Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) Releases FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 2.000-2.080 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 2.160. The company issued revenue guidance of $1.9 billion-$1.9 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $1.9 billion. Laureate Education also updated its Q2 2026 guidance to EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LAUR. UBS Group raised their price target on Laureate Education from $37.50 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Laureate Education from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Laureate Education from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Laureate Education from $32.00 to $36.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Laureate Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Laureate Education presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.00.

Laureate Education Stock Up 3.7%

LAUR opened at $31.21 on Friday. Laureate Education has a one year low of $20.76 and a one year high of $37.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $33.37 and its 200-day moving average is $32.77. The company has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a PE ratio of 16.25 and a beta of 0.41.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.17) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.07. The company had revenue of $272.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $265.06 million. Laureate Education had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 16.08%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.13) EPS. Laureate Education has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.000-2.080 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Laureate Education will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Stories Impacting Laureate Education

Here are the key news stories impacting Laureate Education this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat consensus — revenue of $272.6M (up 15.4% YoY) and an adjusted EPS loss that was better than expected; management highlighted enrollment strength as a driver. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Company raised full?year adjusted EPS guidance to $2.00–$2.08 and outlined FY revenue of about $1.890B–$1.905B — a formal upward revision that supports a higher valuation multiple. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Management specifically cited strong Q1 enrollment gains as the reason for lifting the outlook, indicating demand momentum that can translate to sustained revenue growth. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings package (transcript and slide deck) is available for investors to review execution details and unit-level trends; useful for assessing whether growth is durable. Read More. • Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks downgraded LAUR from “strong?buy” to “hold,” which can pressure sentiment and short?term flows even though the company beat revenue estimates. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Parts of the guidance appear conservative versus some analyst estimates (FY EPS guidance ~2.00–2.08 vs. some street forecasts ~2.13–2.16; Q2 revenue guidance also below consensus), which may cap upside and invites scrutiny on margin or timing assumptions. Read More.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laureate Education

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LAUR. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Laureate Education by 55.7% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,266,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,315,000 after acquiring an additional 811,108 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Laureate Education by 113.8% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,288,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,133,000 after purchasing an additional 685,998 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Laureate Education by 3,193.9% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 596,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,074,000 after purchasing an additional 578,100 shares during the period. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Laureate Education by 331.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 572,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,061,000 after purchasing an additional 439,819 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Laureate Education by 2,582.3% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 338,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,672,000 after purchasing an additional 325,755 shares during the period. 96.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Laureate Education Company Profile

Laureate Education, Inc (NASDAQ: LAUR) is a leading global network of higher education institutions dedicated to providing undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs to a diverse student body. The company designs and delivers academic offerings through a combination of campus-based and online platforms, focusing on fields such as business, health sciences, engineering, education and hospitality management. By aligning its curriculum with regional workforce needs, Laureate aims to equip students with practical skills and industry insights that support career advancement and lifelong learning.

Through its network, Laureate operates a broad portfolio of universities and colleges, including both longstanding campus institutions and digitally native programs.