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Stride Inc. (NYSE: LRN) is a technology-driven education company that provides an online learning platform for students across the United States. The company delivers personalized learning experiences through its comprehensive school-as-a-service offerings and stand-alone products, catering to K-12 students, adult learners, and organizations. Stride focuses on empowering learners with academic and career-oriented programs designed to meet diverse educational needs.
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General Education - Offers core subject education for K-12 students, providing an alternative to traditional schools with flexible scheduling, academic support, and safety-focused solutions. Products include curriculum, systems, and instruction tailored to individual student needs.
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Career Learning - Develops skills for high-demand industries like IT, healthcare, and business through career pathways, certifications, and work-based learning experiences for middle and high school students, as well as adult learners.
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Adult Learning - Provides certification programs and talent development solutions for industries such as healthcare and technology, serving employers, government agencies, and individual learners.
| Name | Position | External Roles | Short Bio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
James J. Rhyu ExecutiveBoard | Chief Executive Officer | James J. Rhyu has been the Chief Executive Officer since January 2021 after previously serving as Chief Financial Officer from June 2013 until April 2020 and as President, Corporate Strategy, Marketing and Technology from April 2020. | View Report → | |
Donna M. Blackman Executive | Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | Donna M. Blackman is the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at LRN since July 2022. Previously, she served as the Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer from May 2020 to June 2022. | ||
Les Ottolenghi Executive | Chief Information and Technology Officer | Member of the Board of Directors and Audit Committee, Bullpen Parlay Acquisition Company (Dec 2021 - June 2023) ; Independent Director on the Board of Directors, GoHunt, Inc. (Since 2020) | Les Ottolenghi served as the Chief Information and Technology Officer at LRN since June 2021, where he oversaw the company’s technology strategy and operations. He has also held external board roles, including positions at Bullpen Parlay Acquisition Company and GoHunt, Inc. | |
Todd Goldthwaite Executive | Managing Director of Portfolio Companies | Todd Goldthwaite is the Managing Director of Portfolio Companies at LRN since January 2022. He previously served as Chief Marketing Officer (Nov 2017 to Jan 2022) and held executive roles at Blackboard and MCI/Verizon. | ||
Aida M. Alvarez Board | Director | Director at Fastly, Inc. (since August 2019); Director at Bill.com (since May 2022); Director at HP Inc. (since February 2016) | Aida M. Alvarez has been the Director at LRN since 2017 and serves on its Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. She has extensive experience, including serving as Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (1997-2001) and holding active board roles at Fastly, Inc. (since August 2019), Bill.com (since May 2022), and HP Inc. (since February 2016). | |
Allison Lawrence Board | Director | Vice Chair at Hartford Hospital; Board Member at A Better Chance | Allison Lawrence serves as a Director at LRN since 2023 and is a member of the Compensation Committee. She brings extensive leadership experience from senior roles at Stanley Black & Decker and holds board positions such as Vice Chair at Hartford Hospital. | |
Joseph A. Verbrugge Board | Director | Board of Advisors Member at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business | Joseph A. Verbrugge has been a director at LRN since 2022 and serves as an independent director on its Compensation Committee. Previously, he held executive roles at Sirius XM Holdings Inc. and served as a board member at Sirius XM Canada Inc. and as a Board of Advisors Member for Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. | |
Liza McFadden Board | Director | Florida State Parks Foundation; Village Square; Suwannee River Area Council Boy Scouts of America; Reading Partners | Liza McFadden is a Director at LRN since 2017 and serves as the Chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Previously, she held leadership roles in educational policy and nonprofit sectors, including serving as President and CEO of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy from 2012 to 2018. | |
Ralph Smith Board | Director | Ralph Smith has been a Director at LRN since 2023. He also serves on the Audit Committee and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, bringing extensive experience in education, public policy, and management. | ||
Robert E. Knowling Board | Director | Chairman of Eagles Landing Partners | Robert E. Knowling, Jr. served as a Director at LRN since 2018 and held roles as Compensation Committee Chair and Audit Committee Member. He resigned from these positions on April 15, 2025. | |
Steven B. Fink Board | Director | Co-Chairman of Heron International | Steven B. Fink has served as a director at LRN since 2003 and was designated as Lead Independent Director in 2024. He also serves as Audit Committee Chair and Compensation Committee Member, contributing extensive financial oversight and governance expertise. |
- Based on the increasing constraints due to enrollment window closures, what specific strategies are you planning to implement in order to scale capacity and meet the surging demand without sacrificing the quality of education?
- You mentioned that the standalone career learning funnel is still in the testing phase; could you clarify the concrete milestones and timeline you expect to reach before this funnel significantly contributes to overall enrollment growth?
- With the recent rollout of socialization initiatives like the K-12 zone and geographic pods, how do you plan to measure the effectiveness of these programs in replicating the in-person school experience and boosting student engagement?
- Given that enrollment growth has been achieved without increasing marketing spend, what contingency measures will be put in place if market competition intensifies or if current marketing efficiencies begin to wane?
- While gross margins are currently exceeding targets, how do you intend to balance necessary reinvestments in new technologies and teacher support with the goal of further expanding margins in the long term?
Competitors mentioned in the company's latest 10K filing.
| Company | Description |
|---|---|
Competes in providing online curriculum and school support services to K-12 virtual and blended public schools. | |
Lincoln Learning Solutions | Competes in providing online curriculum and school support services to K-12 virtual and blended public schools. |
StrongMind | Competes in providing online curriculum and school support services to K-12 virtual and blended public schools. |
Pansophic Learning | Competes in providing online curriculum and school support services to K-12 virtual and blended public schools. |
Inspire Charter Schools | Competes in providing online curriculum and school support services to K-12 virtual and blended public schools. |
Charter Schools USA | Competes in providing online curriculum and school support services to K-12 virtual and blended public schools. |
Curriculum Associates | Competes as a digital and print curriculum provider. |
Imagine Learning LLC | Competes as a digital and print curriculum provider. |
Edmentum Inc. | Competes as a digital and print curriculum provider. |
Discovery Education | Competes as a digital and print curriculum provider. |
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt | Competes as a traditional textbook publisher. |
McGraw Hill | Competes as a traditional textbook publisher. |
Khan Academy | Competes as a digital curriculum provider offering a different pricing model, often free but may charge for additional products or services. |
Competes as a digital curriculum provider offering a different pricing model, often free but may charge for additional products or services. | |
IXL Learning, Inc. | Competes as a digital curriculum provider offering a different pricing model, often free but may charge for additional products or services. |
Renaissance Learning, Inc. | Competes as a digital curriculum provider offering a different pricing model, often free but may charge for additional products or services. |
The Laurel Springs School (Spring Education Group) | Competes for online private pay school students. |
Penn Foster Inc. | Competes for online private pay school students and also competes with adult learning offerings. |
General Assembly (a subsidiary of Adecco) | Competes with adult learning offerings, including in-person and remote immersive programs and self-paced online training programs. |
Bloom Institute of Technology | Competes with adult learning offerings, including in-person and remote immersive programs and self-paced online training programs. |
Education to Go (a subsidiary of Cengage Learning) | Competes with adult learning offerings, including in-person and remote immersive programs and self-paced online training programs. |
Notable M&A activity and strategic investments in the past 3 years.
| Company | Year | Details |
|---|---|---|
MedCerts | 2020 | The acquisition was structured with a $70 million base consideration and a contingent payment of up to $30 million based on achieving performance targets (over 30% annual growth and doubling profitability within 18 months). Additionally, MedCerts—an EBITDA positive, profitable growth company generating over $30 million in revenue—brings in-demand healthcare certification programs that support the strategic expansion into adult education and a $100 billion market opportunity. |
Tech Elevator | 2020 | Tech Elevator, known for training coding beginners with a 95% graduation rate and 94% hire rate within six months, was acquired to expand Stride’s Career Learning business and target smaller markets outside major tech hubs. Its integration, which also supports scaling across nearly every state and complements MedCerts’ offerings, underlines the strategic move to diversify and boost the company’s $200 million revenue milestone. |
Recent press releases and 8-K filings for LRN.
- Q3 Financial Highlights: Revenue increased to $613.4 million in Q3 2025 (up ~+18% ), with adjusted operating income of $141.7 million and record adjusted EBITDA of $168.3 million .
- EPS Achievement: Reported EPS of $2.02 .
- Enhanced Operating Metrics: Income from operations reached $130.8 million and net income was $99.3 million, marking significant YoY improvements .
- Enrollment Growth: Achieved record average enrollments of 240.2K (+21.1% YoY) with career learning enrollments up 34% and strong in-year application volumes .
- Guidance & Strategic Initiatives: Updated full-year outlook with revenue guidance raised to $2.370–2.385B and AOI guidance of $455–465M, underpinned by a robust balance sheet, innovative digital platforms, and optimized marketing spend .