Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) Releases Q4 2026 Earnings Guidance

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) issued an update on its fourth quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 3.570-3.850 for the period. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Grand Canyon Education also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 9.550-10.160 EPS.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

Shares of LOPE stock traded up $5.44 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $167.79. 470,608 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 291,482. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $169.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.81. The company has a market cap of $4.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.74. Grand Canyon Education has a 12-month low of $149.83 and a 12-month high of $223.04.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $307.92 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Grand Canyon Education will post 8.81 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LOPE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research note 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.00.

Key Headlines 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 large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LOPE. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Grand Canyon Education by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 649,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,980,000 after acquiring an additional 153,189 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 48.0% in the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 483,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,358,000 after purchasing an additional 156,777 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 6,102.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 480,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,905,000 after purchasing an additional 472,714 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 339,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,930,000 after buying an additional 80,704 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 323,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,772,000 after buying an additional 17,375 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Grand Canyon Education Company Profile

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.