Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) Updates Q1 2026 Earnings Guidance

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) updated its first quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided EPS guidance of 2.700-2.730 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 3.190. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Grand Canyon Education also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 9.550-10.160 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on LOPE. 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. Wall Street Zen lowered Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Grand Canyon Education from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.00.

Grand Canyon Education Trading Up 3.4%

Shares of LOPE traded up $5.44 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $167.79. The stock had a trading volume of 470,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 291,476. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.81. The firm has a market cap of $4.69 billion, a PE ratio of 22.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.74. Grand Canyon Education has a one year low of $149.83 and a one year high of $223.04.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $308.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $307.92 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Grand Canyon Education will post 8.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 Trading of Grand Canyon Education

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the 4th quarter worth $207,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $902,000 after acquiring an additional 2,354 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 128.1% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,330,000 after purchasing an additional 4,490 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,696,000. Finally, Zacks Investment Management increased its position in Grand Canyon Education by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 9,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,616,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

About Grand Canyon Education

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.