Graham Holdings Co (GHC) · Oct 29, 2026 · Earnings
Beat — Adjusted EPS $18.77 vs ~$18.36 consensus
Graham Holdings earnings narrowly beat adjusted EPS estimates, while Kaplan weakened and the company completed a $127.5M Dublin Business School sale.
Graham Holdings is a diversified holding company spanning education, healthcare, television broadcasting, manufacturing, automotive and other businesses, with growth increasingly coming from its non-education operations. The quarter was a narrow operating beat, not a clean acceleration. Adjusted diluted EPS of $18.77 came in modestly above the published ~$18.36 consensus, while revenue of $1.326 billion was essentially in line with the roughly $1.33 billion expectation; the consensus is unusually thin, with only one analyst estimate available.
| Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Consensus | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue (Financial Highlights) | $1,326.0M ( +4%) | $1,278.9M | ~$1,330M |
| Adjusted diluted EPS (Non-GAAP Financial Information) | $18.77 ( +33%) | $14.08 | ~$18.36 |
| Operating income (Financial Highlights) | $85.5M ( +27%) | $67.1M | |
| Adjusted operating cash flow (Financial Highlights) | $121.8M ( +11%) | $110.1M | |
| Education revenue (Business Division Information) | $404.3M ( -14%) | $472.7M |
The underlying mix is shifting away from education. Healthcare revenue rose 25% and operating income rose 11%, while television broadcasting operating income jumped 81%; manufacturing and automotive also improved. That diversified growth more than offset the education decline at the operating-income level. 〔0〕
Kaplan remains the main weak spot. Education revenue fell 14% in the quarter, with Kaplan international revenue down 22% and its operating income down 40%; higher education was healthier, but not enough to offset the international and supplemental-education declines. The DBS disposal removes one education asset and brings in $127.5 million, but it does not solve the broader Kaplan contraction.
Reported net income overstates the quarter’s core signal. GAAP diluted EPS fell to $17.60 from $27.91 because last year benefited from large marketable-securities gains, while this quarter recorded a loss; adjusted EPS is therefore the cleaner comparison. The more meaningful positive is operating income growth, although higher capital spending and continued weakness in education temper the read.
Bottom line: This was a modest beat driven by the businesses outside education, not a broad-based Kaplan recovery. The DBS sale helps simplify the portfolio, but the central story remains a stronger diversified operating base carrying a weakening education segment.
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