Conference Call Today, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time

Investor Day Scheduled for March 19, 2026, at the new Nashville, TN campus

PARSIPPANY, N.J., Feb. 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (Nasdaq: LINC) today announced financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, as well as recent business developments.

Fourth Quarter 2025 Financial and Operational Highlights

• Revenue of $142.9 million, increased $23.5 million, or 19.7%; 21.4% excluding the Transitional segment
  
• Net income increased to $12.7 million, or $0.40 per share, compared to $6.8 million, or $0.22 per share last year
• Adjusted EBITDA of $29.1 million, increased by $9.9 million, or 51.2%
• Net cash flow from operations of $43.5 million, compared to $30.3 million last year
• Student starts grew by 15.7% excluding the Transitional segment
• Student population rose by 14.9% excluding the Transitional segment

Full Year 2025 Financial and Operational Highlights

• Surpassed fiscal year 2025 guidance ranges for revenue, adjusted EBITDA and net income
  
• Total revenue increased $78.2 million or 17.8% to $518.2 million; 19.7% excluding the Transitional segment
• Net income of $20.0 million, compared to $9.9 million in the prior year, representing a 102.2% increase
• Adjusted EBITDA increased 58.7% to $67.1 million
• Net cash flow from operations increased $30.0 million, or 102.4% to $59.3 million
• Student starts grew by 15.2% excluding the Transitional segment
• Student population rose by 14.9% excluding the Transitional segment

A complete listing of Lincoln's non-GAAP measures is described and reconciled to the corresponding GAAP measures at the end of this release.

Recent Business Developments

• Launched electrical program at South Plainfield, NJ campus
• Initiated a new corporate relationship with New Jersey Transit and expanded the existing relationship with Johnson Controls
• Established full year 2026 guidance forecasting continued strong growth
• Announced investor day for March 19, 2026 at the new Nashville campus to review strategies and five-year financial targets

“There are three major drivers behind our exceptional finish to 2025 and our outlook for continued double-digit growth for revenue and adjusted EBITDA in 2026,” said Scott Shaw, President and Chief Executive Officer. “First, due to continuing high employer demand, the nation is increasingly aware of the safe, rewarding long-term career opportunities created through skilled trades and we have positioned the Company’s operations to benefit from this trend, as well as recent public policy actions promoting skilled trades training.

“Second, our carefully executed new campus development and program replication strategies are delivering strong results. Third, our core operations continue to demonstrate consistent growth. Together these drivers have led Lincoln to exceed the financial guidance we had consistently raised for 2025 and set the stage for consistent long-term growth in the years ahead.”

“During the fourth quarter, we achieved 15.7% student start growth, marking the thirteenth consecutive quarter of growth for this critical metric. While new campus openings and program replications meaningfully contributed to the overall increase, student starts for our programs that have been operating for more than one year grew by 4% on a same campus same program basis. This core growth was a major contributor to our net income nearly doubling, and the 51.2% increase in adjusted EBITDA during the fourth quarter. We also generated double-digit increases in total student population and total revenue over last year’s fourth quarter.”

“Our campus relocations and program expansions at our Nashville, Tennessee and Levittown, Pennsylvania campuses, and our new campus in Houston, Texas, are meeting or exceeding our expectations, and our new campuses in Hicksville, New York and Rowlett, Texas remain on schedule to begin enrollment during the fourth quarter of this year and the first quarter of next year, respectively. At the same time, we continue to evaluate opportunities to expand into other under-served U.S. markets as we deploy strategies to build on our core operations growth. For instance, we have expanded investments in targeted high school initiatives, which are leading to greater interest among students, their parents and school districts, and we are enrolling increasing numbers of high school students in the share programs that we have established with certain high schools allowing high school juniors and seniors to take career and technical education courses helping them to begin training for skilled trades while still in high school, providing early, hands-on experience in automotive or other technical fields.”

“Our 2026 financial guidance announced today illustrates our confidence in continuing growth trends in our existing operations as well as continuing progress in our recently launched operations. We now believe we can approach the $600 million revenue level for the full year, providing the opportunity to expand on our operating leverage as we further enhance the Lincoln student experience. We have established a standard of excellence within our programs that meet or exceed existing regulatory standards, and we have continued to build our student placement rate in rewarding, long-term careers. Our outlook for the year ahead is robust and we look forward to presenting a full five-year roadmap of Lincoln’s future growth during our Investor Day at our new Nashville campus on March 19, 2026.” 

2025 FOURTH QUARTER FINANCIAL RESULTS
  
(Quarter ended December 31, 2025, compared to the quarter ended December 31, 2024)

• Revenue increased by $23.5 million, or 19.7% to $142.9 million, primarily due to a 14.7% increase in average student population, reflecting the Company’s robust student start growth, and tuition increases during the year.
• Educational services and facilities expense increased by $8.8 million, or 19.5% to $53.9 million. The primary driver of the increase was higher costs associated with supporting a larger student population and higher depreciation expense associated with the Company’s recent growth initiatives.
• Selling, general and administrative expense increased by $9.1 million, or 14.6% to $71.2 million. The increase over the prior year was primarily driven by higher administrative expense associated with the expanding student population; compensation expenses, and higher sales and marketing expenses resulting from investments in new programs. 
  

2025 FOURTH QUARTER SEGMENT RESULTS
  
Campus Operations Segment
Revenue increased by $25.2 million, or 21.4% to $142.9 million. Adjusted EBITDA increased by $13.0 million, or 42.4% to $43.8 million, from $30.7 million in the prior year comparable period.

Transitional Segment
During 2024, the Company’s Summerlin, Las Vegas campus was classified in the Transitional segment and in that period the Summerlin campus had revenue of $1.7 million and operating expenses of $2.3 million. The sale of the Summerlin campus was completed on January 1, 2025. Throughout 2025, no campuses were classified in the Transitional segment.
  
Corporate and Other
This category includes unallocated expenses incurred on behalf of the entire Company. Corporate and other expenses were $16.7 million, compared to $13.8 million in the prior year comparable period. The increase was primarily driven by higher salary and benefits expenses related to workforce expansion to support a larger student population and execute the growth initiatives. 
  
FULL YEAR 2026 OUTLOOK
The Company ended 2025 in a position of strength with significant liquidity to fund expansion plans. Lincoln will begin 2026 with over 17,000 students, an increase of nearly 15% over 2025. Lincoln is well positioned to achieve another year of strong growth in key financial metrics, as reflected in the following outlook for 2026:

_{¹ Due to a methodology change in 2026, 2025 adjusted EBITDA has been restated to reflect add back only for stock-based compensation expense, pension adjustment and other one-time costs.
² Year-over-year growth percentages are calculated using the fiscal 2026 guidance midpoint.}

As a reminder, to provide a clearer view of the Company’s underlying performance, guidance excludes non-cash stock-based compensation and one-time, non-recurring items. Additionally, historically Adjusted EBITDA has excluded pre-opening costs, as well as net operating losses from new campuses, for up to four quarters after the campus opening, or until the campus becomes profitable, whichever occurs first. Beginning in fiscal year 2026, the Company will no longer adjust adjusted EBITDA for pre-opening costs and net operating losses from new campuses and program expansions. Going forward, adjusted EBITDA will reflect only the add-back of non-cash stock-based compensation and other non-recurring items, if any. Notably, our 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance includes approximately $10.0 million of costs related to new campus operating losses and strategic growth initiatives.

March 19, 2026 Investor Day

The Company will host an Investor Day at its Nashville, Tennessee campus, on Thursday, March 19, 2026, with presentations from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Central Time.  A live webcast of the presentations, along with a question-and-answer session with the Company’s executive leaders and guests, will focus on Lincoln’s strategic priorities and growth initiatives over the next five years, through 2030. Investors interested in attending should contact Michael Polyviou of EVC Group (mpolyviou@evcgroup.com, 732-933-2754 (office), 732-232-6914 (mobile)) by March 6, 2026.

CONFERENCE CALL INFORMATION

Lincoln will host a conference call today at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time to discuss results. To access the live webcast of the conference call, please go to the Investor Overview section of Lincoln’s website at http://www.lincolntech.edu. Participants may also register via teleconference at: Q4 2025 Lincoln Educational Services Earnings Conference Call.  Once registration is completed, participants will be provided with a dial-in number containing a personalized PIN to access the call.  Participants are requested to register at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the call.

An archived version of the webcast will be accessible for 90 days at http://www.lincolntech.edu. 
  
ABOUT LINCOLN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES CORPORATION

Lincoln Educational Services Corporation is a leading provider of diversified career-oriented post-secondary education helping to provide solutions to America’s skills gap. Lincoln offers career-oriented programs to recent high school graduates and working adults in four principal areas of study: skilled trades, automotive, health sciences and information technology. Lincoln has provided the workforce with skilled technicians since its inception in 1946 and currently operates 22 campuses in 12 states under the brands Lincoln Technical Institute, Lincoln College of Technology and Nashville Auto Diesel College. The Company was incorporated in New Jersey in 2003 as the successor-in-interest to various acquired schools including Lincoln Technical Institute, Inc. which opened its first campus in Newark, New Jersey in 1946. For more information, please go to www.lincolntech.edu.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Statements in this press release and in oral statements made from time to time by representatives of Lincoln Educational Services Corporation that are not historical facts, including those made in a conference call, may be “forward-looking statements” as that term is defined in the federal securities laws. The words “may,” “will,” “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “project,” “plan,” “intend,” “estimate,” “goal,” “target” and “continue,” and similar expressions and their opposite are intended to identify forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved, if at all.  The Company cautions you that these statements concern current expectations about the Company’s future performance or events and are subject to a number of uncertainties, risks, and other influences, many of which are beyond the Company’s control, that may affect the accuracy of the statements or the prospects upon which the statements are based including, without limitation, risks associated with our ability to comply with the extensive federal and state regulatory framework applicable to the for-profit education industry such as the 90/10 rule, prescribed cohort default rates, the effect of current and future Title IV Program regulations arising out of negotiated rulemakings, including any potential reductions in funding or restrictions on the use of funds received through Title IV Programs and financial responsibility and administrative capability standards; the effect of future legislative or regulatory initiatives related to veterans' benefit programs; our ability to obtain timely regulatory approvals in connection with acquisitions of additional schools and the related risks associated with integration of acquired schools; risks associated with the opening of new campuses; our ability to execute our growth strategies including updating and expanding the content of existing programs and developing new programs for our students in a timely and cost-effective manner while maintaining positive student outcomes; our ability to effectively compete within our industry; impacts related to epidemics or pandemics; risks associated with cybersecurity; general economic conditions; and other factors discussed in the “Risk Factors” section of our Annual Reports and Quarterly Reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, and Lincoln undertakes no obligation to publicly revise or update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise after the date hereof.

(1) RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
  
In addition to disclosing financial results that are determined in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), the Company believes it is useful to present non-GAAP financial measures that exclude certain significant items as a means to understand the performance of its business, and to enable comparability of operating performance between periods. Additionally, the Company’s management regularly uses our non-GAAP financial measures to make operating decisions, for planning and forecasting purposes. EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income and total liquidity are measures not recognized in financial statements presented in accordance with GAAP.

• We define EBITDA as income (loss) before net interest expense (interest income), provision (benefit) for income taxes, depreciation and amortization.
• We define adjusted EBITDA as EBITDA plus stock-based compensation expense and adjustments for items not considered part of the Company’s normal recurring operations.
• We define adjusted net income as net income plus adjustments for items not considered part of the Company’s normal recurring operations.
• We define total liquidity as the Company’s cash and cash equivalents and available borrowings under our credit facility.

EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income, and total liquidity are presented because we believe they are useful indicators of the Company’s performance and ability to make strategic investments and meet capital expenditures and debt service requirements. However, they are not intended to represent cash flows from operations as defined by GAAP and should not be used as an alternative to net income (loss) as indicators of operating performance or cash flow as a measure of liquidity. EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income and total liquidity are not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies.
 
The following is a reconciliation of net income (loss) to EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income (loss), and total liquidity (in thousands):

*As of December 31, 2025, there was no debt outstanding under the revolving credit facility.

The tables below present selected operating metrics for our reportable segments (in thousands, except for student population and starts) for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2025:

Information included in the table below provides student starts and population under the Campus Operations segment with a breakdown by Transportation and Skilled Trade programs and Healthcare and Other Professions programs.

Population by Program (Campus Operations Segment):

The reconciliations provided below represent management’s projections of various components included in our outlook for the full year 2026.  These calculations are for illustrative purposes and will be reviewed as the year progresses to reflect actual results, our outlook and continued relevance of specific items. Any revisions or modifications, if necessary, will be disclosed in future announcements of 2026 quarterly results. Adjusted EBITDA and net income have been reconciled to the midpoint of our guidance.

Reconciliation of Net Income to Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income - 2026 Guidance
(Reconciled to the Mid-Point of 2026 Guidance)

LINCOLN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES CORPORATION
Brian Meyers, CFO
973-736-9340

EVC GROUP LLC
Investor Relations: Michael Polyviou, mpolyviou@evcgroup.com, 732-933-2754
Media Relations: Tom Gibson, 201-476-0322

Lincoln Educational Services Corporation