Laureate Education reported a steady start to 2025 with enrollments in Mexico and Peru matching expectations, improved visibility on the year, and a tightened guidance range that nudges up revenue and adjusted EBITDA. Management highlighted resilience in demand, ongoing digital momentum, and a clean balance sheet that supported a $42 million buyback in the quarter. The company also explained academic calendar timing shifts that push some revenue and profitability into later quarters.
Adam Morse: Good morning, and thank you for joining us on today’s call to discuss Laureate Education’s First Quarter 2025 Results. Joining me on the call today are Eilif Serck-Hanssen, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Rick Buskirk, Chief Financial Officer. Our earnings press release is available on the Investor Relations section of our website at laureate.net. We’ve also posted a supplementary presentation to the website, which we will be referring to during today’s call. The call is being webcast, and a complete recording will be available after the call.
Management kicked off with a caution about forward-looking statements and non-GAAP reconciliations, then handed the floor to the CEO. Eilif described intake cycles in Mexico and Peru that wrapped up in mid-April and delivered year-over-year new enrollment growth of 8% in Mexico and 6% in Peru. That clarity on intake outcomes let the team tighten full-year guidance and lift midpoints across enrollments, revenue, and adjusted EBITDA.
Eilif Serck-Hanssen: Thank you, Adam, and good morning, everyone. 2025 is off to a good start, and we are encouraged by the solid results from our recently completed intake cycles, which included Peru’s primary intake and a smaller secondary intake for Mexico. Enrollment results came in line with our expectations for both markets with year-over-year new enrollment growth of 8% for Mexico and 6% in Peru through the completion of the intake cycles by middle of April. With the intake now finalized, we have good visibility into the remainder of the year, and we are tightening the range of our full year guidance, effectively raising the midpoint for total enrollments, revenue and adjusted EBITDA.
Eilif emphasized long-term mission and local impact while flagging macro risks, saying the business is loosely correlated with economic cycles but tends to hold up when households prioritize education. Executive commentary referenced strong employability outcomes and expanded access, noting that roughly half of Laureate students are first-generation university goers and that nine out of ten job-seeking graduates find work within a year. The company also touted QS Stars ratings and community programs as evidence of institutional strength.
Rick Buskirk: Thank you, Eilif. Before I discuss our financial performance for the quarter, let me provide a few important reminders on seasonality. First, campus-based higher education is a seasonal business. The first and third quarters represent our 2 largest intake periods. The 2 intake periods account for approximately 80% of our total new enrollment activity for the year. From a P&L perspective, both are seasonally low periods as classes are out of session for most of those months. In contrast, the second and fourth quarters are not large enrollment intake periods, but generate higher revenue and adjusted EBITDA for the year.
Rick dug into timing effects: a later start to classes in Peru shifted about $26 million of revenue and $23 million of adjusted EBITDA out of Q1 into the second half of the year. On a seasonally low basis, Q1 revenue came in at $236 million with adjusted EBITDA of $5 million, both ahead of the prior guidance. Adjusted for calendar timing and on an organic constant currency basis, revenue rose 10% and adjusted EBITDA climbed 132% year over year, though from a small base.
Regionally, Mexico outperformed with an 8% increase in new enrollments driven by working-adult online programs, while Peru posted a 6% lift as it recovered from a 2023 recession. Mexico’s revenue growth and margin gains were helped by productivity and online volume, and Peru showed steady demand in premium and working-adult segments despite seasonality. Management noted mix effects as fully online growth outpaced face-to-face pricing increases.
Balance sheet discipline was a clear theme: Laureate ended March with $110 million of cash against $115 million of gross debt for a modest net debt position. The company repurchased $42 million of stock in the quarter and had $56 million left on its buyback authorization, with a stated commitment to return excess cash after necessary CapEx. For 2025 the team expects adjusted EBITDA to free cash flow conversion of about 50%, supporting shareholder returns going forward.
Management reiterated guidance changes: a tightened full-year range that lifts the midpoint by roughly 1,000 students, $10 million of revenue, and $5 million of adjusted EBITDA versus prior outlook. They cautioned about FX volatility, noting the guidance retains a MXN 20.50 to USD assumption despite recent peso strength, and highlighted a one-time $8 million revenue impact from campus consolidations in Mexico. On an organic constant currency basis the company still expects mid-single-digit enrollment growth and double-digit adjusted EBITDA growth.
The Q&A confirmed demand resilience in working-adult cohorts and growing adoption of fully online programs, which now represent roughly 20% of the student base and are expanding at a multiple of face-to-face growth. Management said digital offerings are central to penetrating the adult market and remain a key lever for scale. They also committed to continuing the buyback program while evaluating further capital return options with the board as cash converts.
Overall the quarter showed enrollment momentum, calendar-driven timing shifts that affect when revenue hits the books, and an operating story built on digital acceleration, margin leverage, and a conservative approach to FX assumptions. Laureate’s leadership framed the business as well-positioned in Mexico and Peru to capture secular growth while managing near-term macro and translation risks.
