at about $133,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Grand Canyon Education Company Profile

Grand Canyon Education, Inc provides a suite of higher‐education services through a long-term agreement with Grand Canyon University (GCU), one of the nation’s largest private Christian universities. The company’s offerings encompass a full range of academic and operational support functions, including enrollment management, student recruitment, curriculum development, instructional delivery, and technology infrastructure. Through its online program management capabilities, Grand Canyon Education helps design, market and deliver undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs to meet the needs of both traditional and non‐traditional learners.

Core services include digital marketing, admissions support, student success coaching, learning management systems and faculty recruitment.