v3.26.1
Nature of Operations and Significant Accounting Policies
9 Months Ended
May 31, 2026
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Nature of Operations and Significant Accounting Policies

Note 1. Nature of Operations and Significant Accounting Policies

Description of Business

Prior to completing our initial public offering (“IPO”) on October 10, 2025, AP VIII Queso Holdings, L.P. (“Queso”, and together with its subsidiaries, the “Company”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) was a limited partnership that was formed in accordance with the laws of Delaware on January 9, 2014. Queso made an election to be classified as a corporation for federal income tax purposes and its fiscal year was from September 1 to August 31. Prior to the IPO, Queso converted into a Delaware corporation pursuant to a statutory conversion and changed its name to Phoenix Education Partners, Inc. (“Phoenix Education Partners”). In connection with our conversion into a corporation, all of the 1,028,000 outstanding limited partnership units of Queso were converted on a 1-for-33.858 basis into an aggregate of 34,805,541 shares of our common stock. Following our conversion into a corporation, Phoenix Education Partners holds all of the property and assets and assumed all of the debts and obligations of Queso.

Initial Public Offering

At our IPO closing, certain of our existing shareholders sold 4,250,000 shares at the IPO price of $32.00 per share. The existing shareholders sold an additional 637,500 shares on October 15, 2025 at the same price. The selling shareholders received all of the proceeds from these sales, and we did not issue or sell any shares in the IPO.

Offering costs consist primarily of legal, accounting, printing and filing services, and other third-party fees associated with the IPO. Because we did not receive any proceeds from the IPO, these costs were expensed as incurred and are included in strategic alternatives, restructuring and other on our condensed consolidated statements of income. We did not incur any offering costs in the three months ended May 31, 2026 and incurred approximately $5 million of offering costs in the nine months ended May 31, 2026. During the three and nine months ended May 31, 2025, we incurred approximately $2 million and $6 million of offering costs, respectively.

Prior to the IPO, we owned approximately 98% of the outstanding shares of the University’s common stock. In connection with the IPO, all of the outstanding shares of the University’s common stock owned by persons other than the Company were converted into shares of our common stock at a ratio equal to one share of the Company’s common stock for each share of the University’s common stock. As a result, we issued 790,714 shares of the Company’s common stock upon the conversion of 790,714 outstanding shares of the University’s common stock. Following the closing of the IPO, the University is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company.

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared by Phoenix Education Partners on a consistent basis with the audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended August 31, 2025, and contain all adjustments, including normal recurring adjustments, necessary to fairly state the information set forth herein. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), and, therefore, omit certain information and footnote disclosures necessary to present the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”).

The information included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in Item 8 of our 2025 Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended August 31, 2025, as filed with the SEC on November 20, 2025. The results of operations for the three and nine months ended May 31, 2026 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending August 31, 2026 or any other future period.

In accordance with Accounting Standards Codification Topic 260, Earnings Per Share, we have applied retrospective presentation to our earnings per share for all periods presented in our financial statements to reflect the shares of common stock resulting from our IPO. Refer to Note 12. Earnings Per Share for additional information.

Beginning in the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 and after the IPO, we began separately presenting tax withholding for share‑based award settlements and dividends and dividend equivalents to noncontrolling interests on our condensed consolidated statements of equity and condensed consolidated statements of cash flows. We have reclassified prior periods to conform to our current period presentation.

Estimates, Assumptions and Judgments

The preparation of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP requires management to make certain estimates, assumptions and judgments that affect the reported amount of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amount of revenue and expenses during applicable reporting periods. Although we believe our estimates, assumptions and judgments are reasonable, actual results may differ from our estimates under different assumptions, judgments or conditions.

Principles of Consolidation

These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses of Phoenix Education Partners, our wholly-owned subsidiaries and other subsidiaries that we control, substantially all of which represents the University. We eliminate intercompany transactions and balances in consolidation.

We record noncontrolling interests to recognize the noncontrolling ownership interests in our consolidated subsidiaries. We allocate a portion of the net income (loss) of such subsidiaries to our noncontrolling interests generally based on the respective noncontrolling shareholder’s ownership interest in the consolidated subsidiary.

Seasonality

The University’s non-term academic model encompasses a series of courses taken consecutively over the length of the program, which generally limits seasonal enrollment fluctuations. However, we have historically experienced, and expect to continue to experience, lower net revenue in our second fiscal quarter (December through February) compared to other quarters due to the University’s holiday breaks when no related net revenue is recognized. While our operating costs generally do not fluctuate significantly on a quarterly basis, we have historically experienced, and expect to continue to experience, increased marketing expense in our second and fourth fiscal quarters due to course starts that occur during traditional back-to-school seasons.

Revenue Recognition

We recognize revenue in a manner to depict the transfer of goods or services to our customers at an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to receive in exchange for our goods or services. The University generates all of our consolidated net revenue, and substantially all of the University’s net revenue is generated from tuition-bearing degree programs. The University’s students generally fund their education through loans and/or grants from U.S. federal financial aid programs established by Title IV of the Higher Education Act and regulations promulgated thereunder (“Title IV”), military benefit programs, tuition assistance from their employers, or personal funds.

As of May 31, 2026 and August 31, 2025, we had $19.1 million and $13.1 million, respectively, of contract liabilities for discount programs that represent material rights to students which are included in other current liabilities on our condensed consolidated balance sheets. Additionally, we had contract liabilities consisting of deferred revenue and student deposits as reflected on our condensed consolidated balance sheets. The substantial majority of our contract liabilities as of a respective period end will be recognized in net revenue during the following sequential quarter due to course start timing and course duration.

Related Party Transactions

Prior to our IPO, we paid affiliates of Apollo Global Management, Inc. (“Apollo”) and The Vistria Group, LP (“Vistria”) for management consulting and advisory professional services. Apollo and Vistria are affiliated with entities that have ownership interests in Phoenix Education Partners. Our management consulting agreements with Apollo and Vistria were terminated effective as of the pricing of our IPO and amounts we paid for such services during the nine months ended May 31, 2026 were immaterial.

We remain a “controlled company” of Apollo following the IPO and have related party transactions with certain Apollo-affiliated portfolio companies. During the three months ended May 31, 2026 and 2025, we paid Rackspace Technology, Inc. $2.1 million and $1.1 million, respectively, and $5.4 million and $3.2 million during the nine months ended May 31, 2026 and 2025, respectively, for technology services.

New Accounting Standards

Income Taxes - Income Tax Disclosures

In December 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures, which modifies and enhances certain required income tax disclosures. ASU 2023-09 was effective for our fiscal year that began on September 1, 2025. ASU 2023-09 will not impact our consolidated balance sheets, consolidated statements of income or consolidated statements of cash flows, but will impact our financial statement disclosures in our 2026 Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Financial Instruments - Credit Losses

In July 2025, the FASB issued ASU 2025‑05, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326‑20): Measurement of Credit Losses for Accounts Receivable and Contract Assets, which introduces a practical expedient permitting an entity to assume that conditions at the balance sheet date remain unchanged over the life of current accounts receivable and current contract assets. ASU 2025-05 will be effective for our fiscal year beginning on September 1, 2026 and we are currently evaluating the impact it may have on our consolidated financial statements.

Income Statement - Reporting Comprehensive Income - Expense Disaggregation Disclosures

In November 2024, the FASB issued ASU 2024-03, Income Statement—Reporting Comprehensive Income—Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (Subtopic 220-40): Disaggregation of Income Statement Expenses, which requires additional disclosure of certain amounts included in the expense captions presented on the statement of operations, as well as disclosures about selling expenses. ASU 2024-03 is effective on a prospective basis, with the option for retrospective application, for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2026 and interim reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2027. ASU 2024-03 will be effective for our fiscal year beginning on September 1, 2027 and we are currently evaluating the impact it may have on our financial statement disclosures.

Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - Internal-Use Software

In September 2025, the FASB issued ASU 2025‑06, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other—Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40): Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Internal-Use Software, which is intended to improve the operability of the guidance by removing all references to software development project stages so that the guidance is neutral to different software development methods. ASU 2025-06 will be effective for our fiscal year beginning on September 1, 2028 and we are currently evaluating the impact it may have on our consolidated financial statements.

Interim Reporting

In December 2025, the FASB issued ASU 2025‑11, Interim Reporting (Topic 270): Narrow-Scope Improvements, which is intended to clarify the applicability of interim reporting guidance, the types of interim reporting and the form and content of interim GAAP financial statements. ASU 2025-11 will be effective for our fiscal year beginning on September 1, 2028 and we are currently evaluating the impact it may have on our interim condensed consolidated financial statements.