Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. LOPE scored 71.4, LRN scored 70.7 — LOPE leads.
Compare another set
LOPE
Grand Canyon Education, Inc.
Education & Training Services · Quality-Growth
71.4
$159.80 · $4.2B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
0.7
LOPE leads
LRN
Stride, Inc.
Education & Training Services · Quality-Growth
70.7
$85.59 · $3.6B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestLRN12.0x
Fastest growthLOPE+7.1%
Strongest balance sheetLOPE0.16
Highest qualityLOPE97 / 100
Largest discount to fair valueLRN-36%
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
Growth against the P/E multiple. Up and to the right is cheaper and faster — the quality-growth idea in one picture. Points beyond the axis are pinned to the edge and marked off-scale rather than allowed to compress everything else.
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
LOPE
stronger →← stronger
LRN
97
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
85
66
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
53
57
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
78
LOPE is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
LOPE
LRN
$242mC
FCF
$355mC
+7.1%B
Rev
+4.7%C+
0.16A-
D/E
0.33A-
19.3xB
P/E
12.0xA
0.94B+
PEG
0.48A
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
LOPE
LRN
28% below
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
36% below
~-2%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~-6%/yr
+33%
1-yr DCF upside
+52%
+39%
5-yr DCF upside
+57%
+48%
10-yr DCF upside
+64%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
LOPE
Why this score
Buying back stock
Durable high returns
LRN
Why this score
Buying back stock
Durable high returns
The companies
LOPEGrand Canyon Education, Inc.
Education & Training Services · $159.80 · beta 0.58
Why now
Education & Training Services · market cap $4.2b. Down 28% from 52-week high of $223.04 — deep drawdown territory. PEG 0.94 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 3 sell-side analysts rate this a Strong Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $194.00 (implying +21% upside).
Moat
Net margin 20% beats the market median by a meaningful margin — the company is keeping more of every revenue dollar than the average S&P constituent. ROE 31% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which. FCF converts 108% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
Value re-rating depends on a catalyst. Without one — analyst day, divestiture, margin recovery, capital return — the stock can stay cheap on these multiples for years.
LRNStride, Inc.
Education & Training Services · $85.59 · beta 0.14
Why now
Education & Training Services · market cap $3.6b. Down 45% from 52-week high of $155.06 — deep drawdown territory. PEG 0.48 — paying under fair value for the growth rate.
Moat
Net margin 13% beats the market median by a meaningful margin — the company is keeping more of every revenue dollar than the average S&P constituent. ROE 22% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately. FCF converts 105% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
Down 45% from the 52-week high — the market is pricing in something the screen can't see; verify the bear case before sizing up.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
The model favors LRN (85.2) over LOPE (76.2) primarily due to LRN's superior Value pillar score of 97 versus LOPE's 75, reflected in its A grade for PEG (0.45). A contrarian might prefer LOPE given its implied growth of -4% per year, which suggests less pessimism is priced in compared to LRN's -12% per year despite LOPE's higher revenue growth.
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where LOPE and LRN diverge
On the headline score the gap is 0.7 points in favor of LOPE. They get there differently, though — each leads on a different pillar, so the better pick depends on which you weight.
ValueLOPE 57.1 · LRN 77.8LRN +20.7
GrowthLOPE 65.8 · LRN 53.4LOPE +12.4
QualityLOPE 96.8 · LRN 84.9LOPE +11.9
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is LOPE or LRN the better stock?
LOPE scores higher: LOPE 71.4, LRN 70.7 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do LOPE and LRN differ most?
The widest gap is value, where LRN leads by 21 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. Neither name sweeps: they trade the lead across the three pillars, so the comparison is a trade-off rather than one being better on every measure.
How are LOPE and LRN scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.