Stride Inc's Competitiveness
A competitive positioning analysis and financial ratio benchmarking of Stride Inc (LRN) against its publicly traded competitors: sales growth, net income, profitability, valuation and market share, plus each peer's market capitalization, revenue, income and employees. Free below: the top 5 peers. Subscriber access adds the full competitor list and CSV downloads.
Key Findings: Stride Inc vs Its Competitors
- TTM: Trailing 12-month revenue of 2,516M vs 11,834M combined for tracked competitors (17.5% combined share).
- Trending: Latest-quarter revenue run-rate is holding steady (+1.1% annualized vs trailing 12 months), vs decelerating (-4.1%) for its tracked peer group.
- Growth: Stride Inc generated -2.7% revenue growth year over year in Q4 2026, vs 9.0% for its tracked competitors combined.
- Profitability: Its 12.8% net margin compares with 10.3% for the peer group.
- Scale: Stride Inc ranks #5 of 45 companies by market capitalization in the Educational Services industry, holding 8.9% of industry market cap.
- Peer revenue share: Stride Inc accounted for 18.3% of combined revenue among its tracked peer group, down from 20.1% a year earlier.
- Peer differentiation: Revenue per employee of $0.27M compares with $0.30M for the peer group (0.9x).
Every figure above is sourced and cited in detail further down this page (Market Structure, Profitability & Cost Structure, Productivity vs Peers).
LRN Sales vs. its Competitors, Q4 2026
Stride Inc reported revenue contraction of 2.69 % year on year in Q4 2026, below its competitors' combined revenue growth of 8.96 %.
With a net margin of 12.80 %, Stride Inc achieved higher profitability than its competitors (10.34 %).
Stride Inc generated 18.32 % of the combined sales of its peer group, down from 20.07 % a year earlier.
Stride Inc vs. its Competitors, Q4 2026
Revenue growth, year on year
Net income growth, year on year
Net margin
Revenue run-rate vs trailing 12 months
TTM net margin
TTM = trailing twelve months. Run-rate annualizes the latest quarter (×4) and compares it to TTM. In millions of $. High-Confidence Competitors are named as a competitor directly in an SEC filing; Similar-Size Competitors are the closest peers by market-cap rank within the same industry; Similar Growth & Profitability Competitors are the closest peers by combined revenue growth, operating margin and ROIC, all independent of the competitor list.
TTM revenue, latest-quarter run-rate and net income/margin benchmarked across Stride Inc and its 4 competitor groupings. Available under Commercial License.
| Entity | TTM Revenue | Rev Run-rate vs TTM |
|---|---|---|
| Stride Inc | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
| Competitors combined | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
| High-Confidence Competitors (3) | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
| Similar-Size Competitors (3) | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
| Similar Growth & Profitability (6) | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
TTM revenue, run-rate and net margin benchmarking across Stride Inc's competitor groups requires a Commercial License.
For context: the Educational Services industry grew revenue 4.5% year over year, combined, vs -2.7% for Stride Inc. Stride Inc's share of combined industry revenue moved from 5.00% to 4.66%, a loss of 0.34 percentage points.
Stride Inc's Competitor Quality Breadth
Share of each group, trailing 12 months: profitable (net margin > 0), expanding (revenue growth > 0), growing faster than the industry's own median, and financially distressed (Piotroski F-Score of 2 or below).
| Entity | Profitable | Expanding | Above Industry Growth | Distressed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stride Inc | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Competitors combined (6) | ||||
| High-Confidence Competitors (5) | ||||
| Similar-Size Competitors (9) | ||||
| Similar Growth & Profitability (8) | 100.00 % (8 of 8) | 100.00 % (8 of 8) | 75.00 % (6 of 8) | 42.90 % (3 of 7) |
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. Altman Z-Score is not shown here: it is not populated in the underlying data for any company. Percentages are of companies in each group that report the relevant metric, not of the full group size.
LRN Stock Performance relative to its Competitors
LRN Stock Performance relative to High-Confidence Competitors
LRN Stock Performance relative to Similar-Size Competitors
LRN Stock Performance relative to Similar Growth & Profitability Competitors
5 Best-Performing Tracked Competitors, Trailing 12 Months
| # | Competitor | TTM Share Price Return | vs U.S.A. 500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nerdy Inc | 282.9% | Outperformed |
| 2 | Ralph Lauren Corporation | 282.9% | Outperformed |
| 3 | Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc | 282.9% | Outperformed |
| 4 | Chegg Inc | 282.9% | Outperformed |
| 5 | 51talk Online Education Group | 282.9% | Outperformed |
TTM share price return and U.S.A. 500 outperformance for Stride Inc's best-performing tracked competitors requires a Commercial License.
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months.
Stride Inc's Comment on Competition and Industry Peers
Publicly Traded Peers of Stride Inc
Revenue and income for trailing 12 months, in millions of $, except employees| Company | Market Cap | Revenues |
|---|---|---|
| Stride Inc | 3,628.54 | 2,516.38 |
| Ralph Lauren Corporation | 21,893.91 | 8,355.20 |
| 51talk Online Education Group | 4,089.62 | 94.66 |
| Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc | 3,298.48 | 3,027.57 |
| Nerdy Inc | 1,072.98 | 178.83 |
| Chegg Inc | 80.15 | 266.44 |
| SUBTOTAL | 34,078.20 | 14,444.74 |
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Sources: Stride Inc's official press releases and regulatory filings; CSIMarket.com's market research; and the financial filings and press releases of the other companies cited.
Updated on:
Focus of this report: publicly traded companies. Ten additional tables on Stride Inc versus competitors, including market share analysis, are in the navigation menu under Competition. To download the tables, please subscribe.
Stride Inc's Competitors Named by the Company
Competitive relationships identified from SEC filings and corroborating sources, each with a basis and confidence.| Competitor | Basis | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery Education | Named by the company | 85% |
| Houghton Mifflin Harcourt | Named by the company | 85% |
| Lambda School (Lambda Inc.) | Named by the company | 85% |
| Pansophic Learning | Named by the company | 85% |
| The Laurel Springs School (Nobel Learning Communities, Inc.) | Named by the company | 85% |
| Charter Schools USA | Named by the company | 85% |
| Education to Go (a subsidiary of Cengage Learning) | Named by the company | 85% |
| IXL Learning, Inc. | Named by the company | 85% |
| Lincoln Learning Solutions | Named by the company | 85% |
| Rosetta Stone Inc. | Named by the company | 85% |
| Skillsoft Corp | Named by the company | 85% |
| Arson PLC (Connections Academy) | Named by the company | 85% |
| Duolingo | Named by the company | 85% |
| Imagine Learning LLC | Named by the company | 85% |
| Learning Solutions | Named by the company | 85% |
| Penn Foster Inc. | Named by the company | 85% |
| The Laurel Springs School (Spring Education Group) | Named by the company | 85% |
| Achieve 3000 | Named by the company | 85% |
| Curriculum Associates | Named by the company | 85% |
| General Assembly (a subsidiary of Adecco) | Named by the company | 85% |
| Khan Academy | Named by the company | 85% |
| McGraw Hill | Named by the company | 85% |
| StrongMind | Named by the company | 85% |
| Bloom Institute of Technology | Named by the company | 85% |
| Edmentum Inc. | Named by the company | 85% |
| Inspire Charter Schools | Named by the company | 85% |
| LearnZillion, Inc. | Named by the company | 85% |
| Renaissance Learning, Inc. | Named by the company | 85% |
| Weld North LLC | Named by the company | 85% |
| Apex Learning Inc. | Named by the company | 85% |
| Ralph Lauren Corporation | Named by the company | 85% |
| Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc | Named by the company | 85% |
Filing basis, confidence, active dates and source counts for Stride Inc's named competitors require a Commercial License.
Methodology: relationships are extracted from SEC filings (named-competitor disclosures) and corroborating sources. Named by the company = explicitly disclosed as a competitor; Inferred = derived from corroborating signals. Confidence reflects evidence strength.
Stride Inc's Business Segment Mix vs Peers
Revenue by operating segment or division, as named and reported by each company. Segment names are the filer's own and are not standardized across companies. Do not assume a same-named or similarly-named segment is defined identically between two companies. Shares are of each company's own total revenue and are not required to sum to 100% (intersegment revenue, unallocated items).| Company | Largest Segment |
|---|---|
| Ralph Lauren Corporation | North America 41.03 % |
| Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc | Full Service Center Based Care 75.99 % |
Source: operating segment revenue as reported in each company's SEC filings (10-K/10-Q), via the CSIMarket API, leaf-level reportable segments only (parent roll-up segments are excluded where sub-segments are separately disclosed).
Stride Inc's Productivity vs Peers Comparison
Revenue and income per employee, trailing 12 months, in $; market cap in millions of $| Company | Market Cap | Revenue / Employee | Income / Employee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stride Inc | 3,629 | 273,520 | 36,760 |
| Ralph Lauren Corporation | 21,894 | 357,060 | 42,004 |
| 51talk Online Education Group | 4,090 | 68,493 | -12,198 |
| Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc | 3,298 | 224,264 | 12,966 |
| Nerdy Inc | 1,073 | 357,664 | -91,560 |
| Chegg Inc | 80 | 447,795 | -89,071 |
| PEERS TOTAL | 30,450 | 302,927 | 26,467 |
Stride Inc's Geographic Revenue Exposure vs Peers
Revenue by country/region as reported in each company's most recent filing. Disclosure granularity varies by filer (some report by country, others by broad region) and is shown as disclosed.| Company | Largest Market |
|---|---|
| Ralph Lauren Corporation | Americas 43.07 % |
| 51talk Online Education Group | Asia Pacific 41.37 % |
| Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc | North America 68.88 % |
| Chegg Inc | United States 81.95 % |
Source: revenue geography as reported in each company's SEC filings (10-K/10-Q), via the CSIMarket API. Percentages are of that company's own total consolidated revenue for its most recent reported period.
Stride Inc's Position in Industry Market Structure
Market-capitalization share and concentration across all 41 companies in Stride Inc's industry classification, broader than the peer set above. Market cap in millions of $.Stride Inc ranks #5 of 41 companies by market capitalization in its industry, holding 8.91 % of total industry market cap. The industry's Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) is 780, indicating a unconcentrated market structure (U.S. antitrust guidance: below 1,500 unconcentrated, 1,500 to 2,500 moderately concentrated, above 2,500 highly concentrated).
| Rank | Company | Market Cap | Industry Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Laureate Education Inc | 5,265 | 12.93 % |
| 2 | Graham Holdings Co | 4,912 | 12.07 % |
| 3 | Covista inc | 4,197 | 10.31 % |
| 4 | Grand Canyon Education inc | 3,839 | 9.43 % |
| 5 | Stride Inc | 3,629 | 8.91 % |
| 6 | Lixiang Education Holding Co Ltd | 1,234 | 5.2% |
| 7 | Tal Education Group | 1,234 | 5.2% |
| 8 | Perdoceo Education Corp | 1,234 | 5.2% |
| 9 | 17 Education and Technology Group Inc | 1,234 | 5.2% |
| 10 | Youdao Inc | 1,234 | 5.2% |
Market cap and industry share for the rest of Stride Inc's industry peers requires a Commercial License.
Source: CSIMarket API (daily market-structure computation) across CSIMarket's industry classification, market capitalization as of 2026-09-28.
Stride Inc's Same-Size Peers & Stock Performance
Peers chosen by closeness in market-cap rank within the same industry classification (not the named-competitor list above). Trailing 12-month total return, 3-month price momentum, beta and Sharpe ratio vs the broad U.S. market.| Rank | Company | Market Cap | TTM Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Laureate Education Inc | 5,265 | 21.20 % |
| 2 | Graham Holdings Co | 4,912 | -0.92 % |
| 3 | Covista inc | 4,197 | -20.24 % |
| 4 | Grand Canyon Education inc | 3,839 | -32.08 % |
| 5 | Stride Inc | 3,629 | -47.62 % |
| 6 | Lixiang Education Holding Co Ltd | 1,234 | 12.3% |
| 7 | Tal Education Group | 1,234 | 12.3% |
| 8 | Perdoceo Education Corp | 1,234 | 12.3% |
| 9 | 17 Education and Technology Group Inc | 1,234 | 12.3% |
| 10 | Youdao Inc | 1,234 | 12.3% |
Market cap, return, momentum, beta and Sharpe ratio for the rest of Stride Inc's same-size peers requires a Commercial License.
Source: CSIMarket API (daily market-structure computation); returns and risk metrics as of 2026-09-28. Beta and Sharpe ratio are versus the broad U.S. equity market, not this industry.
Stride Inc's Profitability & Cost Structure
Trailing 12-month margins from SEC-filed financials. Operating margin is compared to the Educational Services industry median; gross margin, EBITDA margin and capital intensity are compared to the live industry average (44 companies). See the full Educational Services industry profitability benchmarks.| Metric | Company | Industry | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Margin | 37.78 % | 49.04 % (avg) | -11.3 pp |
| Operating Margin | 17.91 % | industry median | +12.0 pp |
| EBITDA Margin | 25.71 % | -0.18 % (avg) | +25.9 pp |
| Capital Intensity (Capex / Revenue) | - | 1.94 % (avg) | - |
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. SG&A and R&D as a share of revenue have limited coverage as this data is backfilled and appear only where reported. Higher capital intensity is not inherently negative; it reflects the industry's asset requirements.
Stride Inc's Valuation vs Competitive Position
Valuation multiples vs the Educational Services industry average (44 companies, excluding loss-making/negative-equity outliers), alongside returns on capital for context on whether a premium or discount lines up with measurably stronger or weaker returns. See the full Educational Services industry valuation benchmarks.| Metric | Company | Industry Average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | 12.5x | 14.6x | -2.1x |
| EV / EBITDA | 5.9x | 12.4x | -6.6x |
| P/B | 2.7x | 3.0x | -0.3x |
| Return on Equity | 21.54 % | industry aggregate | 4.87 % |
| Return on Invested Capital | 12.34 % | -0.82 % (avg) | 13.16 % |
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. A valuation premium or discount is not, by itself, a judgment of over- or under-valuation. Compare it against the return and growth context shown elsewhere on this page.
Stride Inc's Multi-Year Financial Trajectory
Fiscal-year revenue growth, operating margin, return on invested capital and P/E, as reported in SEC filings.| Metric | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue Growth | 10.59 % | 4.74 % | 24.31 % | 25.62 % | 10.07 % | 10.06 % | 13.20 % | 14.79 % |
| Operating Margin | 5.02 % | 3.60 % | 5.66 % | 6.87 % | 8.30 % | 11.03 % | 15.25 % | 17.88 % |
| Return on Invested Capital | 4.01 % | 2.82 % | 4.24 % | 5.38 % | 6.80 % | 8.80 % | 11.45 % | 12.90 % |
| P/E | 26.4x | 25.0x | 18.6x | 20.0x | 14.8x | 15.0x | 18.0x | 10.2x |
Source: CSIMarket API, fiscal-year figures. P/E is this company's own historical ratio at each fiscal year end and can swing sharply around an earnings trough: that is real, not a data error.
Stride Inc's Strategic Group Map
Every company in Stride Inc's industry and named-competitor list, plotted by trailing 12-month revenue growth and operating margin. Stride Inc is shown in red; its closest peers by combined growth, margin and ROIC (the Similar Growth & Profitability group above) are labeled.
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. Extreme outlier values (from near-zero-revenue companies) are excluded from the plotted cloud but never from the highlighted company or its labeled peers.
Stride Inc's BCG Growth-Share Matrix
Relative market share (vs Stride Inc's largest competitor by market cap) against industry revenue growth, using the standard textbook thresholds (1.0x share, 10% growth) a common framework, not a precision instrument.
Stride Inc falls in the Dog quadrant: relative market share of 0.69x vs its largest competitor, in an industry growing revenue 3.5% (median, trailing 12 months).
Source: CSIMarket API (market-cap share and industry revenue growth). The 10% growth and 1.0x share lines are standard textbook thresholds, not derived from this industry's own distribution.
Stride Inc's Competitive Forces (Porter's Five Forces)
Only the forces this data can support honestly are shown; the other three are marked as such rather than guessed.| Force | Assessment | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Competitive Rivalry | High | Industry HHI of 780 (see Industry Market Structure & Concentration above) |
| Supplier Power | Not covered on this page | See Stride Inc's dedicated suppliers page for concentration and dependency data |
| Buyer Power | Not covered on this page | See Stride Inc's dedicated customers page for concentration and dependency data |
| Threat of Substitutes | - | No systematic data source for cross-product substitution exists in this system; not estimated |
Note: this is a partial, data-grounded application of the framework, not a complete strategic assessment. Rivalry and barriers-to-entry readings are mechanical translations of the HHI and capital-intensity figures shown elsewhere on this page, not independent judgments.
Stride Inc's Industry Attractiveness & Competitive Strength
A CSIMarket composite, not a standard field: each axis is an equal-weighted average of three factors already shown elsewhere on this page (industry growth, industry profitability and rivalry for attractiveness; relative market share, profitability and growth vs industry for strength). Disclosed as a designed methodology, not a precision measurement.
Stride Inc falls in the Low attractiveness / Medium strength cell: Harvest.
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. Each axis score is a simple 1(low)/2(medium)/3(high) average across its three inputs -- a transparent, disclosed simplification, not a validated academic scoring model.
Stride Inc's SWOT
Every point below is a fixed rule applied to a metric already shown elsewhere on this page (Market Structure, Profitability, Valuation, Run-Rate, Stock Performance, Quality Breadth) not an independent strategic assessment. A blank quadrant means no rule was met, not that none apply.Strengths
- Operating margin 12.0 points above the industry median.
Weaknesses
- Underperforming the U.S.A. 500 over the trailing 12 months.
Opportunities
- Trades at a lower P/E than the industry average (12.5x vs 14.6x) despite a higher return on invested capital -- a possible re-rating opportunity.
- A meaningful share of tracked competitors (33.30 %) show financial-distress signals, a possible opening to gain share.
Threats
- Tracked peer group's revenue run-rate is broadly decelerating (-4.1% annualized).
Methodology: mechanical, rule-based SWOT. Each bullet reuses a figure already sourced and cited elsewhere on this page; nothing here is generated narrative or independent analyst judgment.
Stride Inc's Financial Strength vs Peers Comparison
Quick ratio, working capital, debt to equity and asset turnover, trailing 12 months| Company | Quick Ratio | Working Capital | Debt / Equity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stride Inc | 2.39 | 6.04 | 0.27 |
| Ralph Lauren Corporation | 0.93 | 1.99 | 0.46 |
| 51talk Online Education Group | 0.00 | 0.63 | - |
| Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc | 0.15 | 0.50 | 0.83 |
| Nerdy Inc | 1.70 | 2.11 | 0.48 |
| Chegg Inc | 0.27 | 0.98 | 0.36 |
Quick ratio = cash / current liabilities; working capital ratio = current assets / current liabilities; asset turnover = revenue / total assets. Peers in the Blank Checks industry are excluded.
Stride Inc's Revenue and Income Growth vs Peers
Quarterly revenue and net income growth, year over year and quarter over quarter| Company | Period | Revenue Y/Y | Income Y/Y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stride Inc | Q2 2026 | -2.7 % | +58.6 % |
| Ralph Lauren Corporation | Q2 2026 | +14.0 % | +19.0 % |
| 51talk Online Education Group | Q4 2025 | +87.3 % | - |
| Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc | Q2 2026 | +6.5 % | -25.8 % |
| Nerdy Inc | Q2 2026 | -3.6 % | - |
| Chegg Inc | Q2 2026 | -50.5 % | - |
| PEERS TOTAL | +7.9 % | +31.5 % |
Growth is shown only where both periods are positive. Peers in the Blank Checks industry are excluded.
Stride Inc's Peers' Costs of Sales and Capital Expenditures
Context for revenue growth: peer costs and capex, year over year and quarter over quarter| Company | Period | Costs Y/Y | Capex Y/Y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stride Inc | Q2 2026 | +1.0 % | +192.2 % |
| Ralph Lauren Corporation | Q2 2026 | +8.1 % | -71.5 % |
| 51talk Online Education Group | Q4 2025 | +159.2 % | +644.8 % |
| Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc | Q2 2026 | +7.5 % | +0.8 % |
| Nerdy Inc | Q2 2026 | -10.3 % | +32.3 % |
| Chegg Inc | Q2 2026 | -32.7 % | -49.4 % |
Stride Inc's Returns and Turnover vs Peers
ROA, ROI and ROE (trailing 12 months), receivables and inventory turnover| Company | ROA | ROI | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stride Inc | 14.23% | 15.93% | 21.54% |
| Ralph Lauren Corporation | 13.20% | 14.27% | 36.63% |
| 51talk Online Education Group | - | - | - |
| Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc | 4.56% | 4.83% | 14.42% |
| Nerdy Inc | - | - | - |
| Chegg Inc | - | - | - |
ROA = net income / total assets; ROI = net income / investments; ROE = net income / equity; turnover ratios use trailing 12 month revenue (receivables) and cost of sales (inventory).
Stride Inc's Valuation vs Peers
P/E, price to sales, PEG, price to cash flow and price to book| Company | P/E | Price / Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Stride Inc | 10.69 | 1.44 |
| Ralph Lauren Corporation | 22.53 | 2.62 |
| 51talk Online Education Group | - | 43.20 |
| Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc | 20.17 | 1.09 |
| Nerdy Inc | - | 6.00 |
| Chegg Inc | - | 0.30 |
| PEERS AVERAGE | 24.69 | 2.36 |
P/E = price / diluted EPS (trailing 12 months); PEG = P/E divided by EPS growth; the average row divides the peers' combined market cap by their combined income, sales, cash flow and equity.