Start Time: 16:30 January 1, 0000 5:17 PM ET

Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

Q4 2023 Earnings Conference Call

February 13, 2024, 16:30 PM ET

Company Participants

Brian Mueller - CEO, President and Director

Daniel Bachus - CFO

Conference Call Participants

Ryan Griffin - BMO Capital Markets

Alex Paris - Barrington Research

Operator

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Grand Canyon Education's Fourth Quarter 2023 Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speakers' presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions]. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.

I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Dan Bachus, CFO. Please go ahead.

Daniel Bachus

Joining me on today's call is our Chairman and CEO, Brian Mueller. Please note that many of our comments today will contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Various factors could cause our actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied by such statements. These factors are discussed in our SEC filings, including our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. We undertake no obligation to provide updates with regard to the forward-looking statements made during this call and we recommend that all investors review these reports thoroughly before taking a financial position in GCE.

And with that, I'll turn the call over to Brian.

Brian Mueller

Good afternoon, and thank you for joining Grand Canyon Education's fourth quarter fiscal year 2023 conference call. GCE had another strong quarter, exceeding enrollment expectations by producing online new starts that were in the mid-teens over prior year and also continuing to produce greater-than-expected retention numbers, exceeding revenue guidance estimates at midpoint by $3.3 million, producing a $0.05 beat in adjusted diluted earnings per share to consensus while continuing to invest heavily in initiatives for our university partners.

Judging by these results and the current organic lead flow, there has never been greater interest in what is happening at Grand Canyon Education and its 25 partner institutions. There is a vast amount of untapped potential in the American labor force today. There are still universities that chase after U.S. News & World Report rankings. Unfortunately, the criteria for attaining those rankings have nothing to do with tapping into the unmet potential.

For example, the fact that there are nursing and teacher shortages is a direct result of misplaced university priorities. Our success is the result of trying to understand the life situation of students and the nature of what it is they need to learn. The combination of relevant programs and creative delivery models is what is driving the interest in what we are doing.