Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) Updates Q2 2026 Earnings Guidance

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) updated its second quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 1.560-1.680 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 2.750. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Grand Canyon Education also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 9.550-10.160 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Grand Canyon Education Stock Up 3.4%

Shares of Grand Canyon Education stock traded up $5.44 on Wednesday, hitting $167.79. 470,608 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 291,482. Grand Canyon Education has a 12-month low of $149.83 and a 12-month high of $223.04. The company has a market cap of $4.69 billion, a PE ratio of 22.61, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.74. The company 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 results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.19 by $0.02. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 32.41% and a net margin of 19.38%.The business had revenue of $308.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $307.92 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Grand Canyon Education will post 8.81 EPS for the current year.

Grand Canyon Education News Summary

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 Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 6,102.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 480,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,905,000 after acquiring an additional 472,714 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 48.0% during the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 483,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,358,000 after purchasing an additional 156,777 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 649,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,980,000 after purchasing an additional 153,189 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 78.5% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 283,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,280,000 after buying an additional 124,769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 31.2% during 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.