Lincoln Educational Services Corp (LINC) stock analysis
Close on Nov 12, 2026Market cap $728.96MP/E –Yield –
StockData Score
Prices as of Nov 11, 2026How the score works
Mixed12 of 30 checks passed
Lincoln Educational Services passes 12 of the 30 checks behind our score; 7 could not be run for lack of data and count as not passed. Each dot in the shape is one check — hover it for the numbers.
- Valuation
- 0/6
- Growth
- 5/6
- Past performance
- 3/6
- Financial health
- 4/6
- Dividend
- 0/6
What stands out
Return on capital over 10%
Return on invested capital was 14.7%, above the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.
Low debt
Debt is 13.3% of shareholders' equity, under the 40% we consider low.
Revenue growing 10%+ a year
Revenue grew 14.2% a year over the last three fiscal years.
EPS growing 10%+ a year
Diluted EPS grew 21.1% a year over the last three fiscal years.
What to watch
Margin of safety under 20%
The price is 83.7% above fair value, so there is no margin of safety.
Trading above fair value
The share price of $23.51 is above our fair value estimate of $12.80.
Return on equity under 15%
Return on equity was 12.7% over the last twelve months and averaged 14.7% over five years; we look for 15% on both.
Earnings shrank over 5 years
Net income shrank 16.3% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.
Valuation0/6
P/E against its history
Not enough price and earnings history to compare.
P/E against the industry
Needs positive earnings and enough profitable companies in the industry.
EV/EBITDA above its 5-year median
Lincoln Educational Services's EV/EBITDA of 13.3 is above its 5-year median of 7.2.
P/B above the industry
Lincoln Educational Services's price-to-book of 3.97 is above the Services-educational services median of 2.30.
Trading above fair value
The share price of $23.51 is above our fair value estimate of $12.80.
Margin of safety under 20%
The price is 83.7% above fair value, so there is no margin of safety.
Growth5/6
Revenue growing 10%+ a year
Revenue grew 14.2% a year over the last three fiscal years.
EPS growing 10%+ a year
Diluted EPS grew 21.1% a year over the last three fiscal years.
Earnings growth accelerating
Net income grew 67.8% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of -16.3% a year.
Growing faster than the industry
Revenue grew 19.0% over the last twelve months; the Services-educational services median is 2.7%.
Guidance raised
Lincoln Educational Services raised its 2026 Capital expenditures outlook on Aug 10, 2026.
Gross margin slipping
Gross margin was 59.4% over the last twelve months, against 60.3% a year earlier.
Past performance3/6
Return on equity under 15%
Return on equity was 12.7% over the last twelve months and averaged 14.7% over five years; we look for 15% on both.
Return on capital over 10%
Return on invested capital was 14.7%, above the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.
Return on equity above the industry
Lincoln Educational Services's return on equity of 12.7% is above the Services-educational services median of 0.6%.
Earnings shrank over 5 years
Net income shrank 16.3% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.
Net margin below its 5-year average
Net margin was 4.0% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 5.4%.
Net margin above the industry
Lincoln Educational Services's net margin of 4.0% is above the Services-educational services median of -3.7%.
Financial health4/6
Low debt
Debt is 13.3% of shareholders' equity, under the 40% we consider low.
Debt falling against equity
Debt to equity fell from 18.9% five years ago to 13.3%.
Debt covered by cash flow
Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 420% of total debt.
Interest well covered
Operating income covers interest expense 9.0 times.
Short-term assets don't cover short-term debts
Current assets are 0.59 times current liabilities.
Bankruptcy risk in the grey zone
The Altman Z-score is 2.90; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.
Dividend0/6
No dividend
Lincoln Educational Services has not paid a dividend in the last twelve months.
Yield against Treasuries
No dividend.
Yield against the market
No dividend.
Dividend stability
No dividend.
Earnings cover
No dividend.
Cash-flow cover
No dividend.
Fair value
How we estimate itOur estimate per share
$12.80
The share price is 84% above this estimate.
| Method | Multiple used | Own 5Y median | Industry median | Value per share | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EV/EBITDA | 8.5× | 7.2× | 9.8× | $14.92 | 58% |
| P/B | 2.2× | 2.1× | 2.3× | $12.90 | 17% |
| Earnings power | 10.4% cost of equity | – | – | $7.77 | 25% |
| Fair value | $12.80 | 100% | |||
Valuation over time
Using the earnings and balance sheet published at each date, not today's.
- P/E at month end
- Own 5-year median 7.8
- Services-educational services median 13.0
An estimate from reported numbers and market multiples, not a price target or investment advice. It can be far off for companies whose profits are about to change sharply.
Market risk
From the past year of daily prices.
Liquidity
Medium risk
- Average value traded per day
- $17.04M
- Value traded per 1% price move
- $8.17M
Downside
High risk
- Typical loss in a bad month
- 40.9%
- Volatility (annualized)
- 60%
- Sharpe ratio, 1 year
- 0.21
- Beta to the S&P 500 (5Y)
- 1.11
Typical bad-month loss, week by week
Margins
Share of revenue, fiscal years 2011 to 2025
Gross margin
Operating margin
Net margin
Growth rates
Compound annual growth to fiscal 2025
| Per year | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years | 10 years | Five-year pace |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | +17.8% | +14.2% | +12.1% | +5.4% | |
| Gross profit | +21.1% | +16.2% | +12.9% | +7.3% | |
| Operating income | +99.7% | +23.0% | +15.4% | +45.7% | |
| Net income | +102.2% | +16.5% | -16.3% | – | |
| EPS, diluted | +100.0% | +21.1% | -15.6% | – |
Returns and balance sheet
10 fiscal years. Hover a measure to see how it is calculated.
| Measure | FY2016 | FY2020 | FY2025 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | -41.6% | 72.4% | 10.6% | |
| Return on assets | -15.3% | 22.1% | 4.3% | |
| Current ratio | 0.97 | 1.11 | 0.86 | |
| Debt to equity | 0.76 | 0.19 | 0.00 | |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 0.32× | -0.94× | -0.58× | |
| Interest coverage | -4.7× | 11.6× | 8.9× | |
| Inventory turnover | 98.6× | 61.1× | 58.4× | |
| Capex to revenue | 1.3% | 1.9% | 16.7% | |
| Diluted shares | 23M | 25M | 0M |
Where the cash went
Fiscal 2021 to 2025, five years combined
Lincoln Educational Services generated $142.50M from operations and spent $211.05M on capital expenditure, dividends and share buybacks. 95% of that went back into the business.
DuPont analysis
Return on equity split into margin, efficiency and leverage
| Fiscal year | Net margin | Asset turnover | Equity multiplier | Return on equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | 3.9% | 1.11× | 2.46× | 10.6% |
| FY2024 | 2.2% | 1.13× | 2.27× | 5.7% |
| FY2023 | 6.9% | 1.19× | 2.04× | 16.7% |
| FY2022 | 3.6% | 1.19× | 2.14× | 9.2% |
| FY2021 | 10.4% | 1.24× | 2.45× | 31.5% |
| FY2020 | 16.6% | 1.33× | 3.28× | 72.4% |
| FY2019 | 0.7% | 1.60× | 4.11× | 4.9% |
| FY2018 | -4.4% | 1.75× | 3.52× | -26.8% |
| FY2017 | -4.4% | 1.64× | 3.16× | -22.8% |
| FY2016 | -9.9% | 1.54× | 2.73× | -41.6% |
Piotroski F-Score
Nine tests of profitability, balance sheet and efficiency, fiscal 2025 against fiscal 2024
- ProfitableNet income above zero$20.00M
- Cash generatingOperating cash flow above zero$59.31M
- Return on assets improvedROA up on the prior year2.9% → 4.6%
- Earnings backed by cashOperating cash flow above net income$59.31M vs $20.00M
- Less leverageLong-term debt to assets fell0.0% → 0.0%
- Better liquidityCurrent ratio rose1.23 → 0.86
- No dilutionShare count did not rise0M → 0M
- Gross margin improvedGross margin up on the prior year58.70% → 60.37%
- More efficientAsset turnover rose1.27 → 1.19
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