Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (LINC) Earnings
Lincoln Educational Services Corporation is expected to report next earnings on August 10, 2026 (in NaN days), with a consensus EPS estimate of $0.01. LINC has beaten EPS estimates in 10 of its last 12 reported quarters (average surprise +117.0% over the last four).
| Report date | EPS est | EPS actual | Surprise | Revenue | Rev. surprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 11, 2026 | $0.04 | $0.14 | +250.0% | $144M | +6.1% |
| Aug 8, 2024 | $-0.06 | $0.06 | +199.9% | $103M | +2.3% |
| Feb 26, 2024 | $0.28 | $0.32 | +14.3% | $103M | +6.6% |
| Feb 27, 2023 | $0.26 | $0.27 | +3.8% | $92M | +2.3% |
| Feb 28, 2022 | $0.48 | $0.73 | +52.1% | $88M | +1.5% |
| Mar 3, 2021 | $0.25 | $0.31 | +24.0% | $82M | — |
| Nov 11, 2020 | $0.03 | $0.08 | +220.0% | $79M | +50.0% |
| Aug 11, 2020 | $-0.14 | $0.02 | +114.3% | $62M | -85.7% |
| May 13, 2020 | $-0.18 | $-0.08 | +55.6% | $70M | -55.6% |
| Feb 26, 2020 | $0.39 | $0.33 | -15.4% | $74M | -15.4% |
| Nov 14, 2019 | $0.09 | $0.04 | -55.6% | $73M | -44.4% |
| Aug 14, 2019 | $-0.16 | $-0.12 | +25.0% | $64M | -25.0% |
Source: company filings + earnings calendar. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
Earnings call summary
Q1 FY2026 · May 11, 2026
AI summary of management’s prepared remarks and analyst Q&A. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
Management highlights
- Overall Financial & Operational Performance * The company delivered a strong Q1 2026 performance with significant profit margin expansion, improved operating cash flow, and consistent reduction in bad debt expense driven by stronger financial aid processing and cash collections. * Incremental EBITDA margin on Q1 revenue growth reached ~27% overall, and ~40% when excluding losses from new campuses. * Higher laptop pricing increased costs for the company's books and tools segment; the company will not pass these incremental costs to students, leading to an expected $750,000 per quarter incremental cost impact for the remainder of the year. * This was the first time in many years that the company generated positive operating cash flow in the seasonally typical cash-using first quarter. * Subsequent to quarter end in April, the company amended its credit facility to expand the revolving line of credit from $60 million to $125 million on more favorable terms, increasing financial flexibility to support growth and corporate development. - Program & Campus Updates * For the first time since pre-COVID, the company's nursing programs achieved profitability in Q1, with strong progress toward the company's profitability targets for healthcare programs. * The Paramus campus' NCLEX pass rate exceeds 90%, which is well above the state benchmark, and there are no remaining operating restrictions from the state of New Jersey. * Newly opened campuses (Levittown, Houston) include reserved undeveloped square footage for future program expansion. * The company is on track to execute its long-term 2030 strategic targets of $850 million in revenue and $150 million in adjusted EBITDA, first announced at the March investor day.
Guidance
- Full-year 2026 revenue guidance was raised to $590 million to $600 million; the low end of the new guidance range matches the high end of the company's prior outlook. - Full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance was raised to $76 million to $80 million; the guidance now includes $10 million in pre-opening and first-year operating losses for new campuses, per the company's updated adjusted EBITDA calculation that no longer excludes these losses. - Full-year 2026 net income guidance is set at $23 million to $26 million, with diluted EPS guidance of $74 to 83 cents. - Full-year student population growth guidance is 10% to 14%. - Full-year capital expenditure guidance is maintained at $70 million to $75 million; approximately 65% of planned CapEx is allocated to growth initiatives including the Hicksville and Raleigh future campuses, program expansions, and maintenance. Q1 CapEx came in below plan at ~$15 million due to spending timing shifts to Q2, with roughly half of full-year 2026 CapEx now expected to be spent in Q2.
Segment performance
Segment-level performance breakdowns by product segment were not provided in the available transcript. Aggregate company-wide results for Q1 2026 include: adjusted EBITDA of $15.5 million, an 84.7% increase year-over-year; net income of $4.4 million, more than doubling the prior year's result; diluted EPS of $0.14 per share; total margin expanded to nearly 11% from 7% year-over-year; SG&A expenses improved to 55% of revenue from 56.9% year-over-year; bad debt expense declined to 9.5% of revenue from 10.1% year-over-year, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of year-over-year improvement; and positive operating cash flow of $4.6 million, a $13 million improvement from the prior year's cash usage of $8.4 million.
Risks & headwinds
No explicit discussion of business risks or operational failures was included in the provided transcript.
Analyst Q&A
Q: Half of Q1 19.5% student starts growth was organic. For full-year 2026, what is the expected split between organic growth and growth from new campuses? Also, what new skilled trade programs is the company evaluating adding? /
A: Management expects full-year 2026 growth will again be split roughly 50/50 between organic growth and new campus growth. The company is evaluating adding aviation and megatronics (a combination of electronics, hydraulics, pneumatics, and industrial equipment controls) to address ongoing skilled labor gaps; plumbing is not a priority as employer demand is already met by existing training channels, and robotics is not an active near-term focus.
Q: New campus focus is centered on skilled trades and transportation. Do new facilities have space to expand healthcare programs, and what milestones are needed for healthcare expansion? What is the status of the Paramus campus with New Jersey regulators? /
A: All recent new campuses include reserved undeveloped space to add healthcare or other programs if the company meets its profitability targets for healthcare programs. With Q1 2026 marking the first profitable quarter for nursing programs since pre-COVID, the company is making strong progress on these targets. The Paramus campus has full regulatory approval, with an NCLEX pass rate over 90% that is well above state requirements, and no remaining restrictions are in place.
Q: Does the expanded $125 million revolving credit facility change the company's planned pace of new campus openings, which was targeted at two per year between 2027 and 2029? /
A: The base plan remains two new campus openings per year, but the additional credit capacity gives the company flexibility to open more if attractive site opportunities emerge faster than expected. The company currently searches for new campuses in a dozen markets, and can reasonably secure one viable site every six months on average.
Q: Last year, a July student start cohort was shifted into Q2 for reporting purposes. What should be expected for Q2 and Q3 student start comparisons this year? /
A: The company will adjust reporting to maintain an apples-to-apples comparison: the 2,700-student July 2025 cohort will be pro forma included in Q2 2025 results, matching the natural 2026 June timing of the cohort that will be reported in Q2 2026. No material surprises from calendar timing are expected for the remainder of the year.