v3.26.3
Business and Geographic Segment Information
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2026
Segment Reporting [Abstract]  
Business and Geographic Segment Information Business and Geographic Segment Information
Laureate’s educational services are offered through two reportable segments: Mexico and Peru. Laureate determines its segments based on information utilized by the chief operating decision maker to allocate resources and assess performance. Laureate’s Chief Executive Officer is the chief operating decision maker.

Our segments generate revenues by providing an education that emphasizes profession-oriented fields of study with undergraduate and graduate degrees in a wide range of disciplines. Our educational offerings utilize campus-based, online and hybrid (a combination of online and in-classroom) courses and programs to deliver their curriculum. The Mexico and Peru markets are characterized by what we believe is a significant imbalance between supply and demand. The demand for higher education is large and growing and is fueled by several demographic and economic factors, including a growing middle class, global growth in services and technology-related industries and recognition of the significant personal and economic benefits gained by graduates of higher education institutions. The target demographics are primarily 18- to 24-year-olds in the countries in which we compete. We compete with other private higher education institutions on the basis of price, educational quality, reputation and location. We believe that we compare favorably with competitors because of our focus on quality, professional-oriented curriculum and the competitive advantages provided by our in-country networks. There are a number of private and public institutions in both of the countries in which we operate, and it is difficult to predict how the markets will evolve and how many competitors there will be in the future. We expect competition to increase as the Mexican and Peruvian markets mature. Essentially all of our revenues were generated from private pay sources as there are no material government-sponsored loan programs in Mexico or Peru. Specifics related to both of our reportable segments are discussed below.

In Mexico, the private sector plays a meaningful role in higher education, bridging supply and demand imbalances created by a lack of capacity at public universities. Laureate owns two nationally licensed institutions and is present throughout the country with a footprint of over 30 campuses.

In Peru, private universities are increasingly providing the capacity to meet growing demand in the higher-education market. Laureate owns three institutions in Peru, with a footprint of 16 campuses.

Inter-segment transactions are accounted for in a similar manner as third-party transactions and are eliminated in consolidation. The Corporate amounts presented in the following tables include corporate charges that were not allocated to our reportable segments and adjustments to eliminate inter-segment items.

The chief operating decision maker uses Adjusted EBITDA to evaluate performance and to allocate resources for each segment in the annual budget and monthly forecasting process. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as Income from continuing operations before income taxes and equity in net income of affiliates, adding back the following items: Gain on disposal of subsidiaries, net, Foreign currency exchange gain (loss), net, Other (expense) income, net, Loss on debt extinguishment, Interest expense, Interest income, Depreciation and amortization expense, Loss on impairment of assets, and Share-based compensation expense. The chief operating decision maker considers budget-to-actual variances for Adjusted EBITDA when making decisions about allocating resources to the segments.

Adjusted EBITDA is also a key measure used by our management and Board of Directors to understand and evaluate our core operating performance and trends, to prepare and approve our annual budget and to develop short- and long-term operational plans. In particular, the exclusion of certain expenses in calculating Adjusted EBITDA can provide a useful measure for period-to-period comparisons of our core business. Additionally, Adjusted EBITDA is a key financial measure used by the compensation committee of our Board of Directors and our Chief Executive Officer in connection with the payment of incentive compensation to our executive officers and other members of our management team. Accordingly, we believe that Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results in the same manner as our management and Board of Directors. We use total assets as the measure of assets for reportable segments.
The following table presents a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA of our reportable segments to Income from continuing operations before income taxes and equity in net income of affiliates, as reported in the Consolidated Statements of Operations:
For the three months endedFor the nine months ended
September 30, September 30,
2026202520262025
Adjusted EBITDA of reportable segments:
Mexico$62,053 $25,712 $174,118 $136,087 
Peru93,979 78,065 249,810 206,457 
Total Adjusted EBITDA of reportable segments156,032 103,777 423,928 342,544 
Reconciling items:
Corporate(9,201)(8,948)(28,866)(27,888)
Depreciation and amortization expense(23,839)(19,596)(69,436)(53,333)
Share-based compensation expense(3,872)(3,765)(10,611)(9,709)
Operating income119,120 71,468 315,015 251,614 
Interest income2,292 2,136 5,730 5,024 
Interest expense(4,836)(2,605)(12,143)(8,116)
Other (expense) income, net(69)171 392 960 
Foreign currency gain (loss), net4,711 (2,347)3,689 (31,122)
Income from continuing operations before income taxes and equity in net income of affiliates$121,218 $68,823 $312,683 $218,360 

The following table presents significant segment expenses of our reportable segments:
For the three months endedFor the nine months ended
September 30, September 30,
2026202520262025
Mexico
Revenues$256,469 $194,840 $736,107 $601,464 
Less:
Labor costs89,240 75,854 266,382 221,936 
Lease and other facilities costs29,883 27,026 85,949 75,225 
Advertising costs24,335 19,579 59,643 46,628 
Other costs (1)
50,958 46,669 150,015 121,588 
Adjusted EBITDA$62,053 $25,712 $174,118 $136,087 
Peru
Revenues$228,615 $205,345 $637,424 $558,935 
Less:
Labor costs78,041 74,014 229,625 207,529 
Lease and other facilities costs8,157 8,383 23,893 24,261 
Advertising costs14,592 10,201 42,948 30,165 
Other costs (1)
33,846 34,682 91,148 90,523 
Adjusted EBITDA$93,979 $78,065 $249,810 $206,457 
(1) Other costs for each reportable segment include: professional services expense, technology expense, bad debt and other direct costs.
The following table presents other financial information of our reportable segments:
For the three months endedFor the nine months ended
September 30, September 30,
2026202520262025
Mexico
Depreciation and amortization expense$14,964 $12,020 $43,842 $31,764 
Expenditures for long-lived assets$13,435 $12,121 $32,890 $20,521 
Peru
Depreciation and amortization expense$8,853 $7,403 $25,562 $21,045 
Expenditures for long-lived assets$14,400 $6,066 $29,688 $15,544 

The following table presents the total assets of our reportable segments:
September 30, 2026December 31, 2025
Assets
Mexico$1,593,807 $1,383,658 
Peru756,981 674,902 
Corporate 126,814 147,790 
Total assets$2,477,602 $2,206,350