Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) Issues Q2 2026 Earnings Guidance

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) issued an update on its second quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 1.560-1.680 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 2.750. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Grand Canyon Education also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 9.550-10.160 EPS.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Up 3.4%

Shares of Grand Canyon Education stock traded up $5.44 on Wednesday, hitting $167.79. 470,608 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 291,475. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $169.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.74. Grand Canyon Education has a 1-year low of $149.83 and a 1-year high of $223.04.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Key Grand Canyon Education News

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

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 6,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,421,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 2.5% in the third quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $674,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 24.8% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 1,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management boosted its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 9,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,616,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Grand Canyon Education

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

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