Forensic Analysis · Educational Services · as of Nov 8, 2026
Laureate Education, Inc. (LAUR)
A forensic read on Laureate Education, Inc. built from its complete SEC filings — financial-health screens, earnings quality, red flags and a price-aware rating. Reproducible math, not opinion.
A · High-quality compounder
Forensic grade
Safe
Financial health
2.7
Distress distance
Clean
Earnings quality
2
Forensic signals
26.2%
ROE
8.6%
Revenue growth
This free snapshot doesn't read filing or proxy text, so the auditor-quality and governance checks that can lower a grade were not evaluated (auditor quality, say on pay, board independence, going concern). Those checks only ever lower a grade, so the full analysis can land below the grade above but never above it — treat it as the most favourable reading, not the settled one.
Laureate Education, Inc. earns an A (High-quality compounder) forensic quality grade, and its balance-sheet distress test reads 2.7, placing it in the Safe zone. 2 forensic signals were flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by accruals ratio (% of NOA).
What the filings flag
+10.3%
FY2024→FY2025
Accruals ratio (% of NOA).Net operating assets grew +10.3% relative to their own average in FY2025 — scaled by NOA itself, not by total assets, which is what the Forensic Screens card's own accrual row divides by. Accruals are building faster than is comfortable — part of profit is sitting in the balance sheet rather than turning to cash. Net operating assets also rose $92.2M through acquisitions (increase in goodwill and intangibles); that purchase is investing and is excluded from this ratio. The build is led by PP&E up +22% against revenue +9%. A cash-flow measure on the same base disagrees: reported earnings ran behind operating cash by 8% of net operating assets, against an accruals ratio of 10.3%. The two are computed differently: the accruals ratio is the change in net operating assets over average net operating assets, while the cash-flow figure is net income less operating cash flow over that same average. Read them as two results, not one.Accruals ratio: the year-over-year change in net operating assets, relative to their own average.NOA (net operating assets): the money tied up in running the business, operating assets minus operating liabilities.
-98%
FY2023→FY2024
Dividend — cut.The payout was CUT ~98% in FY2024 (from FY2023). It still returns some cash, but it is NOT the dependable, rising dividend an unbroken streak implies.
Key fundamentals
Latest Revenue$1.70B
Revenue Growth YoY+8.6%
Revenue CAGR (2yr)+7.1%
Net Margin16.5%
Free Cash Flow$263.1M
Return on Equity26.2%
Debt / Equity0.11x
The forensic grade and screens above are free — no account needed. Want the AI investment read on top — the 0–100 rating, thesis, bull-vs-bear, red flags and the 12-month scenario, written from Laureate Education, Inc.'s actual 10-K/10-Q/8-K filings?