Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) Updates Q1 2026 Earnings Guidance

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) updated its first quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 2.700-2.730 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 3.190. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Grand Canyon Education also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 9.550-10.160 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Grand Canyon Education from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $220.00.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Up 3.4%

Grand Canyon Education stock traded up $5.44 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $167.79. The stock had a trading volume of 470,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 291,482. Grand Canyon Education has a 52-week low of $149.83 and a 52-week high of $223.04. The stock has a market cap of $4.69 billion, a PE ratio of 22.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $169.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.81.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.19 by $0.02. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 19.38% and a return on equity of 32.41%. The company had revenue of $308.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $307.92 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Grand Canyon Education will post 8.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Stories Impacting Grand Canyon Education

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 Investors Weigh In On Grand Canyon Education

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LOPE. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 1.0% during the third quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 6,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,421,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 2.5% during the 3rd 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 period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 24.8% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 1,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Zacks Investment Management lifted its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 0.9% in 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

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.