Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) Q2 2024 Earnings Conference Call July 31, 2024 10:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Terese Wilke - Director of IR
Robert Silberman - Chairman
Karl McDonnell - President and CEO
Daniel Jackson - EVP and CFO

Conference Call Participants

Jeffrey Silber - BMO Capital Markets
Jasper Bibb - Truist Securities
Emily Marzo - BofA

Operator

Welcome to Strategic Education Second Quarter 2024 Results Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, today's program is being recorded.

Now I'd like to introduce your host for today's program, Terese Wilke, Director of Investor Relations for Strategic Education. Ms. Wilke, please go ahead.

Terese Wilke

Thank you. Hello, everyone, and welcome to Strategic Education's conference call in which we will discuss second quarter 2024 results. With us today are Robert Silberman, Chairman, Karl McDonnell, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Daniel Jackson, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

Following today's remarks, we will open the call for questions. Please note that this call may include forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The statements are based on current expectations and are subject to a number of assumptions, uncertainties, and risks that Strategic Education has identified in today's press release that could cause actual results to differ materially.

Further information about these and other relevant uncertainties may be found in Strategic Education's most recent annual report on Form 10-K, the 10-Q to be filed, and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as Strategic Education's future 8-Ks, 10-Qs, and 10-Ks. Copies of these filings and the full press release are available for viewing on the website at strategiceducation.com.

And now, I'd like to turn the call over to Karl. Karl, please go ahead.

Karl McDonnell

Thank you, Terese, and good morning, everyone. Our second quarter 2024 results reflect continued strength across all of our segments. But before we begin, and as is normally the case, I'd like to start by pointing out that all of my references to our financial results are to our adjusted results and that they assume constant currency for foreign exchange purposes.

For the second quarter, SEI's revenue grew 9% to $313 million. Our operating expenses grew 3%, which was in line with our expectations, and our operating income grew by more than 60% to $44 million. Our operating margin increased 460 basis points. During the quarter, we generated $1.34 earnings per share, which was more than a 60% increase from the prior year.