Laureate Education Q1 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• Laureate reported Q1 revenue of $273 million and Adjusted EBITDA of negative $2 million with a net loss of $22 million; on a constant-currency and calendar-adjusted basis revenue rose about 5% and Adjusted EBITDA was essentially flat, and the company repurchased $105 million of stock, ending March with $157 million cash and $60 million net debt.
• Enrollment momentum was led by Peru (new enrollments +13%) and Mexico (+4%), driven mainly by scaled fully online programs for working adults that management says have not meaningfully cannibalized on-campus students.
• Laureate reaffirmed full-year guidance and raised its Adjusted EPS outlook to $2.00–$2.08 after buybacks, while guiding revenue $1.89–1.905B, Adjusted EBITDA $583–593M, total enrollments of 516k–521k, and about 50 basis points of EBITDA margin expansion.

Laureate Education NASDAQ: LAUR reported first-quarter 2026 results and said the year is “off to a good start,” supported by enrollment performance that management said came in line with expectations in both Peru and Mexico. The company reaffirmed its full-year guidance for enrollments, revenue, and Adjusted EBITDA, while raising its Adjusted Earnings Per Share outlook to reflect first-quarter share repurchases.

Enrollment trends in Peru and Mexico

President and CEO Eilif Serck-Hanssen said the company’s recently completed enrollment intake cycles included Peru’s primary intake and a smaller secondary intake for Mexico. Through completion of the intake cycles by mid-April, Laureate posted year-over-year new enrollment growth of 13% in Peru and 4% in Mexico.

Serck-Hanssen attributed Peru’s strength to both macro conditions and execution in fully online programs for working adults. “We are very pleased with the performance in Peru,” he said, adding that results were driven by “our focused effort to penetrate the fully online working adult market” and “robust” macro conditions.

In Mexico, Serck-Hanssen said the first-quarter intake is a secondary intake and that growth “is primarily non-traditional students, largely working adults,” with a “big portion” online. He told Morgan Stanley analyst Lucas Nagano that the growth should be viewed as “essentially all as organic.”

Macroeconomic backdrop and demand signals

Management reiterated its view that Laureate’s business is “loosely correlated with economic cycles,” with stronger GDP growth historically supporting enrollment momentum and softer conditions moderating growth. Serck-Hanssen said Mexico is experiencing a “softer macroeconomic backdrop,” while Peru is in a “current environment” of robust growth.

On Mexico, Serck-Hanssen said 2026 GDP growth is expected to remain “relatively modest,” though “slightly better than 2025,” and pointed to a constructive backdrop for U.S.-Mexico trade dynamics ahead of USMCA negotiations. He also noted economists projecting increased activity beginning in the second half of 2026, setting up potentially stronger growth in 2027.

On Peru, Serck-Hanssen cited “robust domestic demand, new mining projects, and strong commodity prices,” and described the country’s institutional framework as a stabilizing factor. In response to a question about whether geopolitical volatility had dampened consumers, he said, “No, not really,” describing Peru as having a broad set of trading partners and “really stable” macro conditions. For Mexico, he said the company is seeing “improvements in GDP,” “consumer confidence,” and “employment,” though “at relatively small, marginal magnitudes.”

First-quarter financial results and seasonality

Chief Financial Officer Rick Buskirk emphasized the seasonality of the business, noting the first and third quarters represent the two largest intake periods but are “seasonally low” from a profit-and-loss perspective because classes are out of session for much of those months. He also noted calendar timing effects in 2026, including approximately $9 million of revenue and related profitability expected to shift out of the first quarter to the second half of the year.

For the first quarter, Laureate reported revenue of $273 million and Adjusted EBITDA of negative $2 million. Buskirk said both were ahead of guidance from three months earlier due to favorable foreign exchange rates and expense timing that benefited Adjusted EBITDA. On a constant-currency basis and adjusted for academic calendar shifts, he said revenue increased 5% year-over-year and Adjusted EBITDA was “essentially flat,” with a slight $2 million decrease due to the timing of expenses and investments for new campuses during a low seasonal quarter.

Laureate posted a net loss of $22 million, or a loss per share of $0.15. Adjusted net loss was $24 million, and Adjusted Loss Per Share was $0.17.

Buskirk provided market-level commentary, noting Mexico’s first-quarter new and total enrollments increased 4% through April versus the comparable intake period the prior year. Pricing for traditional face-to-face programs was “in line with inflation,” while the company was “a little less aggressive with pricing for Online,” though still up year-over-year, as it prioritizes volume growth. Adjusted for academic calendar timing, Mexico revenue rose 2% year-over-year, while Adjusted EBITDA declined 16%, which Buskirk said largely reflected the out-of-session period, investments in new campuses, and other timing items.

In Peru, where the first quarter represents the primary intake, new enrollments rose 13% and total enrollments increased 8%, led by growth in working adult-focused fully online programs. Buskirk said the rapid scaling of fully online offerings is expected to drive most of Peru’s enrollment growth this year, while planned new campus launches for face-to-face students “won't start to ramp until 2027 and beyond.” He also warned of a price mix impact on average revenue per student in 2026 as online expands, resulting in “similar revenue and volume growth rates” in Peru this year.

Online expansion, competition, and retention dynamics

During the Q&A, JPMorgan analyst Marcelo Santos asked about market discipline and competitive behavior in Peru’s online education segment. Serck-Hanssen said the market is responding “very favorable” to Laureate’s offering and that competitors are launching similar products “following our lead,” while adding that “the market is very disciplined.”

He described the target demographic for fully online programs as working adults aged “25 to 50-year-old students,” largely driven by degree completion, and said there has been “no meaningful cannibalization” between fully online working adult students and younger students seeking an on-campus experience.

Buskirk added that fully online programs come with a “higher attrition rate as expected,” which he said will contribute to a difference between new enrollment growth and total enrollment growth for the full year compared with historical trends.

Capital returns, balance sheet, and updated outlook

Laureate ended March with $217 million in gross debt and $157 million in cash, for net debt of $60 million, according to Buskirk. During the first quarter, the company repurchased $105 million of stock and had $76 million remaining under its authorization. Serck-Hanssen said the company anticipates further share buybacks through the remainder of 2026, emphasizing that returning excess capital remains a priority.

For full-year 2026, Buskirk said Laureate reaffirmed guidance for total enrollments, revenue, and Adjusted EBITDA, and increased Adjusted Earnings Per Share guidance by $0.05 per share due to the first-quarter repurchase activity. Management maintained its FX assumptions for the year despite first-quarter translation benefits and recent currency volatility.

• Total enrollments: 516,000 to 521,000 students (4% to 5% growth vs. 2025)
• Revenue: $1.890 billion to $1.905 billion (11% to 12% as reported; 6% to 7% constant currency vs. 2025)
• Adjusted EBITDA: $583 million to $593 million (12% to 14% as reported; 7% to 9% constant currency vs. 2025)
• Adjusted EPS: $2.00 to $2.08 (16% to 21% growth vs. 2025), based on an expected diluted weighted average share count of about 141 million

Buskirk said the midpoint of guidance implies approximately 50 basis points of Adjusted EBITDA margin expansion on a reported basis, and the company expects Adjusted EBITDA to Unlevered Free Cash Flow conversion of about 50% in 2026.

For the second quarter of 2026, management guided revenue to $597 million to $601 million and Adjusted EBITDA to $239 million to $243 million. Buskirk said constant-currency revenue growth expectations for the first and second halves are “pretty similar,” with a “slight uptick” expected in the second half as the company anticipates some macro recovery in Mexico, while margin accretion is weighted to the second half due to the timing of investments and the opening of a new Mexico campus beginning in September.

Asked about where margin expansion is expected, Buskirk told Morgan Stanley that the company expects expansion “in both markets,” despite new campus investments creating a “drag of 50 basis points” in Mexico. Serck-Hanssen added that without new campus investments, EBITDA margin expansion would have been 75 basis points rather than 50 basis points, with the difference “largely attributable to Mexico.”

About Laureate Education NASDAQ: LAUR

Laureate Education, Inc NASDAQ: LAUR is a leading global network of higher education institutions dedicated to providing undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs to a diverse student body. The company designs and delivers academic offerings through a combination of campus-based and online platforms, focusing on fields such as business, health sciences, engineering, education and hospitality management. By aligning its curriculum with regional workforce needs, Laureate aims to equip students with practical skills and industry insights that support career advancement and lifelong learning.

Through its network, Laureate operates a broad portfolio of universities and colleges, including both longstanding campus institutions and digitally native programs.

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