Shares of Strategic Education Inc (NASDAQ:STRA) are trading higher after the company reported first-quarter 2024 sales growth of 13.1% year-on-year to $290.3 million, beating the analyst's consensus estimate of $273.635 million.
Total costs and expenses fell 3.6% year-over-year to $248.9 million.
The operating margin was 14.2%, and operating income for the quarter was $41.4 million compared to an operating loss of $1.3 million last year. Adjusted operating income margin expanded 920 basis points to 13.9%.
Adjusted EBITDA was $54.3 million versus $27.2 million last year.
Adjusted EPS of $1.11 beat the consensus of $0.59.
The company held $222.1 million in cash and equivalents as of March 31, 2024. Cash provided by operating activities for the quarter totaled $35.2 million.
Strategic Education declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.60 per share, payable on June 3, 2024 to shareholders of record as of May 24, 2024.
"The U.S. Higher Education segment delivered another quarter of strong growth driven by employer affiliated enrollment; the Education Technology Services segment continued to see strength, including from Sophia subscriptions; and the Australia/New Zealand segment returned to total enrollment growth," said CEO Karl McDonnell.
Price Action: STRA shares are trading higher by 11.9% at $112.62 at the last check Thursday.
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