American Public Education (APEI) Cash Flow: Operating & Free Cash Flow

American Public Education (APEI) Cash Flow Statement

In fiscal 2025 (fiscal year ended Dec 31, 2025), American Public Education generated $61.97M of operating cash flow and spent $15.86M on capital expenditures. That left free cash flow of $46.10M, up 65.9% from $27.79M a year earlier, or 7.1% of revenue. It returned $7.01M to shareholders through $2.75M in dividends and $4.26M in share buybacks.

American Public Education Cash Flow Statement Analysis

Values in millions USD

Income Statement Balance Sheet Cash Flow Ratios

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Cash flow statement showing operating, investing, and financing activities for American Public Education, Inc. (APEI) - Annual data in millions USD
Breakdown	FY 2025	FY 2024	FY 2023	FY 2022	FY 2021	FY 2020	FY 2019	FY 2018	FY 2017
Period ending	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021	Dec 2020	Dec 2019	Dec 2018	Dec 2017
Operating Activities
Net Income	31.56	16.11	-47.29	-114.99	17.75	18.82	10.01	25.64	21.12
Depreciation & Amortization	16.15	19.30	27.82	32.13	17.83	12.98	15.60	17.50	18.78
Deferred Income Tax	8.14	4.05	-16.01	-41.91	5.53	-0.81	-1.97	-0.92	-2.49
Stock Based Compensation	8.35	7.67	7.74	8.01	7.65	7.08	5.96	7.18	6.25
Change in Working Capital	-8.09	-6.15	-0.60	-4.78	-35.52	5.86	-0.73	-6.92	-0.59
Change in Accounts Receivable	-5.32	-11.49	-8.62	-2.05	-7.64	-6.33	2.73	-6.92	-0.19
Change in Inventory	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	2.21	-2.22	-1.13
Change in Accounts Payable	-1.85	-0.82	4.86	-10.21	8.03	-0.09	-5.56	0.27	1.99
Change in Other Working Capital	-1.91	1.48	1.31	2.25	-35.91	12.27	-0.11	1.96	-1.27
Other Operating Activities	14.00	1.48	57.84	108.86	3.01	0.88	9.50	1.70	4.88
Net Cash from Operating Activities	61.97	48.87	45.51	29.22	16.27	44.81	38.37	44.18	47.94
Investing Activities
Capital Expenditures	-15.86	-21.08	-13.90	-16.39	-11.83	-4.93	-7.26	-9.43	-14.79
Acquisitions	20.67	0.00	0.00	1.95	-325.51	0.00	0.00	0.00	-0.30
Purchases of Investments	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	-0.30
Sales/Maturities of Investments	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	10.86
Other Investing Activities	-2.29	0.00	0.12	1.95	0.67	0.77	0.00	0.00	-9.06
Net Cash from Investing Activities	4.80	-21.08	-13.77	-13.67	-336.67	-4.16	-7.26	-9.43	-13.60
Financing Activities
Debt Repayment	-0.21	-2.96	-0.11	-73.86	172.81	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Common Stock Issued	1.21	0.07	0.00	0.00	86.21	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.10
Common Stock Repurchased	-4.26	-4.24	-10.74	-1.54	-3.03	-15.71	-40.51	-1.82	-1.59
Dividends Paid	-2.75	-6.06	-6.01	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Other Financing Activities	0.00	0.07	0.00	39.69	-13.64	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Net Cash from Financing Activities	-49.21	-13.19	-16.86	-35.71	242.34	-15.71	-40.51	-1.82	-1.49
Summary
Net Change in Cash	17.56	14.60	14.88	-20.17	-78.06	24.95	-9.39	32.93	32.85
Cash at Beginning of Period	158.94	144.34	129.46	149.63	227.69	202.74	212.13	179.21	146.35
Cash at End of Period	176.50	158.94	144.34	129.46	149.63	227.69	202.74	212.13	179.21
Free Cash Flow	46.10	27.79	31.62	12.83	4.44	39.88	31.12	34.75	33.15
Supplemental Disclosures
Interest Paid	-	10.73	10.60	12.50	3.68	-	-	-	-
Income Taxes Paid	-	6.30	2.42	4.00	7.46	5.90	-	-	-

Source: Company financial statements from annual and quarterly filings. Data as of Jun 30, 2026. Data sources and methodology

Frequently Asked Questions About American Public Education Cash Flow

What is American Public Education's free cash flow?

American Public Education generated free cash flow of $46.10M in fiscal 2025 (fiscal year ended Dec 31, 2025), operating cash flow of $61.97M minus $15.86M of capital expenditures. That was up 65.9% from $27.79M a year earlier. Free cash flow equaled 7.1% of revenue.

How much does American Public Education spend on capital expenditures?

American Public Education spent $15.86M on capital expenditures in fiscal 2025, compared with $21.08M a year earlier. That equals 25.6% of operating cash flow.

Does American Public Education pay dividends or buy back shares?

Yes. In fiscal 2025 American Public Education returned $2.75M in dividends and $4.26M in share buybacks to shareholders, according to its cash flow statement.

What is free cash flow?

Free cash flow is operating cash flow minus capital expenditures. It is the cash a company has left for dividends, buybacks, debt repayment or acquisitions after funding its operations and investment. Full definition