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Graham Holdings Company (GHC)

Fair Value
IndustrialsConglomeratesUnited States

Fundamental

68

Price

$1213.48

Market Cap

$5.10B

Part 1 · What the company is worth

Overview

Graham Holdings, the former publisher of The Washington Post, is now a diversified holding company that owns a set of unrelated businesses run independently of one another: Kaplan, an education and test-preparation provider; seven local television stations; home healthcare and infusion-therapy providers; several manufacturers; car dealerships around Washington, D.C.; and a handful of smaller ventures in restaurants, media and online art. The Graham family controls the company through a separate class of stock.

How it makes money

There is no single revenue model: each division earns money in its own way. Kaplan collects tuition and per-student fees from universities and licensing bodies; television stations sell advertising time and collect retransmission fees from cable and satellite operators; healthcare units bill Medicare, Medicaid and private payors for services rendered; manufacturers sell physical products to industrial customers; and dealerships sell and service vehicles. Capital is allocated centrally by the corporate office across these unrelated cash flows.

Revenue by segment

Education (Kaplan)35.5%

Test preparation, professional training and higher-education support services, largely outside the U.S. and in the U.K.

Automotive23.1%

Eight new-car dealerships and repair services in the Washington, D.C. and Richmond, VA areas.

Healthcare16.6%

In-home infusion therapy, home health, hospice and behavioral therapy services, billed largely to Medicare and Medicaid.

Manufacturing8.9%

Building materials, electrical components, linear-motion equipment and combustion-monitoring systems sold to industrial customers.

Television Broadcasting8.7%

Seven network-affiliated local stations earning advertising and retransmission-consent revenue.

Other Businesses7.3%

Restaurants, custom framing, online art platforms and digital media ventures, none individually large enough to be a reportable segment.

What drives demand

Moderately cyclical

Individually, the divisions swing with different cycles: automotive sales and TV advertising track the broader economy, while test-preparation and healthcare services hold up better in downturns. Because the company owns all of them at once, the group's combined results move less sharply than any single division would on its own.

Key risks

  • International student and regulatory exposure at Kaplan — Kaplan International depends on foreign students being able to obtain visas and travel to study; the company states that tightening immigration rules and U.S. visa office closures in 2025 already hurt recruitment.
  • Declining television advertising — The company cites changing perceptions of broadcast television's effectiveness and growing competition from digital platforms as pressure on advertising revenue at its stations.
  • Healthcare reimbursement and staffing — The healthcare division is subject to extensive regulation and depends on Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates it does not control, alongside ongoing nursing staffing shortages.
  • Controlled-company structure — The Graham family controls the company through Class B common stock, which the company states limits the influence of other shareholders on corporate decisions.
  • Goodwill and intangible asset impairment — As a serial acquirer across unrelated industries, the company states it is exposed to impairment charges on goodwill and other intangible assets if any acquired business underperforms.

The case for

Buyers argue that owning unrelated, independently run businesses lets capital move to wherever it earns the best return, that Kaplan's international and professional-training franchises are durable, and that the stock has historically traded below the sum of its parts.

The case against

Sellers fear that a conglomerate this scattered is hard to underwrite as a whole, that Class B control by the Graham family limits any outside pressure to unlock value, and that several divisions — from broadcast advertising to Kaplan's international enrollment — face structural headwinds at the same time.

Written by the editors, published on August 18, 2026

Direct competitors

Who this company fights with for the same customers

Compare

Generated with artificial intelligence on September 18, 2026, shared with all users

P/E: 13.6Score: 67Market cap: $1.77B

Through Capella and Strayer it sells online degrees and employer-funded upskilling to the same working adults and corporate clients Kaplan serves, the largest of Graham Holdings' businesses.

P/E: 19.7Score: 73Market cap: $4.16B

It provides universities with the same online program management services — recruiting, admissions, marketing and technology — that Kaplan supplies to Purdue University Global and other partner institutions.

P/E: 13.4Score: 20Market cap: —

It competes for the same US students seeking career-oriented postsecondary and professional qualifications, and for the same federal and employer tuition dollars as Kaplan's North American schools.

P/E: 31.8Score: 62Market cap: $5.08B

Its local television stations compete with Graham Media Group's seven stations for local advertising budgets, viewers and retransmission fees in overlapping US markets.

Pearson plcPSON

Pearson sells professional certification preparation, English-language training and university pathway courses to the same international and professional students as Kaplan International.

Gray Media, Inc.GTN

Gray owns local network affiliates that fight for the same local news audiences, station advertising and cable retransmission payments as Graham's stations in Detroit, Houston, Orlando and San Antonio.

Balance Sheet & Liquidity

Revenue

$4.91B

Fiscal year ended 12/31/2025

Net Income

$292M

Fiscal year ended 12/31/2025

Free Cash Flow

$275M

Total Equity

$4.79B

Total Liabilities

$3.53B

Current Ratio

1.86

Interest Coverage

1.98

Debt/EBITDA

2.03

Earnings Per Share

Revenue & Net Income

Free Cash Flow

Income Breakdown

Historical statement

Margins over time

Debt over time

How heavy the debt is

Growth grid

Growth — Revenue

Fair Value Estimation

General caseFairly Valued

Fair Value

$1362.38

Current Price

$1213.48

Margin of Safety

+10.9%

Fair Value Range

$885.55 - $1839.22

Spread across the valuation methods used, not a statistically calibrated confidence interval.

Estimation Methods

Analyst price target:$1100.00
Discounted cash flow (DCF):Not enough data to compute it
Earnings multiple (P/E):$2096.35
Graham growth formula:$1482.26
Earnings power value (EPV):$535.13
Justified P/B:$1829.26
Dividend discount (Gordon):$165.16
P/FFO, funds from operations:Not enough data to compute it
Mid-cycle earnings:Not enough data to compute it
Revenue multiple:$3395.78
Last Earnings Surprise:+29.92%

Valuation Metrics

P/E Ratio

18.10

ROE

6.1%

P/B Ratio

0.83

P/FCF

-

Gross Margin

-

ROIC

2.6%

Profitability Radar

Value Creation (Economic Moat)

ROIC

2.6%

WACC

8.2%

ROIC − WACC

-5.6 pp

ROIC is below the cost of capital — the company is destroying value for every dollar invested.

Fundamental Analysis Criteria

Passed (16)

  • EPS shows upward trend
  • EPS CAGR 14.28%
  • Price CAGR 8.40%
  • P/B ratio 0.83
  • Debt/equity ratio
  • Positive free cash flow
  • Current ratio
  • Interest coverage
  • Debt/EBITDA
  • Return on tangible assets
  • ROE 11.6%
  • Revenue growth 5Y 11.2%
  • Earnings surprise, average 13.4%
  • Earnings quality (operating cash flow / net income) 1.19
  • Share dilution -0.8%
  • Piotroski F-Score 6/9

Failed (6)

  • ROIC 2.6%
  • Operating margin 4.8%
  • CapEx intensity
  • Low reliance on intangibles
  • DCF valuation (Unknown)
  • PEG ratio 3.67

Unavailable (5)

  • Gross margin –
  • P/FCF –
  • Dividend payout –
  • Price below Graham Number
  • Net margin trend (invalid data)

Piotroski F-Score

6/9

Mixed signals: some areas need attention

ROA > 0
Operating cash flow > 0
ΔROA > 0
Cash flow > net income
Leverage ↓
Current ratio ↑
No dilution
Gross margin ↑
Asset turnover ↑

Earnings Quality

1.19

High quality: earnings backed by cash

Share Dilution

-0.8%

Buying back shares. Shareholder friendly

Institutional Holdings

Governance

Executive Team

NameTitleAge
Mr. Timothy J. O'ShaughnessyPresident, CEO & Director44
Mr. Wallace R. Cooney CPASenior VP of Finance & CFO62
Ms. Nicole Marie Maddrey M.D.Senior VP, General Counsel & Secretary60
Mr. Andrew Stephen RosenExecutive Vice President64
Mr. Jacob M. MaasExecutive Vice President48
Mr. Marcel A. SnymanVP & Chief Accounting Officer50
Mr. Spiro RoiniotisVP & CTO-
Ms. Sandra M. StonesiferSenior VP & Chief HR and Administrative Officer40
Mr. Matthew R. GreislerVP & Treasurer-
Ms. Dee GreinChief Executive Officer of Graham Healthcare Group-

Audit Risk

7

Board Risk

8

Compensation Risk

7

Shareholder Rights Risk

10

Documents

  • Annual Report (10-K)

    A yearly overview of the business, its financial results, and the risks it faces.

    Filed on 2026-02-25

    View document
  • Quarterly Report (10-Q)

    A snapshot of financial performance for the most recent three-month period.

    Filed on 2026-07-30

    View document
  • Current Report (8-K)

    An announcement of a major event, such as a leadership change or big news.

    Filed on 2026-08-05

    View document

via SEC EDGAR

Income History

via SEC EDGAR

Part 2 · The price and its context

This part shows how the price has behaved, not whether the company is worth owning. Inside: technical analysis, potential, historical drawdowns, gamma exposure.

Market Reaction Profile

How much GHC moves, measured on its daily prices.

VolatilityLow

More volatile than 10% of the tracked stocks (90-day volatility).

Volatility 30d
16.6%
Volatility 90d
21.2%
Beta vs S&P 500 (1y)
0.30Correlation 0.17
Max drawdown (12m)
-13.1%
ATR (14d, % of price)
2.13%

Earnings reactions

How GHC moved around its past quarterly results.

Next earnings release

Oct 28, 2026 · In 4 days · Before the open

EPS estimate: 18.36Revenue estimate: $1.3B

What usually happens

  • Over the last 12 releases the stock moved a median of 2.1% the next day, up or down.
  • Next-day moves: up 5, down 7 (out of 12).

Release history

DateWhen EPS est.EPS actualSurprise Gap 1 day5 days
Jul 30, 2026Before the open14.9819.46+29.9% +1.5% -0.7% -1.7%
Apr 30, 2026Before the open13.2416.79+26.8% -7.0% -2.4% -2.4%
Feb 25, 2026Before the open14.1911.45-19.3% -0.2% -1.6% -2.1%
Oct 29, 2025Before the open11.3413.19+16.3% -0.6% -1.7% -2.6%
Jul 30, 2025Before the openn/an/an/a+0.8% +3.1% +3.0%
Apr 30, 2025Before the openn/an/an/a-0.5% -0.8% +3.0%
Feb 26, 2025Before the openn/an/an/a-0.8% +3.5% +1.0%
Oct 30, 2024Before the openn/an/an/a+6.1% +6.5% +8.9%
Jul 31, 2024Before the openn/an/an/a-2.7% -4.9% -13.2%
May 1, 2024Before the openn/an/an/a+1.0% +2.4% +7.0%
Feb 23, 2024After the closen/an/an/a-1.8% -1.8% -0.7%
Nov 1, 2023Before the openn/an/an/a-2.5% +0.1% +7.3%

Release dates from SEC 8-K filings.

Updated 10/24/2026

Historical statistics for educational purposes only. They are not forecasts and not investment advice.

Price reaction to the news

Latest news on GHC and what the price did next.

No positive or negative news on GHC has been archived yet.

Return of the stock minus return of SPY over the same days. A news item close to a price move did not necessarily cause it. Historical data for educational purposes only, not investment advice.

Latest News

Recent headlines for GHC.

No recent news for GHC.