COMPARE · Data as of August 21, 2026
LAUR vs PRDO
Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. LAUR scored 74.5, PRDO scored 80.1 — PRDO leads.
Compare another set
LAUR
Laureate Education, Inc.
74.5
$37.56 · $5.2B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
5.6
PRDO leads
PRDO
Perdoceo Education Corporation
80.1
$32.48 · $2.0B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
- CheapestPRDO11.8x
- Fastest growthLAUR+17.9%
- Strongest balance sheetPRDO0.11
- Highest qualityLAUR91 / 100
- Largest discount to fair valuePRDO-54%
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)
LAUR
stronger →← stronger
PRDO
91
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
89
80
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
76
57
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
76
LAUR is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
LAUR
PRDO
$287mC
FCF
$221mC
+17.9%B+
Rev
+11.7%B
0.64B+
D/E
0.11A-
17.0xB+
P/E
11.8xA
1.23B
PEG
0.70A-
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
LAUR
PRDO
5% below
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
54% below
~8%/yr
Growth the price implies10-yr FCF · lower = less priced in
~-13%/yr
-9%
1-yr DCF upside
+110%
+5%
5-yr DCF upside
+117%
+30%
10-yr DCF upside
+128%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
LAUR
Why this score
- Buying back stock
- Durable high returns
PRDO
Why this score
- Buying back stock
- Raising its dividend
- Durable high returns
The companies
LAURLaureate Education, Inc.
Why now
Education & Training Services · market cap $5.2b. 8% off the 52-week high of $40.92. Revenue growing +18%, comfortably above the S&P median. 7 sell-side analysts publish a mean 1-yr target of $41.21 (implying +10% upside).
Moat
Net margin 18% beats the market median by a meaningful margin — the company is keeping more of every revenue dollar than the average S&P constituent. ROE 28% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which.
Risk
Mature compounder — the risk is paying up for quality at a moment when growth is decelerating. Watch for sequential revenue + margin trends; the inflection from "compounder" to "ex-compounder" is hard to spot until the multiple already started compressing.
PRDOPerdoceo Education Corporation
Why now
Education & Training Services · market cap $2.0b. 16% off the 52-week high of $38.50. Revenue growing +12%, comfortably above the S&P median. PEG 0.70 — paying under fair value for the growth rate.
Moat
Net margin 21% sits well above the S&P median (~11%) — suggests structural pricing advantage or cost discipline competitors can't quickly close. ROE 17% sits above Buffett's preferred 15% threshold — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately. FCF converts 125% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash, a sign that working capital and capex are well-disciplined.
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.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
The model favors PRDO with a 79.5 overall score, largely due to its superior Value pillar of 72 compared to LAUR's 57. However, a contrarian could prefer LAUR for its stronger growth profile, evidenced by its 84 Growth pillar and B+ revenue grade of +17.9%.
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 LAUR and PRDO diverge
On the headline score the gap is 5.6 points in favor of PRDO. They get there differently, though — each leads on a different pillar, so the better pick depends on which you weight.
- ValueLAUR 56.6 · PRDO 75.6PRDO +19.0
- GrowthLAUR 80.5 · PRDO 76.0LAUR +4.5
- QualityLAUR 91.0 · PRDO 89.4level
Pillars run 0–100 against sector peers, so a 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.