Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.08 EPS

Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.08, Zacks reports. Lincoln Educational Services had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 3.86%.The company had revenue of $142.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $131.70 million. Lincoln Educational Services updated its FY 2026 guidance to 0.640-0.740 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Lincoln Educational Services’ conference call:

• Q4 and full‑year 2025 results were strong — Q4 revenue $142.9M (+21.4%), student starts +15.7%, adjusted EBITDA +51% to $29.1M, and full‑year revenue of $518.2M with adjusted EBITDA of $67.1M.
• Growth execution and 2026 guidance underline expansion — three new/relocated campuses opened in 2025, the company targets two new campus projects per year (Hicksville 4Q26, Rowlett Q1 2027), and provided 2026 guidance of $580–590M revenue, $72–76M adjusted EBITDA, and starts growth of 8–13%.
• Heavy investment will pressure near‑term net income and cash flows — CapEx was $88M in 2025 and is guided to $70–75M in 2026, depreciation will rise to ~$33M (from $20.8M), and the company expects to use its credit facility intrayear.
• Reporting and operating improvements — bad debt as a percent of revenue declined to 10.9% and EBITDA margin expanded to 20.4%, while management will now include ~$10M of new campus/program pre‑opening losses in adjusted EBITDA for greater transparency.

Lincoln Educational Services Stock Performance

Shares of LINC stock opened at $35.45 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.27, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $26.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.83. Lincoln Educational Services has a 12 month low of $14.10 and a 12 month high of $36.42.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LINC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on Lincoln Educational Services from $27.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Lincoln Educational Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Lake Street Capital lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln Educational Services from $26.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen lowered Lincoln Educational Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Griffin Securities set a $38.00 price objective on Lincoln Educational Services in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $37.33.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Educational Services

In related news, Director Kevin M. Carney sold 13,866 shares of Lincoln Educational Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.18, for a total transaction of $307,547.88. Following the sale, the director directly owned 24,823 shares in the company, valued at $550,574.14. This trade represents a 35.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 16.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln Educational Services

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LINC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Lincoln Educational Services by 3.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,682,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,535,000 after purchasing an additional 58,582 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its position in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,626,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,283,000 after buying an additional 177,018 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,168,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,457,000 after buying an additional 53,281 shares during the last quarter. Pillsbury Lake Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Educational Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $17,028,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Lincoln Educational Services by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 588,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,213,000 after acquiring an additional 92,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.23% of the company’s stock.

About Lincoln Educational Services

Lincoln Educational Services Corporation is a publicly traded provider of career-focused post-secondary vocational education in the United States. Operating under the Lincoln Tech and Lincoln Culinary Institute brands, the company delivers hands-on technical instruction across high-growth industries. Its mission centers on equipping students with practical skills and industry credentials designed to meet employer needs.

The company’s program offerings span automotive technology, skilled trades, health sciences, information technology, culinary arts and public safety.