Stride Inc (LRN) 2026 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by. My name is Tiffany, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Stride first-quarter fiscal year 2026 earnings call. (Operator Instructions)

感謝您的支持。我叫蒂芬妮，今天我將擔任您的會議主持人。在此，我謹代表 Stride 公司歡迎各位參加 2026 財年第一季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）

I would now like to turn the call over to Timothy Casey, Vice President, Investor Relations. Sir, please go ahead.

現在我想將電話轉給投資者關係副總裁 Timothy Casey。先生，請繼續。

Thank you, and good afternoon. Welcome to Stride's first quarter earnings call for fiscal year 2026. With me on today's call are James Rhyu, Chief Executive Officer; and Donna Blackman, Chief Financial Officer. As a reminder, today's conference call and webcast are accompanied by a presentation that can be found on the Stride Investor Relations website.

謝謝，下午好。歡迎參加 Stride 公司 2026 財年第一季財報電話會議。今天和我一起參加電話會議的有執行長 James Rhyu 和財務長 Donna Blackman。提醒一下，今天的電話會議和網路廣播附有演示文稿，可在 Stride 投資者關係網站上找到。

Please be advised that today's discussion of our financial results may include certain non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of these measures is provided in the earnings release issued this afternoon and can also be found on our Investor Relations website.

請注意，今天我們對財務績效的討論可能包含某些非GAAP財務指標。今天下午發布的收益報告中提供了這些措施的對賬，也可以在我們的投資者關係網站上找到。

In addition to historical information, this call will also involve forward-looking statements. The company's actual results could differ materially from any forward-looking statements due to several important factors as described in the company's earnings release and latest SEC filings, including our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.

除了歷史資訊外，本次電話會議還將涉及前瞻性陳述。由於公司獲利報告和最新提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件（包括我們最新的 10-K 表格年度報告和後續文件）中所述的幾個重要因素，公司的實際業績可能與任何前瞻性聲明存在重大差異。

These statements are made on the basis of our views and assumptions regarding future events and business performance at the time we make them, and the company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. Following our prepared remarks, we'll answer any questions you may have.

這些聲明是基於我們當時對未來事件和業務表現的看法和假設而作出的，公司不承擔更新任何前瞻性聲明的義務。在我們發言完畢後，我們將回答各位可能提出的任何問題。

Now I'll turn the call over to James. James?

現在我把電話交給詹姆斯。詹姆斯？

Thanks, Tim, and good afternoon, everyone. Demand for our products and services remain strong. In fact, we believe industry demand and trends around online education continue to grow. We indicated in August that we believe we would grow enrollment between 10% to 15%. And while we achieved enrollment growth in that range, we still fell short of our internal expectations.

謝謝你，提姆，大家下午好。市場對我們產品和服務的需求依然強勁。事實上，我們認為產業對線上教育的需求和趨勢將持續成長。我們在八月曾表示，我們相信入學人數將增加 10% 至 15%。雖然我們的招生人數成長達到了預期範圍，但仍未達到內部預期。

While demand as indicated by application volumes remains healthy, overall growth was tempered. Well, what happened? Well, we made a couple of strategic decisions that we believe will pay dividends over the longer term, but limited our growth in the short term.

儘管從申請量來看，需求依然旺盛，但整體成長卻放緩。那麼，發生了什麼事？嗯，我們做出了一些策略決策，我們相信這些決策將在長期內帶來回報，但在短期內限制了我們的成長。

First, we invested in upgrading our learning and technology platforms with third-party industry-leading platforms. We continue to believe the investment is the right long-term decision to ensure we are deploying industry-leading technologies and systems.

首先，我們投資升級了我們的學習和技術平台，並採用了第三方領先業界的平台。我們始終相信，這項投資是正確的長期決策，以確保我們部署領先業界的技術和系統。

However, the implementations did not go as smoothly as we anticipated. We are actively engaged with our vendors to improve the situation. We heard from our customers that their engagement with these platforms detracted from their overall experience. This poor customer experience has resulted in some higher withdrawal rates and lower conversion rates than we expected.

然而，實施過程並沒有像我們預期的那樣順利。我們正積極與供應商溝通，以改善這種情況。我們從客戶那裡了解到，他們使用這些平台的行為降低了他們的整體體驗。糟糕的客戶體驗導致提款率高於預期，轉換率低於預期。

Secondly, we wanted to focus on running high-quality programs. And in some instances, the best approach to achieve that is to limit enrollment growth while we improve our execution. We estimate that the combination of these factors resulted in approximately 10,000 to 15,000 fewer enrollments than we otherwise could have achieved.

其次，我們希望專注於運行高品質的專案。在某些情況下，實現這一目標的最佳方法是在改善執行力的同時限制招生成長。我們估計，這些因素綜合起來導致入學人數比我們原本可以達到的人數少了大約 10,000 到 15,000 人。

We also believe that these challenges will likely restrict our in-year enrollment growth. While demand continues to remain strong, we do not anticipate the same in-year enrollment increases that we have seen over the past few years. So our outlook for this year compared to last year is a bit muted. However, our outlook for this business over the longer term remains bullish, and these investments should help us achieve our longer-term goals.

我們也認為，這些挑戰可能會限制我們當年的招生成長。儘管需求依然強勁，但我們預計不會出現像過去幾年那樣的年度入學人數增長。因此，與去年相比，我們對今年的前景持較為謹慎的態度。然而，我們對這項業務的長期前景仍然樂觀，這些投資應該有助於我們實現我們的長期目標。

Our mission and our path are clear to me than ever. Families want and deserve educational choice. Meeting the demands of families in this country is an increasingly diverse task that is challenging to meet with a one-size-fits-all model. So for many families, we are providing the only real affordable alternative in meeting their needs. And the trends just continue to move in that direction.

我比以往任何時候都更清楚地認識到我們的使命和方向。家庭希望並應擁有教育選擇權。滿足這個國家家庭的需求是一項日益多樣化的任務，用一刀切的模式很難滿足。因此，對於許多家庭來說，我們提供了唯一真正可負擔的替代方案來滿足他們的需求。而這個趨勢還在持續朝著這個方向發展。

Whether it be safety issues like bullying or neighborhood violence or health issues or special needs that cannot be met by local schools, we are providing a service that is both increasingly in demand and increasingly necessary.

無論是校園霸凌、社區暴力等安全議題，或是當地學校無法滿足的健康問題或特殊需求，我們提供的服務都越來越受到重視，也越來越必要。

And we are investing in areas that will help enable us to meet the needs of the families we serve. One simple example is the rollout this year offering every second and third grader free ELA tutoring. We know that in order for kids to continue learning, they need to be able to read, write and communicate.

我們正在投資於能夠幫助我們滿足所服務家庭需求的領域。一個簡單的例子是今年推出的為所有二、三年級學生提供免費英語語言藝術輔導的計畫。我們知道，為了讓孩子們能夠繼續學習，他們需要具備閱讀、寫作和溝通的能力。

Therefore, we are investing to ensure the youngest students in our programs can do just that. We are tomorrow's education today. We meet the diverse needs of families that want flexible, personalized career forward and tech-enabled education at an affordable cost. This fall has proven challenging for us, and I want to thank our customer-facing employees, the teachers, administrators and other staff who have worked tirelessly to help us overcome those challenges to serve the students. I also want to thank all our corporate employees who never forget who our customers are and how impactful what we do is in the lives of so many families.

因此，我們正在進行投資，以確保我們課程中最年輕的學生能夠做到這一點。我們就是今天的教育，代表著明天的教育。我們滿足了希望以可負擔的價格獲得靈活、個人化、以職業發展為導向且具有科技賦能的教育的家庭的各種需求。今年秋天對我們來說充滿挑戰，我要感謝我們面對客戶的員工、教師、行政人員和其他工作人員，他們不懈努力，幫助我們克服這些挑戰，為學生服務。我還要感謝我們所有的公司員工，他們永遠不會忘記我們的客戶是誰，以及我們所做的事情對眾多家庭的生活產生了多大的影響。

Thank you. With that, I'll turn the call over to Donna.

謝謝。這樣，我就把電話交給唐娜了。

Thanks, James, and good afternoon. As James mentioned, our results this quarter reflect the continued demand for our core offering. Families are seeking alternative options for their students to solve ongoing challenges within the existing education system.

謝謝你，詹姆斯，下午好。正如詹姆斯所說，我們本季的業績反映了市場對我們核心產品的持續需求。為了解決現有教育體系中不斷出現的挑戰，家長們正在為他們的孩子尋找其他選擇。

However, we also had some internal challenges this quarter as we implemented new platforms for our students. While this caused some disruption, I believe these changes are important for the long-term growth of the business. As always, I am incredibly grateful to all of the Stride employees for their commitment to the families we serve, it is an opportunity and a privilege to influence the lives of so many students each and every year.

然而，本季我們在為學生實施新平台時也遇到了一些內部挑戰。雖然這造成了一些混亂，但我認為這些變化對企業的長期發展至關重要。一如既往，我非常感謝 Stride 的所有員工對我們所服務家庭的奉獻，每年能夠影響這麼多學生的生活，對我來說既是機會也是榮幸。

Turning to a few highlights from our quarterly results. Revenue for the quarter was $620.9 million, up 13% from the first quarter of last year. Adjusted operating income was $81.1 million, an increase of almost $23 million or 39%. Adjusted earnings per share were $1.52 up $0.43 from last year. And capital expenditures were $21.7 million, up $6.9 million.

接下來，我們來看看季度業績中的幾個亮點。本季營收為 6.209 億美元，較去年第一季成長 13%。經調整後的營業收入為 8,110 萬美元，較上年同期成長近 2,300 萬美元，增幅達 39%。調整後每股收益為 1.52 美元，比去年增加 0.43 美元。資本支出為 2,170 萬美元，增加了 690 萬美元。

As I mentioned, our quarterly results were strong demand for our core offerings. Our total enrollments for the quarter were up 11.3% from last year. Once again, setting a record for the number of students we will serve as families continue to seek out educational alternatives.

正如我之前提到的，我們的季度業績顯示，市場對我們的核心產品需求強勁。本季總入學人數比去年同期增加了 11.3%。由於家庭不斷尋求其他教育選擇，我們將再次創下服務學生人數的紀錄。

Career Learning and middle and high school revenue for the quarter was $241.5 million, up more than 21% from last year. Career learning enrollments grew 20% to 110,000. General Education revenue grew over 10% to $363.1 million on enrollment growth of 5.2% to 137,700 students.

本季職業學習和初中及高中收入為 2.415 億美元，比去年增長 21% 以上。職業學習入學人數增加了 20%，達到 11 萬人。一般教育收入成長超過 10%，達到 3.631 億美元，入學人數成長 5.2%，達到 137,700 名學生。

Total revenue per enrollment across both lines of revenues was $2,388, up 3.7% from last year. As we mentioned in August, we are seeing a positive funding environment, but we do expect some impact from state mix and timing. And as such, we now believe we will finish the year flattish in revenue per enrollment compared to FY25.

兩類收入來源的總收入為每名學生 2,388 美元，比去年增長 3.7%。正如我們在 8 月提到的，我們看到資金環境良好，但我們預計各州的資金組合和時間表會有一些影響。因此，我們現在認為，與 2025 財年相比，今年每招生人數的收入將基本持平。

Gross margin for the quarter was 39%, down 20 basis points from last year. I mentioned last quarter that we are continuing to invest in the business, which will have some impact on gross margin. Additionally, given the challenges we had this quarter, we expect to incur some additional expenses related to the platform rollout. As a result, we now expect full year gross margins will be down from FY25 but still above what we saw in FY24.

本季毛利率為39%，較去年同期下降20個基點。我上個季度提到過，我們將繼續對業務進行投資，這將對毛利率產生一定影響。此外，鑑於本季我們面臨的挑戰，我們預計會產生一些與平台推廣相關的額外費用。因此，我們現在預計全年毛利率將低於 2025 財年，但仍高於 2024 財年的水準。

Selling, general and administrative expenses totaled $173.1 million, up 3% from last year. We still expect SG&A as a percent of revenue to decrease compared to last year. Stock-based compensation for the quarter was $10.2 million, an increase of $1.8 million compared to last year.

銷售、一般及行政費用總計 1.731 億美元，比去年增長 3%。我們仍預期銷售、管理及行政費用佔收入的百分比將比去年下降。本季股票選擇權補償金額為 1,020 萬美元，比去年同期增加了 180 萬美元。

We expect to see an increase in stock-based compensation this year, largely due to the impact of a long-term performance grant. And therefore, full year stock-based compensation will likely be in the range of $41 million to $44 million.

我們預計今年股票選擇權激勵措施將會增加，這主要是由於長期績效獎勵的影響。因此，全年股票選擇權補償金額可能在 4,100 萬美元至 4,400 萬美元之間。

As I mentioned earlier, adjusted operating income for the quarter was $81.1 million, up 39% compared to FY25. Adjusted EBITDA was $108.4 million, up roughly 29%. Adjusted earnings per share, a new metric we introduced last quarter was $1.52, up 39.4% from last year. Our profitability strength was driven by the enrollment growth in the quarter and improvements in operating margins. Capital expenditures in the quarter were $21.7 million, up $6.9 million from last year.

正如我之前提到的，本季的調整後營業收入為 8,110 萬美元，比 2025 財年成長了 39%。調整後 EBITDA 為 1.084 億美元，成長約 29%。經調整後的每股盈餘（這是我們上個季度推出的新指標）為 1.52 美元，比去年同期成長 39.4%。本季入學人數成長和營業利潤率提高推動了我們的獲利能力。本季資本支出為 2,170 萬美元，比去年同期增加 690 萬美元。

Free cash flow, defined as cash from operations less CapEx was a negative $217.5 million compared to negative $156.8 million in the prior year period. Cash flow followed our typical seasonality related to school launch and the onboarding of students in the first quarter. As in years past, we expect to see positive cash flow for the next three quarters. We finished the quarter with cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $749.6 million.

自由現金流（定義為經營活動產生的現金減去資本支出）為負 2.175 億美元，去年同期為負 1.568 億美元。現金流遵循我們典型的季節性規律，與第一季的學校開學和學生入學有關。與往年一樣，我們預計未來三個季度將實現正現金流。本季末，我們持有現金、現金等價物及有價證券共7.496億美元。

Turning to our guidance. As James mentioned, we do not expect in-year enrollment to be nearly as strong as they have been for the past years. However, despite the short-term impacts we are seeing, our guidance this year keeps us firmly on track to achieve our FY28 financial goals.

轉向我們的指導。正如詹姆斯所提到的，我們預計今年的插班生人數不會像過去幾年那樣強勁。然而，儘管我們看到了一些短期影響，但我們今年的業績指引仍將使我們穩步朝著實現 2028 財年財務目標邁進。

For the second quarter of 2026, we expect to see revenue in the range of $620 million to $640 million, adjusted operating income between $135 million and $145 million; and capital expenditures between $15 million and $18 million. For the full year, we expect revenue in the range of $2.480 billion to $2.555 billion; adjusted operating income between $475 million and $500 million. Capital expenditure between $70 million and $80 million and an effective tax rate between 24% and 25%.

我們預計 2026 年第二季營收將在 6.2 億美元至 6.4 億美元之間，調整後營業收入將在 1.35 億美元至 1.45 億美元之間，資本支出將在 1,500 萬美元至 1,800 萬美元之間。我們預計全年營收將在 24.8 億美元至 25.55 億美元之間；調整後營業收入將在 4.75 億美元至 5 億美元之間。資本支出在 7,000 萬美元至 8,000 萬美元之間，實際稅率在 24% 至 25% 之間。

While any new technology can bring challenges, we are committed to delivering a quality experience for all of our families and our partners. And we will make the investments needed this year to ensure we are set up for long-term success.

雖然任何新技術都可能帶來挑戰，但我們致力於為所有家庭和合作夥伴提供優質體驗。今年我們將進行必要的投資，以確保我們為長期成功做好準備。

Thank you for your time today. Now I'll turn the call back over to the operator for your questions. Operator?

感謝您今天抽出時間。現在我將把電話轉回給接線員，回答您的問題。操作員？

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

Jeff Silver with BMO Capital Markets. Please go ahead.

BMO 資本市場的 Jeff Silver。請繼續。

Thank you so much. I obviously want to focus on the guidance for the year. And forgive me, did you give enrollment guidance for the year? I think you had said 10% to 15% on the prior call. I'm just wondering where you're coming out now.

太感謝了。我當然想把重點放在今年的指導工作上。另外請問您有提供當年的招生指導嗎？我記得你在上次電話會議上說過是 10% 到 15%。我只是想知道你現在打算從哪裡出來。

With did not give guidance for the full year. We gave the guidance that we gave for the count date was 10% to 15% for the count date, we came in at 11.3%. But we do not anticipate that we will see the same level of in-year enrollment growth that we've seen over the past three years. So based upon that assumption, the 11.3% growth that we saw from October to October, we don't expect to see that same year-over-year increase by the end of the year.

該機構並未給予全年業績指引。我們給出的指導意見是，在統計日期當天，準確率應為 10% 到 15%，而實際準確率為 11.3%。但我們預計不會再出現像過去三年那樣高水準的年度入學人數成長。因此，基於這個假設，儘管我們在 10 月至 10 月看到了 11.3% 的成長，但我們預計到年底不會看到同樣的同比增長。

Okay. And then you did call out about 10,000 to 15,000 weaker enrollments. And you cited two items. One was, I guess, a bad systems implementation and other was limiting enrollment growth to focus on high-quality programs. Can we parse out what each one had that impact on that 10,000 to 15,000. And if you can give a little bit more color on each of those items, I think that would be helpful.

好的。然後你也指出了大約 10,000 到 15,000 名入學能力較弱的學生。你列舉了兩項內容。我認為，其中一個原因是系統實施不力，另一個原因是限制招生成長以專注於高品質課程。我們能否分析一下，究竟是什麼因素對這 10,000 到 15,000 人產生了影響？如果你能對每件物品都進行更詳細的描述，我想那會很有幫助。

Yes. I mean I think -- so the -- it's difficult to say exactly. I'll for say that first. So again, anything I say is going to be based on the data that we can see and estimate. But certainly, we believe that the majority was due to the system implementation issues. It impacted the overall customer experience. We had a higher level of withdrawals as a result. And we attribute the higher level withdrawals directly to the system issues that we're having.

是的。我的意思是，我覺得——所以——很難確切地說。我先這麼說。所以，我所說的任何話都將基於我們能夠看到和估算的數據。但我們確信，大部分的問題都是因為系統實施問題所造成。它影響了整體客戶體驗。因此，我們的提款量有所增加。我們認為，提款額上升直接歸因於我們目前遇到的系統問題。

So I think that's definitely the predominance of them. It's also the area that we think is most resolvable. We're working very furiously with our partners to fix those issues. And I think that the ability for us to run quality programs is tied intimately with the platform issues that we discussed because we don't want to do is to really exacerbate a problem by having more students come on to a platform that is not meeting our expectations.

所以我認為這絕對是它們的主要特徵。這也是我們認為最容易解決的問題。我們正與合作夥伴全力以赴地解決這些問題。我認為，我們能否開展高品質的課程與我們討論過的平台問題密切相關，因為我們不想讓更多的學生使用一個不符合我們期望的平台，從而加劇問題。

Okay appreciate that.

好的，謝謝。

Jason Tilchen, Canaccord Genuity.

Jason Tilchen，Canaccord Genuity。

Great, good afternoon, thanks for taking my question. A little bit of a follow-up on the last question. I'm wondering if you could just share a little bit more about, a, the rationale and the timing for this tech implementation and then a little bit more about exactly what went wrong.

太好了，下午好，謝謝您回答我的問題。對上一個問題稍作補充。我想請您詳細介紹一下，a. 這項技術實施的理由和時間安排，以及b. 究竟出了什麼問題。

Yes. I think -- so the first thing is the rationale for the implementation is actually pretty simple. As we have scaled and we have more than doubled in the past five years. And that level of scale requires platforms that are large enough and robust enough to meet the demands of our scale and our anticipated additional growth. And so we operated a number of platforms that were either in-house proprietary platforms or with third parties where we didn't have the confidence that they were going to be at a scale to the extent we needed them to.

是的。我認為——首先，實施的理由其實很簡單。隨著我們規模的擴大，過去五年我們的規模已經翻了一番多。而這種規模需要足夠大、足夠強大的平台，以滿足我們規模和預期額外增長的需求。因此，我們經營著許多平台，這些平台要么是內部專有平台，要么是與第三方合作的平台，但我們沒有信心這些平台能夠達到我們所需的規模。

And so investing in a new set of platforms for the long term, we believe, and we still believe execution issues aside, is the right for our business long term. And so the idea of investing in upgrading our platforms continues to be, we think, the right approach.

因此，我們相信，我們仍然相信，撇開執行問題不談，長期投資一套新的平台對我們的業務發展是正確的。因此，我們認為，投資升級我們的平台仍然是正確的做法。

The timing, there's one real window of timing that you have to fall into for most of these types of upgrades where you have, in theory, the least disruption to your customers. And that is in the summer between the end of one school year and the beginning of the next school year. So we sort of have to execute in that sort of delicate window.

時機方面，對於大多數這類升級來說，你必須把握一個真正的時機窗口，理論上，在這個窗口期內，對客戶的干擾最小。那是在一個學年結束到下一個學年開始之間的暑假。所以我們必須在這種微妙的時間窗口內執行任務。

And clearly, what we thought we were going to achieve in terms of an execution in that window, we did not achieve. Demand continues to be very strong. And so we're confident that we're going to overcome this, but the timing for this implementation sort of has to occur really in that summer period.

很顯然，我們原本以為能在那段時間內完成的事情，並沒有實現。需求持續強勁。因此我們有信心克服這個問題，但實施的時機必須在夏季期間完成。

And you really only get that window of chance, and we didn't execute as well as we should have and our partners didn't execute as well as they should have, and we're going to spend the year making sure that we get it fixed.

機會窗口真的只有那麼一小段，而我們和我們的夥伴都沒有好好把握住，所以我們將用一年的時間來確保這個問題得到解決。

Great. And just a follow-up to that. I just want to make sure I understand. Was it essentially the implementation took longer than expected to complete and sort of blend at the beginning of the school year? Or was there something else that went wrong?

偉大的。還有一點後續問題。我只是想確認我理解了。主要是因為實施過程比預期花費的時間更長，導致新學年開始時難以順利融合嗎？或者還有其他方面出了問題？

And then the other sort of question, the dynamic between the two programs Gen Ed and Career Learning, it seems like Career Learning, the enrollment remained very strong there, while we saw a sequential decline for Gen Ed. So wondering if this sort of tech upgrade had any sort of impact on one program more than the other?

另一個問題是，通識教育和職業學習這兩個項目之間的動態關係。職業學習課程的招生人數似乎一直非常強勁，而通識教育計畫的招生人數則呈現逐年下降趨勢。所以我想知道，這種技術升級是否對其中一個項目的影響比另一個更大？

Yeah. So not a material impact on one program versus the other. So I wouldn't sort of read too much into that split. The implementation again, there was a couple of platforms there. The main platform implementation took a little bit longer than we expected.

是的。因此，這兩個項目之間沒有實質區別。所以我覺得沒必要對那次分裂過度解讀。再說實施方面，當時有幾個平台。主平台的實施比我們預期的要花費更長的時間。

Also, we encountered more problems on the rollout than we anticipated. So even when it did roll out for the new semester, the number of problems we experienced during the rollout that impacted directly to customers' abilities to log on the resiliency of the platform, the performance of the platform, all impacted the customer trajectory and the customer experience.

此外，我們在推廣過程中遇到的問題比預期的要多。因此，即使在新學期正式上線後，我們在上線過程中遇到的問題數量仍然直接影響到客戶的登入能力、平台的彈性、平台的效能，所有這些都影響了客戶的使用軌跡和客戶體驗。

So I would say it did take longer, and it continues into the year to have issues that we're continuing to fix. So I think that's sort of the thing that we're dealing with is that we're now in the year, and we have been now for a couple of months and we're continuing to ensure that we're improving the platforms in here as well.

所以我覺得確實花的時間更長了，而且這個問題一直持續到今年，我們仍在繼續解決這些問題。所以我覺得我們現在面臨的問題是，現在已經進入新的一年，而且已經過去幾個月了，我們將繼續確保我們也能改進這裡的平台。

Greg Parrish, Morgan Stanley.

摩根士丹利的格雷格·帕里什。

Hey, good evening, thanks for taking my question here. I was hoping to get a little more color on the decision to limit in your enrollment growth. With the platform implementation issues, is that impacting in-year enrollment growth? Or is that not the case? Is this more of a permanent structural decision to just improve the quality of your programs?

嗨，晚上好，謝謝你回答我的問題。我原本希望能夠更詳細地了解一下限制招生成長的決定。平台實施問題是否會影響當年的招生成長？或者事實並非如此？這是旨在提高課程品質的永久性結構性決策嗎？

So I think it's a little bit of both. Clearly, we want to limit the exposure that the platform issues are having. So just sort of limiting the intake during a period when we want to make sure that the platform gets stabilized is important. So -- and that directly correlates to the quality of the program, you can't have high-quality program, if you're having customer experience issues. So I think they sort of go hand in glove.

所以我認為兩者都有一點。顯然，我們希望限制平台問題所帶來的影響。因此，在我們想要確保平台穩定的期間限制攝取量非常重要。所以——這與專案的品質直接相關，如果你在客戶體驗方面有問題，你就不可能擁有高品質的專案。所以我認為它們是密切相關的。

Okay. So would you say that this is just a one-year sort of in-year impact and then next year, it would probably -- and there's only been a couple of years that has been happening. Or is this -- next year, we're going to kind of -- it could go back to the way it has been in the last few years?

好的。所以您認為這只是一年內的影響，明年可能就會——而這種情況只發生了幾年而已。或者說——明年，我們可能會——情況會回到過去幾年那樣嗎？

Yeah. I think all things being equal, meaning that assuming we fix all the issues in this year, which we do anticipate, we have a clear road map that this year, the issues will, in fact, be fixed. Assuming that demand continues to be strong as we have seen it. Yes, we would believe that next year we would be able to return to growth in year. Now obviously, a lot of variables included there, certainly not guidance of what next year is going to be.

是的。我認為，如果一切順利，也就是說，假設我們今年能夠解決所有問題（我們也確實預期會解決），那麼我們已經制定了明確的路線圖，確保今年這些問題實際上能夠得到解決。假設需求持續保持強勁，正如我們所見。是的，我們相信明年我們將能夠恢復成長。當然，其中包含很多變數，當然不能預測明年會發生什麼。

But if the demand were to maintain at the high levels that we've been seeing it and all other things being equal to, say, a last year type of performance, then yes, I mean that's what the math would suggest. But we're really focused on making sure we get it fixed this year. So that is really the number 1 priority. And again, I think we have a clear path of getting these resolved in this fiscal year.

但如果需求保持在我們所看到的較高水平，並且其他所有因素都與去年同期表現相同，那麼是的，我的意思是，從數學角度來看，情況就是如此。但我們目前的首要任務是確保今年內解決這個問題。所以這確實是第一要務。而且，我認為我們已經明確了在本財政年度內解決這些問題的途徑。

Yeah. Okay. That's helpful color. I know there's a lot of moving parts there. And then maybe just one last question here.

是的。好的。這是個很有幫助的顏色。我知道這裡面牽扯到很多環節。這裡也許只剩下最後一個問題了。

I just wanted to talk about competitive landscape. And I say that with you have double-digit enrollment growth here to start the year. So very healthy. But with your success over the last couple of years, there's -- other programs are going to try to copy some of your very successful strategies. I think your biggest competitor had a great start to the year.

我只是想談談競爭格局。我想說的是，今年年初你們這裡的入學人數就實現了兩位數的成長。非常健康。但是，鑑於你過去幾年的成功，其他專案將會試圖複製你的一些非常成功的策略。我認為你最大的競爭對手今年開局非常出色。

I think following your playbook in many ways. And I know you're for lifting all boats in the industry, but maybe just help us with what you're seeing out there in the competitive environment? Any changes? Just anything you're seeing on that front?

我認為在很多方面都要遵循你的計劃。我知道您支持提振整個產業，但或許您可以幫我們分析一下您在競爭環境中看到的情況？有變化嗎？這方面您看到了什麼嗎？

Yeah. I mean I have said pretty consistently that I want all players in the space to be successful. I want to make sure that the industry is healthy and that the industry has high-quality players. I think a healthy industry promotes higher quality players in the industry. I think that's important.

是的。我的意思是，我一直以來都表示，我希望這個領域的所有參與者都能成功。我希望確保行業健康發展，並且在行業內擁有高素質的參與者。我認為一個健康的行業會促進業內更高素質從業者的湧現。我認為這很重要。

I mean, congratulations to our competitors who are doing well. I think that's great for them. I think if you just look at the raw numbers, forget about percentages for a second. If you look at raw numbers, I still think our growth year-over-year outpaced our largest competitor's raw growth numbers by a large margin. When you start at a lower base, the percentage is, obviously, that's just math.

我的意思是，祝賀我們的競爭對手取得優異成績。我覺得這對他們來說是件好事。我認為，如果你只看原始數字，暫時忽略百分比的話。如果只看原始數據，我認為我們的年增長率仍然大幅超過了我們最大的競爭對手的年增長率。當起點較低時，百分比顯然就是數學計算的結果。

But I think what we can see is demand remains strong, and we welcome healthy competition. And I think we're going do everything we can to tee ourselves up for strong next year.

但我認為，我們看到的是需求依然強勁，我們歡迎良性競爭。我認為我們會盡一切努力為明年取得好成績做好準備。

Okay fantastic.

好的，太棒了。

Stephen Sheldon, William Blair.

史蒂芬謝爾頓，威廉布萊爾。

Hey team, you have Matt Filek for Stephen Sheldon. I wanted to start with a clarification question. Are these platform issues solely related to the classroom and learning experience? Or are these platforms also used for processing enrollments and other administrative like functions?

各位，馬特·菲萊克將飾演史蒂芬·謝爾頓。我想先問一個澄清性的問題。這些平台問題是否僅與課堂和學習經驗有關？或者這些平台也用於處理報名和其他類似管理功能？

Yeah. It's a really straight question. It's actually both. So they are the -- what you would consider to be the more traditional customer-facing side of the equation. The platform that serves up the courses and get the people -- get the students engaged with the program, if you will, as well as the more back office administrative side you just referenced.

是的。這是一個非常簡單的問題。事實上兩者皆有。所以，他們就是——你通常會認為的更傳統的面向客戶的一方。該平台提供課程並吸引人們 - 如果您願意的話，讓學生參與該計劃，以及您剛才提到的更多後台行政方面。

Okay. That's helpful. And then what inning do you feel you're in for rectifying these platform issues? And then can you also tell us when exactly these issues started? And then one more thing as well.

好的。這很有幫助。那麼，你覺得你需要在哪一局來解決這些平台問題呢？然後可以告訴我們這些問題具體是什麼時候開始的嗎？還有一件事。

Would you kind of call this two separate platform issues? Or is it one thing? How should we think about all of that, especially timing of fixing the issues?

你會把這當成兩個獨立的平台問題嗎？或者它們是一回事？我們應該如何看待所有這些問題，特別是解決問題的時機？

Yeah. So they are distinct platforms. So it is, in this case, specific to your question, two distinct platforms that we're talking about in terms of back office, front office. We did not really have an indication of the impact of these issues until we got well into August.

是的。所以它們是不同的平台。所以，就你的問題而言，我們討論的是後台和前台這兩個不同的平台。直到八月我們才真正意識到這些問題的影響。

And unfortunately, the timing wasn't great because it happened to be after our last earnings call where it was more funnel activity of demand that we were seeing that was very strong. And then subsequent to that, we started seeing the withdrawal issues as the platform issues became apparent.

不幸的是，時機不太好，因為恰好在我們上次財報電話會議之後，當時我們看到需求管道活動非常強勁。隨後，隨著平台問題的顯現，我們開始看到提款問題。

So the timing was unfortunate that it was after our last earnings call. And I think that when we think about sort of the road map to getting these issues fixed. We're working every day on them. We believe that over the course of the year. It's not a onetime fix that we're implementing, it is a series of fixes.

所以時機很不巧，它發生在我們上次財報電話會議之後。我認為，當我們思考解決這些問題的路線圖時，就應該這樣做。我們每天都在努力實現這些目標。我們相信，在這一年中。這不是一次性的解決方案，而是一系列的解決方案。

We think that the biggest ones happen here in the next few months, but they will persist throughout the entire year. And in fact, we are engaged with our partners to ensure that there -- it doesn't end just when we think that have the issue fixed. But that we signed up with these partners to ensure that there was a robust ongoing set of improvements to the platforms and innovation curve that we would drive with them that they would invest behind.

我們認為最大的變化將在未來幾個月發生，但它們將持續全年。事實上，我們正​​在與合作夥伴共同努力，以確保——這不會僅僅因為我們認為問題已經解決而結束。但我們與這些合作夥伴簽約，是為了確保平台和創新曲線能夠持續得到強有力的改進，我們將與他們共同推動這些改進，而他們也將為此進行投資。

And so while the immediate issues, we expect to get fixed in the next few months with the biggest issues and then sort of throughout the year with the remaining issues, we still expect to be investing in improving this platform and improving the experience for our customers well into the future. It's not just a one-year deal in terms of the expectation we have on improvement. But the most pressing issues we expect to be fixed in this year.

因此，雖然我們預計在接下來的幾個月內能夠解決眼前的幾個問題，其中最大的問題將得到解決，而剩餘的問題將在今年內逐步解決，但我們仍然會持續投資改進這個平台，並在未來很長一段時間內改善客戶的體驗。就我們對改進的期望而言，這不僅僅是一份為期一年的協議。但最迫切的問題我們預計今年能夠解決。

Okay, thank you, James. I appreciate the added color there.

好的，謝謝你，詹姆斯。我很欣賞那裡添加的色彩。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

Alex Paris, Barrington Research.

Alex Paris，巴林頓研究公司。

Thank you. I just have a couple of clarification type of questions. So at count date, you had 247,700 students, up 11.3% year-over-year. You said that it could have been 10,000 to 15,000 higher if it were not for these issues with the platform rollout. I guess the first question I have is, did those withdrawals occur before the count date or after the count date because the Q2 guidance calls for revenue at the midpoint of up 7.3%. So fall term enrollment was up 11.3%.

謝謝。我還有幾個需要澄清的問題。截至統計日，學生人數為 247,700 人，年增 11.3%。你說過，如果不是因為平台推廣的問題，這個數字可能會高出 10,000 到 15,000。我想問的第一個問題是，這些提款是在計票日之前還是之後發生的，因為第二季業績指引預計收入將成長 7.3%（中位數）。因此，秋季學期入學人數增加了 11.3%。

And if it's flat revenue per enrollment, I don't know why revenue would be up only 7% unless these withdrawals continue to occur beyond the count date.

如果每增加一個學員的收入保持不變，除非這些提款情況在統計日期之後繼續發生，否則我不知道為什麼收入只會增加 7%。

Yes. So let me try to maybe clarify how you're looking at this first and then sort of circle back maybe on sort of how these withdrawals are manifesting themselves. The comp in each of our subsequent quarters from last year is on a rising set of enrollment and rising set of revenue.

是的。那麼，讓我先試著弄清楚你是如何看待這件事的，然後再回過頭來探討這些戒斷反應是如何表現出來的。與去年同期相比，我們每季的招生人數和收入都在不斷增長。

And so if what we did was we remain stable, i.e., flat you still have a deterioration on the year-over-year growth mathematically because you're talking about last year when in the course of the year, you were rising, and we do not expect sort of the same dynamic of growth that we saw last year. And so I think that's the first point.

因此，如果我們保持穩定，即持平，那麼從數學角度來看，同比增速仍然會下降，因為我們談論的是去年，而去年全年增速都在上升，我們預計不會出現與去年相同的增長勢頭。所以我認為這是第一點。

Just mathematically, I think, you have to look at it from each quarter sequentially last year that was growing. And now we're not sort of indicating that same growth. The second piece circling back, I think, is that largely speaking, the vast majority of the growth that we think we could have, the indication of the 10,000 to 15,000 occurred in the first fiscal quarter, meaning everything in that estimate statistically is a calculation estimate through September 30.

從數學角度來看，我認為必須從去年每個成長的季度開始逐一查看。而現在，我們似乎並沒有看到同樣的成長。我認為，第二個關鍵點在於，我們認為我們能夠實現的絕大部分增長，即 10,000 至 15,000 的增長，都發生在第一財季，這意味著該估計中的所有內容在統計上都是截至 9 月 30 日的計算估計。

So said a different way, if we did not have those problems, and our estimates were correct. We actually would have anticipated that our count date, our September 30, only number would have likely exceeded the upper range of our guidance, mathematically.

換句話說，如果我們沒有遇到這些問題，而且我們的估計是正確的。實際上，我們原本預計，我們統計的日期（即 9 月 30 日）的唯一數字可能會超過我們指導範圍的上限（從數學角度來看）。

Now a lot of assumptions built in there around how we're calculating higher withdrawal rates and things like that. But I think to your question, the predominance of it that we're indicating in that number is falling between sort of middle of August through end of September.

現在，我們已經對如何計算更高的提款率等做出了很多假設。但我認為，就你的問題而言，我們從這個數字可以看出，這種情況的主要發生時間大約在 8 月中旬到 9 月底之間。

Okay. And then when we talk about in-year enrollment, I guess I was sort of thinking about the January enrollment. But implicit in your guidance is rather than sequential rise in raw enrollment from quarter to quarter to quarter like we saw through Q1, Q2 and Q3 last year. It would be a decline in the second. The second quarter raw number for enrollment will be less than the first quarter raw number enrollment.

好的。然後，當我們談到學年中途入學時，我想我當時指的是一月份的入學情況。但您的指導中隱含的並不是原始入學人數逐季度連續上升，就像我們去年第一季、第二季和第三季看到的那樣。第二次就會出現下滑。第二季實際入學人數將少於第一季實際入學人數。

And third quarter will be less than the second quarter and presumably, the fourth quarter will be less. And then next year, once all these problems are fixed, we can presumably return to growth. Is that the way to think about it?

第三季將少於第二季度，可以預見，第四季也將少於第二季。明年，一旦所有這些問題都得到解決，我們大概就能恢復成長。是這樣思考的嗎？

Yeah. So I think we're not giving exact enrollment guidance per se exactly. But I think we should probably not presume growth beginning of the year to the end of the year in enrollments. We will handle some backfills. We have some attrition during the course of the year.

是的。所以我認為我們本身並沒有給出確切的入學指導。但我認為我們或許不該假設入學人數從年初到年底都會成長。我們會處理一些回填工作。我們一年中會有一些人員流失。

We -- there's likely some backfills that we will do. But yes, I think beginning of the year to end of the year, we should not anticipate growth. And we do, again, assuming the conditions remain strong as we've seen, the demand conditions remain as strong as we've seen and we can revert back to the prior retention characteristics that we had prior to this issue. We do think that we could resume to in-year growth in subsequent years.

我們——可能會有一些後續工作要做。但是，我認為從年初到年末，我們不應該預期會有成長。而且，我們再次假設市場狀況依然強勁，需求狀況依然強勁，我們可以恢復到此問題出現之前的客戶留存率。我們認為，未來幾年我們能夠恢復年內成長。

Got you. And then the last question and related is revenue per enrollment. You previously said positive funding environment, probably up a bit, and now you're saying flat. Is that the delta?

明白了。最後一個相關問題是每次招生帶來的收入。你之前說融資環境良好，可能會略有成長，現在又說持平了。那是三角洲嗎？

As I said in my prepared remarks, we are still seeing a positive funding environment. We will see some impact from the mix and from timing. And as you may recall, one of the things that we did last year was that we had some adjustments throughout the course of the year, given the in-year enrollment growth that we had throughout the course of the year. We're not anticipating having that same level of in-year enrollment growth. So we won't have that catch-up that we had last year.

正如我在準備好的演講中所說，我們仍然看到積極的融資環境。我們將看到成分組合和時間安排都會產生一些影響。您可能還記得，去年我們採取的措施之一是，鑑於全年入學人數的增長，我們在這一年中做出了一些調整。我們預計不會出現同樣水準的年內入學人數成長。所以，我們不會像去年那樣進行追趕了。

And then we also had that higher funding catch-up and Q4 funding adjustment, I should say, in Q4. From the back half of the year, the comps are a little bit tougher. And then again, to the point, we don't expect to have that level of in-year enrollment growth that we saw last year that we adjusted the revenue per enrollment throughout the course of the year.

然後，在第四季度，我們還有更高的資金追趕和第四季資金調整。從下半年開始，比賽難度會稍微增加一些。再說一遍，我們預計今年入學人數的成長不會像去年那麼強勁，因此我們全年都在調整每位學生的收入。

So has anything really changed on -- has anything really changed on the funding environment outlook? You said you still view it as a positive funding environment. But has the mix changed relative to your expectations a few months ago? The expected mix, like by state?

那麼，融資環境前景真的發生了任何變化嗎？你說你仍然認為這是一個正向的融資環境。但與您幾個月前的預期相比，這種組合是否有所變化？按州劃分的預期組成是什麼？

I'm sorry, when I talk about mix, the mix is depending upon where we grow, where the withdrawals come from during the course of the year, that's the mix we talked about. So the point that James made, we won't have any end year enrollment growth, right? The reality will happen is that we'll have some -- prior to the last three years. We would have in-year enrollment growth. Our withdrawals exceeded that in-year enrollment growth, right?

抱歉，當我談到混合時，混合取決於我們的種植地點，以及一年中各個時期的供應情況，這就是我們所說的混合。所以正如詹姆斯所說，我們年底的入學人數不會有任何增長，對吧？現實情況是，在過去三年之前，我們會有一些這樣的例子。我們預計當年入學人數將會增加。我們的退學人數超過了當年的入學人數成長，對吧？

And so we'll still continue to have that mix that will happen. And so it depends on where that mix happens, that will drive the variability that we might see in our revenue per enrollment, whether it be a higher general ed or Career Learning. But in terms of the pure funding environment, the sentiment is the same today as it was in August.

因此我們仍將繼續保持這種混合狀態。因此，這種組合發生在哪裡，將決定我們每招生收入的波動性，無論是更高的普通教育還是職業學習。但就純粹的融資環境而言，今天的情緒與八月相同。

Got you. All right. I appreciate the extra color and I'll ask other questions as we follow up.

明白了。好的。我很感激您提供的額外信息，在後續跟進時我會詢問其他問題。

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes the Stride first quarter fiscal year 2026 earnings call. On behalf of Stride, I would like to thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect.

女士們、先生們，Stride 2026 財年第一季財報電話會議到此結束。我謹代表Stride，感謝各位的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。