NASDAQ:APEI American Public Education Q2 2024 Earnings Report $24.72 -0.11 (-0.45%) As of 10:26 AM Eastern This is a fair market value price provided by Polygon.io. Learn more. Earnings HistoryForecast American Public Education EPS ResultsActual EPS$0.01Consensus EPS $0.01Beat/MissMet ExpectationsOne Year Ago EPSN/AAmerican Public Education Revenue ResultsActual Revenue$152.90 millionExpected Revenue$154.06 millionBeat/MissMissed by -$1.16 millionYoY Revenue GrowthN/AAmerican Public Education Announcement DetailsQuarterQ2 2024Date8/6/2024TimeN/AConference Call DateTuesday, August 6, 2024Conference Call Time5:00PM ETUpcoming EarningsAmerican Public Education's Q1 2025 earnings is scheduled for Monday, May 12, 2025, with a conference call scheduled at 5:00 PM ET. Check back for transcripts, audio, and key financial metrics as they become available.Q1 2025 Earnings ReportConference Call ResourcesConference Call AudioConference Call TranscriptSlide DeckPress Release (8-K)Quarterly Report (10-Q)Earnings HistoryCompany ProfileSlide DeckFull Screen Slide DeckPowered by American Public Education Q2 2024 Earnings Call TranscriptProvided by QuartrAugust 6, 2024 ShareLink copied to clipboard.There are 8 speakers on the call. Operator00:00:00Hello, and welcome to the American Public Education, Inc. 2nd Quarter 2024 Earnings Call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speakers' remarks, there will be a question and answer session. I would now like to turn the conference over to Brian Pernovo, Investor Relations. Operator00:00:23You may begin. Speaker 100:00:26Thank you, Sarah, and good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to American Public Education's conference call to discuss Q2 2024 results. Joining me on the call today are Angela Seldon, President and Chief Executive Officer Rick Sunderland, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and Steve Summers, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer. Materials for the call today are available in the Quarterly Reports section of APEI's website. Statements made during this conference call and any accompanying presentation regarding APEI and its subsidiaries that are not historical facts may be considered forward looking statements based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections. Speaker 100:01:10Forward looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Forward looking statements may sometimes be identified by words like anticipate, believe, seek, could, estimate, expect, can, may, plan, potentially, project, should, will, would in similar or opposite words. Forward looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding expectations for registrations and enrollments, revenue, earnings and adjusted EBITDA and other earnings guidance, repositioning Rasmussen University for growth, changing market demands and our ability to satisfy such demands and other company initiatives, including with respect to future competition and demand and cost savings efforts. This presentation contains references to non GAAP financial information. A reconciliation between the non GAAP financial measures we use in the most directly comparable GAAP measures is located in the appendix to today's presentation and in the earnings release. Speaker 100:02:16Management believes that the presentation of non GAAP financial information provides useful supplemental information to investors regarding its results of operations and should be and should only be considered in addition to and not as a substitute or superior to any measure of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. Now, I'd like to turn the call over to APEI's CEO, Angela Seldon. Angie, please go ahead. Speaker 200:02:43Thank you, Brian. Good afternoon and thank you for joining American Public Education's Q2 2024 Earnings Call. For those of you new to APEI, our 4 post secondary institutions are among the largest in the country in educating adult learners, with an emphasis on educating those in service to others, namely new nurses, active duty military, veterans, first responders and the federal workforce. On an annual basis, APEI provides online and campus based postsecondary education and career learning to approximately 125,000 adult learners worldwide. Our mission is to power, purpose, potential and prosperity to those in service to others. Speaker 200:03:37On today's call, we will cover in more detail the following good news highlights. First, in Q2 twenty twenty four, this marked the 7th consecutive quarter where APEI's adjusted EBITDA has met or exceeded guidance. Overall, APEI revenue grew 3.9% year over year to $152,900,000 We saw significant improvement in APEI's adjusted EBITDA, which grew 24% to $10,900,000 primarily driven by year over year operating performance at both Rasmussen and APEI Corporate. Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded by 118 basis points to 7.2% when compared to 2Q 2023. Next, I'm pleased to report that Rasmussen has achieved its 1st year over year positive revenue and enrollment quarter since our acquisition in 2021 and as we had signaled earlier this year. Speaker 200:04:51And finally, we are reiterating our full year guidance of revenue between $620,000,000 $630,000,000 in revenue and adjusted EBITDA between $60,000,000 $70,000,000 Now I'd like to provide more detail about the results and trajectory of our education units, starting first with Rasmussen. I'm very pleased with the progress we have made to stabilize and put Rasmussen back on a trajectory for revenue and enrollment growth and positive EBITDA. 2nd quarter enrollments, which we shared in our last earnings call, were 13,600, down just 2%. More importantly, 3rd quarter enrollments, which we are sharing for the first time today, grew slightly on a year over year basis to 13,500 students, powered by double digit growth in our nursing and health sciences online programs and is the positive turn in the business toward which we've been working. This is particularly noteworthy as Rasmussen decided to suspend new enrollment in its 2 Wisconsin campuses, which operate in small markets, while it continues to optimize the campus footprint to improve profitability and to strengthen margins. Speaker 200:06:21While we don't typically report starts, I think it's important to note that start growth was nearly 10% in the quarter and reflected positive year over year start growth in both the Rasmussen Online and Rasmussen Campus portions of the business. The continued momentum in enrollments also corresponds with growth in revenue, where RASSS in revenue was up 2%, which is also the first time since APEI's acquisition and is indicative of the path to continued growth and profitability. EBITDA for the Rasmussen segment was negative in the quarter, but the loss narrowed to -4.7000000 dollars from -7.1000000 dollars in the prior year period. In conjunction with the expected growth in enrollments in the second half, we continue to expect Rasmussen to move into positive EBITDA territory in the Q4 of 2024, which sets us up for a much stronger profit picture in 2025. In terms of student outcomes, we again produced strong NCLEX pass rates in the 2nd quarter, where 22 of 25 programs are meeting the required thresholds year to date. Speaker 200:07:44Now I'd like to turn our attention to API's online university serving military and veterans, APUS. In 2Q 'twenty four, overall net course registrations increased 1.7% year over year, reflecting the strong retention of returning students. Revenue at APUS was higher due to the overall growth in registrations as well as higher average revenue per registration from last year's modest tuition and fee increases. As APUS has invested in 2024 to strengthen its online curriculum, implement a faculty pay increase for part time faculty, invest in IT infrastructure optimization, and better align its marketing spend, 2Q EBITDA margin was slightly lower year over year. Looking ahead to the Q3, we would expect EBITDA margins at APUS to be similar given those same factors. Speaker 200:08:49At Hondros, as previously reported, 2Q24 enrollment remains strong. We also saw growth continue in 3Q24 with enrollment increasing more than 10% year over year to 3,100 students, even against a strong 17% comp a year ago. Demand remained strong for both the PN and ADN nursing programs with the new Detroit campus performing very well. Legacy campus also contributed to growth, including Indianapolis, where we still operate with enrollment cap as a new program despite exceptional NCLEX pass rates. Starts at Hondros remain robust and we continue to be pleased with the growth we are seeing. Speaker 200:09:39In 3Q 'twenty four, Hondros has relocated one of its Ohio campuses and has experienced some unexpected infrastructure setbacks in that location, which we expect will result in some temporary but limited impact to enrollment at that one location. Overall, with the stabilization of enrollments and continued improvement in EBITDA at Rasmussen, at APEI, we are now delivering positive growth in revenue, adjusted EBITDA and margins on a consolidated basis. Before turning the call over to Rick Sunderland, APEI's CFO, I'd like to frame where we are as an enterprise and provide some specificity as to where we're headed. With the stabilization of Rasmussen well underway, including line of sight to continued enrollment and revenue growth from that unit, we see margins at Rasmussen shifting from negative to positive in the Q4, setting the stage for 2025 and beyond. Rasmussen also expects to expand its campus footprint for the first time in over 5 years once the Department of Education growth restrictions are lifted, which will allow us to expand our impact in addressing the large demand for nursing and other clinical roles in our overstretched healthcare system. Speaker 200:11:01We fundamentally believe in our vision that education can transform lives, advance careers and improve communities. Our 4 education units were built for service minded students, offering accessible and affordable higher education and training across a diverse range of subjects. At APEI, we have carved out distinctive market positions. American Military University or AMU is the number one provider of higher education to the U. S. Speaker 200:11:32Military and has been named the top choice nationwide for veterans using their GI Bill benefit. Hondros College of Nursing focuses on educating pre licensure nursing students at 8 campuses and is the number one provider of pre licensure PN education in the state of Ohio. Both Hondros and Rasmussen continue to tackle the chronic nursing shortage by graduating thousands of new nurses each year, where the demand for nurses is expected to grow significantly to 3,300,000 in 2,031, an increase of 195,000 and an additional 203,000 job openings each year when retirements and workforce exits are factored in. Overall, higher education remains a critical accelerator for anyone seeking employment in the U. S. Speaker 200:12:27With an increasing amount of working adult students driving the higher education market, which is expected to reach approximately $173,000,000,000 by 2,030. We are proud that APEI's affordable, learn to earn focus enables students to experience a strong lifelong return on their educational investment. With that, let me turn the call over to APEI's CFO, Rick Sunderland. Speaker 300:12:57Thank you, Angie. Total revenue in the Q2 was $152,900,000 up $5,700,000 or 3.9% from the prior year period. 2nd quarter revenue growth was driven by increased revenue at AQS, Hondros and Rasmussen, partially offset by a revenue decline at graduate school, which was approximately $1,000,000 less than our guidance. Total cost and expenses in the 2nd quarter decreased $61,800,000 or 29.1 percent compared to the Q2 of 2023, which included a non cash impairment charge of $64,000,000 to reduce the carrying value of RU segment, goodwill and intangible assets and the corresponding tax impact. Cost and expenses for the Q2 as compared to the prior period, excluding loss on leases, severance costs and information technology transition services costs in 2024 and goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges in 2023 increased $700,000 primarily to increases in other technology and marketing expenses. Speaker 300:14:042nd quarter diluted loss per common share improved significantly and was a loss of 0 point compared to an adjusted net loss of $0.25 in the prior year quarter, which excludes the $64,000,000 goodwill and intangible asset impairment. For the quarter, adjusted EBITDA increased 24 percent to $10,900,000 compared to $8,800,000 in the prior year period. The 2nd quarter results were at the high end of guidance and represented an adjusted EBITDA margin of 7.2% as compared to 6% in the prior year quarter. At A2S, 2nd quarter revenue increased 4.7% as compared to the prior year to $77,000,000 due to a 1.7% increase in net course registrations driven by an increase in registrations by military affiliated students utilizing VA benefits and tuition and fee increases in the 2nd and third quarters of 2023. In total, EBITDA margin at APUS was 25% compared to 28% in the prior year. Speaker 300:15:06The change in margin was primarily due to increased information technology, employee compensation and advertising employee compensation and advertising costs. At Rasmussen, 2nd quarter revenue was $53,000,000 an increase of 2% compared to the prior year due to an increase in tuition in the Q1 of 2024, partially offset by a 2.2% decrease in total student enrollment. The decline in total student enrollment was driven by an 8.8% decrease in on ground enrollment, partially offset by a 4.2% increase in online enrollment, which has the lower revenue per student as compared to the prior year period. As Nancy mentioned, the year over year enrollment declines have narrowed in each of the past 5 quarters and Q3 total enrollment is up slightly. In the 2nd quarter, Rasmussen's EBITDA improved to a loss of $4,700,000 compared to an EBITDA loss in the prior period of $7,100,000 representing an approximate 33% year over year improvement after adjusting for last year's goodwill impairment, this year's loss on leases. Speaker 300:16:10At Hondros, 2nd quarter revenue was up 15% to $16,400,000 as compared to the prior year period due to continued enrollment growth and the 2023 tuition increase. For the quarter, Hondros total enrollment grew 9.4% to approximately 3,300 students, the 3rd consecutive record setting quarter for enrollment. For the quarter, Conra's EBITDA loss was a loss of $400,000 compared to positive EBITDA of $100,000 in the prior year period. Revenue in graduate school included in corporate and other was $6,500,000 compared to $7,500,000 in the prior year period. For the quarter, graduate school EBITDA loss was 700,000 dollars compared to positive EBITDA of 800,000 in the prior year period. Speaker 300:17:01At June 30, 2024 total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash was $156,200,000 an increase of $11,800,000 from year end 2023. For the 6 months ended June 30, 2024 cash flow from operations increased 16% to $33,200,000 compared to the prior year. CapEx for the 1st 6 months was $11,400,000 and free cash flow defined as adjusted EBITDA less CapEx was $16,600,000 compared to $9,200,000 a year ago. Principal on API's term loan at June 30 was $96,000,000 With unrestricted cash of 130,000,000 API continues to be net cash positive. Additionally, there are no borrowings under API's $20,000,000 revolving credit facility, which remains fully available. Speaker 300:17:57Turning now to the Q3 2024 outlook. APUS total debt course registrations are expected to be flat to slightly down compared to the prior year between 90,500 to 92,300 registrations. We believe the softness in 3rd quarter HOS registrations is largely attributable to changes in marketing spend in late 2023, which typically has 2 to 3 a 2 to 3 quarter lag in registration numbers. Appropriate adjustments are being made to marketing spend to correct this decline. At Rasmussen and Hondros, 3rd quarter student enrollments are actual because of the quarterly starts with these schools. Speaker 300:18:42At Rasmussen, 3rd quarter on ground enrollment decreased minus 5% to approximately 6,030 students, while total online student enrollment increased 4.7% year over year to approximately 7,440 students for an aggregate enrollment of approximately 13,500 students. This represents a slight increase when compared to the Q3 of 2023 and is the Q1 of positive year over year enrollment growth since the acquisition. At Hondros, Q3 total student enrollment increased 10% year over year to approximately 3,100 students. In the Q3 of 2024 consolidated revenue is expected to be between $152,000,000 $155,000,000 The company expects net income to common shareholders to be between a loss of $1,200,000 and income of $1,000,000 or between a loss of $0.06 and income of $0.05 per diluted share. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between 9,000,000 dollars 12,000,000 in the Q3 of 2024. Speaker 300:19:49Our full year guidance is unchanged with anticipated consolidated full year 2024 revenue in a range of $620,000,000 to $630,000,000 We expect our adjusted EBITDA to be between 60,000,000 dollars to $70,000,000 for the full year. The 2nd and third quarters tend to be seasonally low quarters with a notable increase in adjusted EBITDA in the 4th quarter, especially as Rasmussen continues ramping in the 4th quarter. I will now pass it back to Anjik to offer some closing remarks, after which we will begin our question and answer session. Anjie? Speaker 200:20:26Thank you, Rick. During the quarter, we continued to execute our strategic initiatives to grow enrollment at APUS and stabilize and increase profitability at our other units. We're further encouraged by the performance at Rasmussen as enrollment numbers have stabilized and had the 1st year over year improvement since our acquisition. Market fundamentals continue to support our business strategy with increasing growth in higher education and online education markets and significant government education benefits for military and veterans. With our number one market position in active duty military and veterans and focus on high demand sectors like nursing, we are well positioned to capitalize on this growth. Speaker 200:21:11As we move ahead in 2024 and continue to execute on our key milestones, I believe that we have built the foundation of a business that can continue to deliver to its students value, to its stakeholders value, and to their communities value for years to come. And with that, I would now like to hand the call back to operator to begin our question and answer session. Operator? Operator00:21:39Thank you, Angie. Your first question comes from the line of Raj Sharma with B. Riley. Your line is open. Speaker 400:22:01Yes. Thank you for taking my questions. I wanted to understand a little bit, maybe get some color on rasmussen. I see the improvement in the enrollment is now almost flat projected to be almost flat next quarter. Where can this business what can this business do and is capable of specifically not as much in the year on year growth from here, but really on the EBITDA margins, you're getting you had negative 9% this quarter in the EBITDA margins. Speaker 400:22:41What could these get to in the second half and more sort of longer term fiscal 2025, 2020 6 relative to where they were when you purchased Rasmussen or what the original capability of the operation is? Thank you. Speaker 200:23:05Raj, thank you very much for that question. That's, a lengthy question with many component parts to it. So let me start by saying, as we signaled, we believe 2H24 is where Rasmussen will turn to positive adjusted EBITDA, and we see line of sight to that. We're excited about that. Several of the things that we believe will have a positive effect on 2025 include the completion of our exiting of the 3rd party IT agreement with Collegius. Speaker 200:23:39And we expect to see meaningful savings on a full year run rate basis in 2025 as a result. And certainly, as we turn the corner on the enrollment to positive momentum in the 4th quarter and in 2025 and beyond. We believe that that will have a meaningful improvement in our adjusted EBITDA for each new dollar of revenue. We're now more than covering the fixed costs and that has a very significant effect on our adjusted EBITDA in 2025 and beyond. We're not presently giving guidance on 2025, but I'll turn it over to Steve with any other comments he'd like to share. Speaker 500:24:29Yes, Raj, I'll just add some context around there. In the industry in general, nursing schools and schools similar to Rasmus and operate in the 10%, 15% 15% plus range. We're obviously working to improve that quarter to quarter. Angie signaled that we're going to be profitable in terms of EBITDA in the Q4. So I think it's reasonable to think that over time we can get to 5% to 10% margins over the next 1 to 2 years. Speaker 500:24:58As you think about us inside the industry, that would be very consistent. And I think as you look forward to the third I think you asked about the second half as well, the Q3 and then the Q4, right, will still be negative in the Q3. But on a 2H basis, we would expect it to be positive overall for the second half and the fourth quarter itself. So that gives you a little bit of context around. And I think the trend that has been in place for the last 12 plus months is sort of directing in that general zone. Speaker 400:25:38Got it. And then could you talk a little bit about the APUS enrollment trends? And is this sort of flat to down a little expected? Is that seasonal? And where do you see overall those trends in enrollment? Speaker 200:25:57I'll start, Raj, and then I'll have Rick provide more detail on Jerry. In Rick's remarks, he did discuss the decision in the Q4 of 2023 to dial back investments in marketing in certain segments of APUS. And there's a 2 quarter lag, that we see in terms of those investments turning into enrollment. So as we approach Q3, we are seeing the effect of that reduction in marketing spend, which has since been course corrected and we expect in the future quarters for that enrollment momentum to return. So Rick, I'm going to turn it over to you for more detail. Speaker 300:26:44Yes, that's exactly right, Raj. And there is that lag. So I would suggest that if things function as we expect and we expect they will, the course correction we're making now or have been making recently will play out in the numbers over 2 or 3 quarter lag. That's just the way the business Speaker 100:27:06functions. Speaker 300:27:07We remain strong in my comments. I talked about the strength of the military affiliate and we remain strong in the veterans community. And quite frankly, our market share in active duty military is the highest it's ever been. And so we have continued strength there. The marketing will resolve over 1 to 2 quarters, maybe 3. Speaker 200:27:34Yes. I think what I'll also say is that the margin optimization efforts that were underway last year help us now understand the sensitivity around marketing spend. And so now that we understand that we can be a lot more thoughtful in how we invest our marketing against certain channels and segments going forward. And so we've tested that and we now know where those boundaries are. And we also are seeing, in particular, growing strength in the veterans market. Speaker 200:28:10It's something that we've been leaning into and wanting to see momentum build. And so we're quite pleased with the results we're seeing with veterans. Speaker 400:28:20Great. Thanks for answering my questions. That was very helpful. I'll take it offline. Thank you. Speaker 200:28:25Okay. Thanks, Resh. Operator00:28:31Your next question comes from the line of Stephen Sheldon with William Blair. Your line is open. Speaker 600:28:39Hey, team. You have Matt Fialik on for Stephen. Thank you for taking my questions. Wanted to start with 1 on the full year guidance. Wondering if you could talk about some of the factors that would need to play out to push you toward the upper end of the guidance range, particularly for the revenue guide, which seems to assume a decent quarter over quarter step up in the Q4 based on the 3Q guide. Speaker 600:29:03I know there's some seasonality at play there, but any additional color would be helpful. Speaker 200:29:10Yes, I'll turn it over to Rick. Speaker 300:29:11This is Rick. I'll start and then Angie can fill in. Speaker 200:29:13You bet. Speaker 300:29:15Well, if you want to push up through that range, things that would have to go favorably would be a quicker, call it, uptake on the marketing spend at APUS, right? We talked about what has been observed as a typical lag between altering a spend, be it total dollars or allocation among segments and then the resulting improvement in registrations. If that accelerates, then of course that would push revenue up higher in the range. We're seeing strength at Rasmussen, right? We've got the turn a slight improvement year over year and that momentum will continue. Speaker 300:30:03And I think Angie commented on the strength of the start numbers, right, which is a leading indicator as it relates to total enrollment. And that strength could accelerate or build on itself to push this up. Then you drop down to Hondros. They've got a new program that they're introducing as a new program. We don't have any observable experience in medical assisting as to how that enrollment pattern will ultimately play out. Speaker 300:30:34That could go up or go down, right? It's a new program. And then graduate school, we've got Steve Summers, who's in the room here, who's back. And while it's a smaller piece of the overall enterprise, it certainly has an impact on the Q2 reported results. And then of course, the opposite could be true. Speaker 300:30:54An uptake of $1,000,000 or $2,000,000 there in the federal workforce would obviously be very helpful against the range. So I'll pause there and let Angie add to the comments. Speaker 200:31:06So I think that's a pretty good synopsis. The last thing I would say is that we passed along price increases at certain segments across APUS, Hondros and Rasmussen. And assuming that those price increases continue to hold without degradation in our student enrollments, that will also play favorably in the overall revenue that we would expect for the full year. Speaker 600:31:37Got it. That's helpful color. Thank you, Angie and Rick. And then had another one on NCLEX scores. I imagine this is tougher to call, but do you have any rough estimate on when you might have all of your nursing programs with first time NCLEX pass rates that exceed state nursing board standards? Speaker 600:31:54I know you continue to make good progress on that with a variety of initiatives you have underway, but any sense of timing on completely resolving those first time NCLEX pass rate issues at the remaining campuses? Speaker 200:32:08Sure. The one campus that we are paying attention to is in Illinois, where we have, done significant amount of renewing of faculty. We're upgrading the curriculum. That campus was operating with an older version of the curriculum that was not aligned with the next gen NCLEX testing. And so we, believe that the turn on NCLEX scores in Illinois will be slower than the 2 other remaining campuses. Speaker 200:32:46So, we but we are incredibly happy with the, NCLEX results that we're that we're posting now. All of our BSN programs, all of them are above the state standards, all but one in our ADN program, which has been an area of challenge for us in the past, and 2 of our PN programs. And so we're just very, very pleased with the incredible turn that Rasmussen has demonstrated in terms of improving its NCLEX pass rate. Speaker 500:33:19Matt, this is Steve. Let me just add one more comment to that. If you went back in terms of the number of programs that are passing today year to date, 2 out of 25, that is now higher than it was in the prior 2 years before we acquired the business. So we've obviously made a lot of improvement in the near term, but now we are on a path to a better result on a longer trend basis as well. Speaker 600:33:49Perfect. That's great color and yes, great to see the continued progress there. Thank you. Speaker 200:33:55Thank you. Operator00:33:57Your next question comes from the line of Jasper Bibb with Truist Securities. Your line is open. Speaker 700:34:06Hey, everyone. Apologies if anything has been answered already. I joined a little bit late from another call. Just wanted to ask about Rasmussen Nursing. I guess, is there any update on the Florida RU campuses from last quarter? Speaker 700:34:23And I think there's also potentially a bill in Illinois to help you a bit with the campus you mentioned on the last answer, is there any change there? Speaker 200:34:34Sure. So, Jasper, I'm not exactly sure what specifically you mean relative to the Florida campuses. So I'll start with NCLEX results where we have all program campus combinations, meeting the state standard for the year to date, measurement period. So we're very, very pleased with, the incredible turnaround that we've had in NCLEX performance in Florida. Can you repeat the if that doesn't answer your question, is there something more specific here you had in mind? Speaker 700:35:12No, no, that's helpful. I think last quarter there was basically a technical thing where you had a really old cohort that triggered some of those campuses going on probation and it sounded like everything was Yes. Speaker 200:35:22That's right. We've been really happy with the results of pushing through and putting every single program campus combination in the green. Speaker 700:35:37Okay, great. Speaker 300:35:38And second part of Speaker 700:35:39the question was, I think there was a bill in Illinois that could give you some relief on a you mentioned campus, a little bit longer turnaround time there. I think that bill might have afforded you, will it have time to set up the relevant thresholds? Just kind of curious if there's any update there or that's still kind of in the works through their legislature? Speaker 200:36:01Yes. That still remains in place. And so that relief affords us a 2 year measurement period. We certainly aren't going to wait until the end. We're working very aggressively. Speaker 200:36:16And as I did mention, I think before you joined the call here, we've done 2 major things in Illinois to accelerate our performance in that in those campuses including, basically a replacement revitalization of the several of the faculty there. And importantly, we are modernizing the curriculum. Illinois, for a technical reason, a Board of Nursing reason, had required us to be operating with a curriculum that was, older than the version of curriculum we had been offering in our other campuses. We were able to work with the Board of Nursing to allow them or have them allow us to modernize that curriculum. So now we are moving that curriculum to the next gen version, which is the version for the new exam. Speaker 200:37:06And we have a high degree of confidence that the new faculty, the dedicated attention from our nursing leadership and the new curriculum will allow us to see significant improvements in, in our Illinois campuses in the future. Operator00:37:29This concludes our question and answer session. I'd now like to turn the call back over to Angie for closing remarks. Speaker 200:37:36Thank you, operator. I'd like to thank each of you for joining our earnings conference call. We look forward to continuing to update you on our ongoing progress and growth as we continue our rapid pace of operational execution. If we were unable to answer any questions, please reach out to our IR firm, Emsi Group, who would be more than happy to assist. Operator00:37:59Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude today's conference. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect your lines and have a wonderful day.Read morePowered by Conference Call Audio Live Call not available Earnings Conference CallAmerican Public Education Q2 202400:00 / 00:00Speed:1x1.25x1.5x2x Earnings DocumentsSlide DeckPress Release(8-K)Quarterly report(10-Q) American Public Education Earnings HeadlinesForecasting The Future: 5 Analyst Projections For American Public EducationApril 30, 2025 | benzinga.comAmerican Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) Receives $26.50 Consensus PT from BrokeragesApril 30, 2025 | americanbankingnews.comBlackrock’s Sending THIS Crypto Higher on PurposeWhile everyone's distracted by Bitcoin's moves, a stealth revolution is underway. One altcoin is quietly positioning itself to overthrow the entire banking system.May 5, 2025 | Crypto 101 Media (Ad)American Public Education, Inc. Schedules First Quarter 2025 Earnings Call Monday, May 12, 2025 at 5:00pm ETApril 28, 2025 | prnewswire.comLake Street Initiates Coverage of American Public Education (APEI) with Buy RecommendationApril 26, 2025 | msn.comAnalysts Are Bullish on Top Consumer Goods Stocks: American Public Education (APEI), Procter & Gamble (PG)April 26, 2025 | theglobeandmail.comSee More American Public Education Headlines Get Earnings Announcements in your inboxWant to stay updated on the latest earnings announcements and upcoming reports for companies like American Public Education? Sign up for Earnings360's daily newsletter to receive timely earnings updates on American Public Education and other key companies, straight to your email. Email Address About American Public EducationAmerican Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI), together with its subsidiaries, provides online and campus-based postsecondary education and career learning in the United States. It operates through three segments: American Public University System, Rasmussen University, and Hondros College of Nursing. The company offers 184 degree programs and 134 certificate programs in various fields of study, including nursing, national security, military studies, intelligence, homeland security, business, health science, information technology, justice studies, education, and liberal arts; and career learning opportunities in leadership, finance, human resources, and other fields of study critical to the federal government workforce. It also provides nursing-and health sciences-focused postsecondary education, pre-licensure nursing programs, diploma in practical nursing, and an associate degree in nursing. The company was incorporated in 1991 and is headquartered in Charles Town, West Virginia.View American Public Education ProfileRead more More Earnings Resources from MarketBeat Earnings Tools Today's Earnings Tomorrow's Earnings Next Week's Earnings Upcoming Earnings Calls Earnings Newsletter Earnings Call Transcripts Earnings Beats & Misses Corporate Guidance Earnings Screener Earnings By Country U.S. Earnings Reports Canadian Earnings Reports U.K. Earnings Reports Latest Articles Is Reddit Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold After Earnings Release?Warning or Opportunity After Super Micro Computer's EarningsAmazon Earnings: 2 Reasons to Love It, 1 Reason to Be CautiousRocket Lab Braces for Q1 Earnings Amid Soaring ExpectationsMeta Takes A Bow With Q1 Earnings - Watch For Tariff Impact in Q2Palantir Earnings: 1 Bullish Signal and 1 Area of ConcernVisa Q2 Earnings Top Forecasts, Adds $30B Buyback Plan Upcoming Earnings Advanced Micro Devices (5/6/2025)American Electric Power (5/6/2025)Constellation Energy (5/6/2025)Marriott International (5/6/2025)Energy Transfer (5/6/2025)Mplx (5/6/2025)Brookfield Asset Management (5/6/2025)Arista Networks (5/6/2025)Duke Energy (5/6/2025)Zoetis (5/6/2025) Get 30 Days of MarketBeat All Access for Free Sign up for MarketBeat All Access to gain access to MarketBeat's full suite of research tools. 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There are 8 speakers on the call. Operator00:00:00Hello, and welcome to the American Public Education, Inc. 2nd Quarter 2024 Earnings Call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speakers' remarks, there will be a question and answer session. I would now like to turn the conference over to Brian Pernovo, Investor Relations. Operator00:00:23You may begin. Speaker 100:00:26Thank you, Sarah, and good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to American Public Education's conference call to discuss Q2 2024 results. Joining me on the call today are Angela Seldon, President and Chief Executive Officer Rick Sunderland, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and Steve Summers, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer. Materials for the call today are available in the Quarterly Reports section of APEI's website. Statements made during this conference call and any accompanying presentation regarding APEI and its subsidiaries that are not historical facts may be considered forward looking statements based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections. Speaker 100:01:10Forward looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Forward looking statements may sometimes be identified by words like anticipate, believe, seek, could, estimate, expect, can, may, plan, potentially, project, should, will, would in similar or opposite words. Forward looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding expectations for registrations and enrollments, revenue, earnings and adjusted EBITDA and other earnings guidance, repositioning Rasmussen University for growth, changing market demands and our ability to satisfy such demands and other company initiatives, including with respect to future competition and demand and cost savings efforts. This presentation contains references to non GAAP financial information. A reconciliation between the non GAAP financial measures we use in the most directly comparable GAAP measures is located in the appendix to today's presentation and in the earnings release. Speaker 100:02:16Management believes that the presentation of non GAAP financial information provides useful supplemental information to investors regarding its results of operations and should be and should only be considered in addition to and not as a substitute or superior to any measure of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. Now, I'd like to turn the call over to APEI's CEO, Angela Seldon. Angie, please go ahead. Speaker 200:02:43Thank you, Brian. Good afternoon and thank you for joining American Public Education's Q2 2024 Earnings Call. For those of you new to APEI, our 4 post secondary institutions are among the largest in the country in educating adult learners, with an emphasis on educating those in service to others, namely new nurses, active duty military, veterans, first responders and the federal workforce. On an annual basis, APEI provides online and campus based postsecondary education and career learning to approximately 125,000 adult learners worldwide. Our mission is to power, purpose, potential and prosperity to those in service to others. Speaker 200:03:37On today's call, we will cover in more detail the following good news highlights. First, in Q2 twenty twenty four, this marked the 7th consecutive quarter where APEI's adjusted EBITDA has met or exceeded guidance. Overall, APEI revenue grew 3.9% year over year to $152,900,000 We saw significant improvement in APEI's adjusted EBITDA, which grew 24% to $10,900,000 primarily driven by year over year operating performance at both Rasmussen and APEI Corporate. Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded by 118 basis points to 7.2% when compared to 2Q 2023. Next, I'm pleased to report that Rasmussen has achieved its 1st year over year positive revenue and enrollment quarter since our acquisition in 2021 and as we had signaled earlier this year. Speaker 200:04:51And finally, we are reiterating our full year guidance of revenue between $620,000,000 $630,000,000 in revenue and adjusted EBITDA between $60,000,000 $70,000,000 Now I'd like to provide more detail about the results and trajectory of our education units, starting first with Rasmussen. I'm very pleased with the progress we have made to stabilize and put Rasmussen back on a trajectory for revenue and enrollment growth and positive EBITDA. 2nd quarter enrollments, which we shared in our last earnings call, were 13,600, down just 2%. More importantly, 3rd quarter enrollments, which we are sharing for the first time today, grew slightly on a year over year basis to 13,500 students, powered by double digit growth in our nursing and health sciences online programs and is the positive turn in the business toward which we've been working. This is particularly noteworthy as Rasmussen decided to suspend new enrollment in its 2 Wisconsin campuses, which operate in small markets, while it continues to optimize the campus footprint to improve profitability and to strengthen margins. Speaker 200:06:21While we don't typically report starts, I think it's important to note that start growth was nearly 10% in the quarter and reflected positive year over year start growth in both the Rasmussen Online and Rasmussen Campus portions of the business. The continued momentum in enrollments also corresponds with growth in revenue, where RASSS in revenue was up 2%, which is also the first time since APEI's acquisition and is indicative of the path to continued growth and profitability. EBITDA for the Rasmussen segment was negative in the quarter, but the loss narrowed to -4.7000000 dollars from -7.1000000 dollars in the prior year period. In conjunction with the expected growth in enrollments in the second half, we continue to expect Rasmussen to move into positive EBITDA territory in the Q4 of 2024, which sets us up for a much stronger profit picture in 2025. In terms of student outcomes, we again produced strong NCLEX pass rates in the 2nd quarter, where 22 of 25 programs are meeting the required thresholds year to date. Speaker 200:07:44Now I'd like to turn our attention to API's online university serving military and veterans, APUS. In 2Q 'twenty four, overall net course registrations increased 1.7% year over year, reflecting the strong retention of returning students. Revenue at APUS was higher due to the overall growth in registrations as well as higher average revenue per registration from last year's modest tuition and fee increases. As APUS has invested in 2024 to strengthen its online curriculum, implement a faculty pay increase for part time faculty, invest in IT infrastructure optimization, and better align its marketing spend, 2Q EBITDA margin was slightly lower year over year. Looking ahead to the Q3, we would expect EBITDA margins at APUS to be similar given those same factors. Speaker 200:08:49At Hondros, as previously reported, 2Q24 enrollment remains strong. We also saw growth continue in 3Q24 with enrollment increasing more than 10% year over year to 3,100 students, even against a strong 17% comp a year ago. Demand remained strong for both the PN and ADN nursing programs with the new Detroit campus performing very well. Legacy campus also contributed to growth, including Indianapolis, where we still operate with enrollment cap as a new program despite exceptional NCLEX pass rates. Starts at Hondros remain robust and we continue to be pleased with the growth we are seeing. Speaker 200:09:39In 3Q 'twenty four, Hondros has relocated one of its Ohio campuses and has experienced some unexpected infrastructure setbacks in that location, which we expect will result in some temporary but limited impact to enrollment at that one location. Overall, with the stabilization of enrollments and continued improvement in EBITDA at Rasmussen, at APEI, we are now delivering positive growth in revenue, adjusted EBITDA and margins on a consolidated basis. Before turning the call over to Rick Sunderland, APEI's CFO, I'd like to frame where we are as an enterprise and provide some specificity as to where we're headed. With the stabilization of Rasmussen well underway, including line of sight to continued enrollment and revenue growth from that unit, we see margins at Rasmussen shifting from negative to positive in the Q4, setting the stage for 2025 and beyond. Rasmussen also expects to expand its campus footprint for the first time in over 5 years once the Department of Education growth restrictions are lifted, which will allow us to expand our impact in addressing the large demand for nursing and other clinical roles in our overstretched healthcare system. Speaker 200:11:01We fundamentally believe in our vision that education can transform lives, advance careers and improve communities. Our 4 education units were built for service minded students, offering accessible and affordable higher education and training across a diverse range of subjects. At APEI, we have carved out distinctive market positions. American Military University or AMU is the number one provider of higher education to the U. S. Speaker 200:11:32Military and has been named the top choice nationwide for veterans using their GI Bill benefit. Hondros College of Nursing focuses on educating pre licensure nursing students at 8 campuses and is the number one provider of pre licensure PN education in the state of Ohio. Both Hondros and Rasmussen continue to tackle the chronic nursing shortage by graduating thousands of new nurses each year, where the demand for nurses is expected to grow significantly to 3,300,000 in 2,031, an increase of 195,000 and an additional 203,000 job openings each year when retirements and workforce exits are factored in. Overall, higher education remains a critical accelerator for anyone seeking employment in the U. S. Speaker 200:12:27With an increasing amount of working adult students driving the higher education market, which is expected to reach approximately $173,000,000,000 by 2,030. We are proud that APEI's affordable, learn to earn focus enables students to experience a strong lifelong return on their educational investment. With that, let me turn the call over to APEI's CFO, Rick Sunderland. Speaker 300:12:57Thank you, Angie. Total revenue in the Q2 was $152,900,000 up $5,700,000 or 3.9% from the prior year period. 2nd quarter revenue growth was driven by increased revenue at AQS, Hondros and Rasmussen, partially offset by a revenue decline at graduate school, which was approximately $1,000,000 less than our guidance. Total cost and expenses in the 2nd quarter decreased $61,800,000 or 29.1 percent compared to the Q2 of 2023, which included a non cash impairment charge of $64,000,000 to reduce the carrying value of RU segment, goodwill and intangible assets and the corresponding tax impact. Cost and expenses for the Q2 as compared to the prior period, excluding loss on leases, severance costs and information technology transition services costs in 2024 and goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges in 2023 increased $700,000 primarily to increases in other technology and marketing expenses. Speaker 300:14:042nd quarter diluted loss per common share improved significantly and was a loss of 0 point compared to an adjusted net loss of $0.25 in the prior year quarter, which excludes the $64,000,000 goodwill and intangible asset impairment. For the quarter, adjusted EBITDA increased 24 percent to $10,900,000 compared to $8,800,000 in the prior year period. The 2nd quarter results were at the high end of guidance and represented an adjusted EBITDA margin of 7.2% as compared to 6% in the prior year quarter. At A2S, 2nd quarter revenue increased 4.7% as compared to the prior year to $77,000,000 due to a 1.7% increase in net course registrations driven by an increase in registrations by military affiliated students utilizing VA benefits and tuition and fee increases in the 2nd and third quarters of 2023. In total, EBITDA margin at APUS was 25% compared to 28% in the prior year. Speaker 300:15:06The change in margin was primarily due to increased information technology, employee compensation and advertising employee compensation and advertising costs. At Rasmussen, 2nd quarter revenue was $53,000,000 an increase of 2% compared to the prior year due to an increase in tuition in the Q1 of 2024, partially offset by a 2.2% decrease in total student enrollment. The decline in total student enrollment was driven by an 8.8% decrease in on ground enrollment, partially offset by a 4.2% increase in online enrollment, which has the lower revenue per student as compared to the prior year period. As Nancy mentioned, the year over year enrollment declines have narrowed in each of the past 5 quarters and Q3 total enrollment is up slightly. In the 2nd quarter, Rasmussen's EBITDA improved to a loss of $4,700,000 compared to an EBITDA loss in the prior period of $7,100,000 representing an approximate 33% year over year improvement after adjusting for last year's goodwill impairment, this year's loss on leases. Speaker 300:16:10At Hondros, 2nd quarter revenue was up 15% to $16,400,000 as compared to the prior year period due to continued enrollment growth and the 2023 tuition increase. For the quarter, Hondros total enrollment grew 9.4% to approximately 3,300 students, the 3rd consecutive record setting quarter for enrollment. For the quarter, Conra's EBITDA loss was a loss of $400,000 compared to positive EBITDA of $100,000 in the prior year period. Revenue in graduate school included in corporate and other was $6,500,000 compared to $7,500,000 in the prior year period. For the quarter, graduate school EBITDA loss was 700,000 dollars compared to positive EBITDA of 800,000 in the prior year period. Speaker 300:17:01At June 30, 2024 total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash was $156,200,000 an increase of $11,800,000 from year end 2023. For the 6 months ended June 30, 2024 cash flow from operations increased 16% to $33,200,000 compared to the prior year. CapEx for the 1st 6 months was $11,400,000 and free cash flow defined as adjusted EBITDA less CapEx was $16,600,000 compared to $9,200,000 a year ago. Principal on API's term loan at June 30 was $96,000,000 With unrestricted cash of 130,000,000 API continues to be net cash positive. Additionally, there are no borrowings under API's $20,000,000 revolving credit facility, which remains fully available. Speaker 300:17:57Turning now to the Q3 2024 outlook. APUS total debt course registrations are expected to be flat to slightly down compared to the prior year between 90,500 to 92,300 registrations. We believe the softness in 3rd quarter HOS registrations is largely attributable to changes in marketing spend in late 2023, which typically has 2 to 3 a 2 to 3 quarter lag in registration numbers. Appropriate adjustments are being made to marketing spend to correct this decline. At Rasmussen and Hondros, 3rd quarter student enrollments are actual because of the quarterly starts with these schools. Speaker 300:18:42At Rasmussen, 3rd quarter on ground enrollment decreased minus 5% to approximately 6,030 students, while total online student enrollment increased 4.7% year over year to approximately 7,440 students for an aggregate enrollment of approximately 13,500 students. This represents a slight increase when compared to the Q3 of 2023 and is the Q1 of positive year over year enrollment growth since the acquisition. At Hondros, Q3 total student enrollment increased 10% year over year to approximately 3,100 students. In the Q3 of 2024 consolidated revenue is expected to be between $152,000,000 $155,000,000 The company expects net income to common shareholders to be between a loss of $1,200,000 and income of $1,000,000 or between a loss of $0.06 and income of $0.05 per diluted share. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between 9,000,000 dollars 12,000,000 in the Q3 of 2024. Speaker 300:19:49Our full year guidance is unchanged with anticipated consolidated full year 2024 revenue in a range of $620,000,000 to $630,000,000 We expect our adjusted EBITDA to be between 60,000,000 dollars to $70,000,000 for the full year. The 2nd and third quarters tend to be seasonally low quarters with a notable increase in adjusted EBITDA in the 4th quarter, especially as Rasmussen continues ramping in the 4th quarter. I will now pass it back to Anjik to offer some closing remarks, after which we will begin our question and answer session. Anjie? Speaker 200:20:26Thank you, Rick. During the quarter, we continued to execute our strategic initiatives to grow enrollment at APUS and stabilize and increase profitability at our other units. We're further encouraged by the performance at Rasmussen as enrollment numbers have stabilized and had the 1st year over year improvement since our acquisition. Market fundamentals continue to support our business strategy with increasing growth in higher education and online education markets and significant government education benefits for military and veterans. With our number one market position in active duty military and veterans and focus on high demand sectors like nursing, we are well positioned to capitalize on this growth. Speaker 200:21:11As we move ahead in 2024 and continue to execute on our key milestones, I believe that we have built the foundation of a business that can continue to deliver to its students value, to its stakeholders value, and to their communities value for years to come. And with that, I would now like to hand the call back to operator to begin our question and answer session. Operator? Operator00:21:39Thank you, Angie. Your first question comes from the line of Raj Sharma with B. Riley. Your line is open. Speaker 400:22:01Yes. Thank you for taking my questions. I wanted to understand a little bit, maybe get some color on rasmussen. I see the improvement in the enrollment is now almost flat projected to be almost flat next quarter. Where can this business what can this business do and is capable of specifically not as much in the year on year growth from here, but really on the EBITDA margins, you're getting you had negative 9% this quarter in the EBITDA margins. Speaker 400:22:41What could these get to in the second half and more sort of longer term fiscal 2025, 2020 6 relative to where they were when you purchased Rasmussen or what the original capability of the operation is? Thank you. Speaker 200:23:05Raj, thank you very much for that question. That's, a lengthy question with many component parts to it. So let me start by saying, as we signaled, we believe 2H24 is where Rasmussen will turn to positive adjusted EBITDA, and we see line of sight to that. We're excited about that. Several of the things that we believe will have a positive effect on 2025 include the completion of our exiting of the 3rd party IT agreement with Collegius. Speaker 200:23:39And we expect to see meaningful savings on a full year run rate basis in 2025 as a result. And certainly, as we turn the corner on the enrollment to positive momentum in the 4th quarter and in 2025 and beyond. We believe that that will have a meaningful improvement in our adjusted EBITDA for each new dollar of revenue. We're now more than covering the fixed costs and that has a very significant effect on our adjusted EBITDA in 2025 and beyond. We're not presently giving guidance on 2025, but I'll turn it over to Steve with any other comments he'd like to share. Speaker 500:24:29Yes, Raj, I'll just add some context around there. In the industry in general, nursing schools and schools similar to Rasmus and operate in the 10%, 15% 15% plus range. We're obviously working to improve that quarter to quarter. Angie signaled that we're going to be profitable in terms of EBITDA in the Q4. So I think it's reasonable to think that over time we can get to 5% to 10% margins over the next 1 to 2 years. Speaker 500:24:58As you think about us inside the industry, that would be very consistent. And I think as you look forward to the third I think you asked about the second half as well, the Q3 and then the Q4, right, will still be negative in the Q3. But on a 2H basis, we would expect it to be positive overall for the second half and the fourth quarter itself. So that gives you a little bit of context around. And I think the trend that has been in place for the last 12 plus months is sort of directing in that general zone. Speaker 400:25:38Got it. And then could you talk a little bit about the APUS enrollment trends? And is this sort of flat to down a little expected? Is that seasonal? And where do you see overall those trends in enrollment? Speaker 200:25:57I'll start, Raj, and then I'll have Rick provide more detail on Jerry. In Rick's remarks, he did discuss the decision in the Q4 of 2023 to dial back investments in marketing in certain segments of APUS. And there's a 2 quarter lag, that we see in terms of those investments turning into enrollment. So as we approach Q3, we are seeing the effect of that reduction in marketing spend, which has since been course corrected and we expect in the future quarters for that enrollment momentum to return. So Rick, I'm going to turn it over to you for more detail. Speaker 300:26:44Yes, that's exactly right, Raj. And there is that lag. So I would suggest that if things function as we expect and we expect they will, the course correction we're making now or have been making recently will play out in the numbers over 2 or 3 quarter lag. That's just the way the business Speaker 100:27:06functions. Speaker 300:27:07We remain strong in my comments. I talked about the strength of the military affiliate and we remain strong in the veterans community. And quite frankly, our market share in active duty military is the highest it's ever been. And so we have continued strength there. The marketing will resolve over 1 to 2 quarters, maybe 3. Speaker 200:27:34Yes. I think what I'll also say is that the margin optimization efforts that were underway last year help us now understand the sensitivity around marketing spend. And so now that we understand that we can be a lot more thoughtful in how we invest our marketing against certain channels and segments going forward. And so we've tested that and we now know where those boundaries are. And we also are seeing, in particular, growing strength in the veterans market. Speaker 200:28:10It's something that we've been leaning into and wanting to see momentum build. And so we're quite pleased with the results we're seeing with veterans. Speaker 400:28:20Great. Thanks for answering my questions. That was very helpful. I'll take it offline. Thank you. Speaker 200:28:25Okay. Thanks, Resh. Operator00:28:31Your next question comes from the line of Stephen Sheldon with William Blair. Your line is open. Speaker 600:28:39Hey, team. You have Matt Fialik on for Stephen. Thank you for taking my questions. Wanted to start with 1 on the full year guidance. Wondering if you could talk about some of the factors that would need to play out to push you toward the upper end of the guidance range, particularly for the revenue guide, which seems to assume a decent quarter over quarter step up in the Q4 based on the 3Q guide. Speaker 600:29:03I know there's some seasonality at play there, but any additional color would be helpful. Speaker 200:29:10Yes, I'll turn it over to Rick. Speaker 300:29:11This is Rick. I'll start and then Angie can fill in. Speaker 200:29:13You bet. Speaker 300:29:15Well, if you want to push up through that range, things that would have to go favorably would be a quicker, call it, uptake on the marketing spend at APUS, right? We talked about what has been observed as a typical lag between altering a spend, be it total dollars or allocation among segments and then the resulting improvement in registrations. If that accelerates, then of course that would push revenue up higher in the range. We're seeing strength at Rasmussen, right? We've got the turn a slight improvement year over year and that momentum will continue. Speaker 300:30:03And I think Angie commented on the strength of the start numbers, right, which is a leading indicator as it relates to total enrollment. And that strength could accelerate or build on itself to push this up. Then you drop down to Hondros. They've got a new program that they're introducing as a new program. We don't have any observable experience in medical assisting as to how that enrollment pattern will ultimately play out. Speaker 300:30:34That could go up or go down, right? It's a new program. And then graduate school, we've got Steve Summers, who's in the room here, who's back. And while it's a smaller piece of the overall enterprise, it certainly has an impact on the Q2 reported results. And then of course, the opposite could be true. Speaker 300:30:54An uptake of $1,000,000 or $2,000,000 there in the federal workforce would obviously be very helpful against the range. So I'll pause there and let Angie add to the comments. Speaker 200:31:06So I think that's a pretty good synopsis. The last thing I would say is that we passed along price increases at certain segments across APUS, Hondros and Rasmussen. And assuming that those price increases continue to hold without degradation in our student enrollments, that will also play favorably in the overall revenue that we would expect for the full year. Speaker 600:31:37Got it. That's helpful color. Thank you, Angie and Rick. And then had another one on NCLEX scores. I imagine this is tougher to call, but do you have any rough estimate on when you might have all of your nursing programs with first time NCLEX pass rates that exceed state nursing board standards? Speaker 600:31:54I know you continue to make good progress on that with a variety of initiatives you have underway, but any sense of timing on completely resolving those first time NCLEX pass rate issues at the remaining campuses? Speaker 200:32:08Sure. The one campus that we are paying attention to is in Illinois, where we have, done significant amount of renewing of faculty. We're upgrading the curriculum. That campus was operating with an older version of the curriculum that was not aligned with the next gen NCLEX testing. And so we, believe that the turn on NCLEX scores in Illinois will be slower than the 2 other remaining campuses. Speaker 200:32:46So, we but we are incredibly happy with the, NCLEX results that we're that we're posting now. All of our BSN programs, all of them are above the state standards, all but one in our ADN program, which has been an area of challenge for us in the past, and 2 of our PN programs. And so we're just very, very pleased with the incredible turn that Rasmussen has demonstrated in terms of improving its NCLEX pass rate. Speaker 500:33:19Matt, this is Steve. Let me just add one more comment to that. If you went back in terms of the number of programs that are passing today year to date, 2 out of 25, that is now higher than it was in the prior 2 years before we acquired the business. So we've obviously made a lot of improvement in the near term, but now we are on a path to a better result on a longer trend basis as well. Speaker 600:33:49Perfect. That's great color and yes, great to see the continued progress there. Thank you. Speaker 200:33:55Thank you. Operator00:33:57Your next question comes from the line of Jasper Bibb with Truist Securities. Your line is open. Speaker 700:34:06Hey, everyone. Apologies if anything has been answered already. I joined a little bit late from another call. Just wanted to ask about Rasmussen Nursing. I guess, is there any update on the Florida RU campuses from last quarter? Speaker 700:34:23And I think there's also potentially a bill in Illinois to help you a bit with the campus you mentioned on the last answer, is there any change there? Speaker 200:34:34Sure. So, Jasper, I'm not exactly sure what specifically you mean relative to the Florida campuses. So I'll start with NCLEX results where we have all program campus combinations, meeting the state standard for the year to date, measurement period. So we're very, very pleased with, the incredible turnaround that we've had in NCLEX performance in Florida. Can you repeat the if that doesn't answer your question, is there something more specific here you had in mind? Speaker 700:35:12No, no, that's helpful. I think last quarter there was basically a technical thing where you had a really old cohort that triggered some of those campuses going on probation and it sounded like everything was Yes. Speaker 200:35:22That's right. We've been really happy with the results of pushing through and putting every single program campus combination in the green. Speaker 700:35:37Okay, great. Speaker 300:35:38And second part of Speaker 700:35:39the question was, I think there was a bill in Illinois that could give you some relief on a you mentioned campus, a little bit longer turnaround time there. I think that bill might have afforded you, will it have time to set up the relevant thresholds? Just kind of curious if there's any update there or that's still kind of in the works through their legislature? Speaker 200:36:01Yes. That still remains in place. And so that relief affords us a 2 year measurement period. We certainly aren't going to wait until the end. We're working very aggressively. Speaker 200:36:16And as I did mention, I think before you joined the call here, we've done 2 major things in Illinois to accelerate our performance in that in those campuses including, basically a replacement revitalization of the several of the faculty there. And importantly, we are modernizing the curriculum. Illinois, for a technical reason, a Board of Nursing reason, had required us to be operating with a curriculum that was, older than the version of curriculum we had been offering in our other campuses. We were able to work with the Board of Nursing to allow them or have them allow us to modernize that curriculum. So now we are moving that curriculum to the next gen version, which is the version for the new exam. Speaker 200:37:06And we have a high degree of confidence that the new faculty, the dedicated attention from our nursing leadership and the new curriculum will allow us to see significant improvements in, in our Illinois campuses in the future. Operator00:37:29This concludes our question and answer session. I'd now like to turn the call back over to Angie for closing remarks. Speaker 200:37:36Thank you, operator. I'd like to thank each of you for joining our earnings conference call. We look forward to continuing to update you on our ongoing progress and growth as we continue our rapid pace of operational execution. If we were unable to answer any questions, please reach out to our IR firm, Emsi Group, who would be more than happy to assist. Operator00:37:59Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude today's conference. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect your lines and have a wonderful day.Read morePowered by