Stocks/UTI

UTI

Universal Technical Institute, Inc.
Consumer DefensiveยทEducation & Training Services
$37.41
$2.1B market cap
Claude Rating
4/10UNDERWEIGHT
Revenue
$869.0M
Free Cash Flow
$1.9M
Rev Growth
+6.7%
FCF Margin
0.2%
P/FCF
1096.3x
EV/FCF
1178.3x
Fwd EV/EBITDA
17.9x
Fair Value
$22.00
Upside
-41.2%

Universal Technical Institute, Inc. provides transportation and technical training programs in the United States. The company provides postsecondary education for students seeking careers as professional automotive, diesel, collision repair, motorcycle, and marine technicians. It also offers certificate, diploma, or degree programs under various brands, such as Universal Technical Institute, Motorcycle Mechanics Institute and Marine Mechanics Institute, and NASCAR Technical Institute. In additio

2-Year Price History

$40.06+153.4%
$15$20$25$30$35$40volMay 24Sep 24Jan 25May 25Sep 25Jan 26May 26

Quarterly Financials & Projections

Quarterly Waterfall ($ M)
PeriodRevEBITDAOpInNIOCFFCFCapExCashDebtSharesROICIntCovEV/EBITDA
Est2028-Q2275.038.5--16.5--0.0-27.5266.6----------
Est2028-Q1270.045.9--23.0--10.8-23.0266.6----------
Est2027-Q4265.047.7--26.5--58.3-18.6255.8----------
Est2027-Q3252.031.5--11.3--1.3-25.2197.5----------
Est2027-Q2248.027.3--8.7---7.4-27.3196.2----------
Est2027-Q1245.038.0--17.2--4.9-22.1203.7----------
Est2026-Q4240.039.6--20.4--48.0-19.2198.8----------
Est2026-Q3224.019.0--3.4---11.2-26.9150.8----------
Act2026-Q2221.416.00.30.44.0-26.4-30.4162.0316.255.70.3%14.3x19.2x
Act2026-Q1220.831.015.712.83.1-19.2-22.2162.8460.255.79.9%27.6x15.9x
Act2025-Q4222.435.025.018.857.140.6-16.5175.9453.755.711.7%38.5x14.8x
Act2025-Q3204.328.614.210.718.16.9-11.2120.6261.055.610.2%20.6x10.7x
Act2025-Q2207.532.416.911.5-0.8-11.7-11.0135.7256.955.411.5%19.5x11.1x
Act2025-Q1201.442.827.522.223.019.6-3.4172.0286.255.421.3%25.6x7.5x
Act2024-Q4196.440.826.018.867.560.0-7.5161.9294.855.419.3%18.0x8.9x
Act2024-Q3177.520.37.55.010.03.0-7.0115.5312.955.05.6%9.5x10.6x
Act2024-Q2184.223.811.27.8-2.5-8.4-5.9116.1323.254.88.3%10.9x10.3x
Act2024-Q1174.726.814.210.410.87.0-3.9143.6348.237.410.4%9.3x6.2x
Act2023-Q4170.322.110.36.753.946.0-7.8151.6349.634.87.2%8.4x6.3x
Act2023-Q3153.312.70.7-0.5-0.4-10.6-10.2110.5354.934.10.6%4.3x8.5x
Act2023-Q2163.820.66.03.5-7.1-39.0-31.9120.6356.134.63.9%7.8x8.1x
Act2023-Q1120.013.84.52.72.8-4.0-6.8162.2382.934.42.5%9.7x8.6x
Act2022-Q4110.611.83.52.838.128.3-9.895.4209.834.34.6%15.7x6.5x
Act2022-Q3101.010.02.00.8-2.5-19.0-16.570.7217.833.32.2%18.2x--
Act2022-Q2102.111.93.47.47.9-34.4-42.461.5199.033.45.0%25.6x--
Act2022-Q1105.121.713.614.82.5-8.3-10.899.5218.233.619.1%93.3x--

AI Analysis

LLM Evaluations

Claude4/10UNDERWEIGHTFV: $22.00

UTI is executing an ambitious campus expansion strategy targeting $1.2B revenue by 2029, supported by genuine macro tailwinds in skilled trades demand. However, the stock at ~$35/share prices in near-flawless execution at a $2B market cap on $870M TTM revenue with essentially zero FCF. The investment year narrative masks structurally low FCF margins (heavy CapEx, working capital drag from proprietary lending, marketing intensity). ROIC has been declining as capital deployed grows faster than returns. With 5.5% short interest, insider selling, competitive pressure from community colleges and OEM training programs, regulatory overhang from Gainful Employment rules, and a P/FCF multiple over 1,000x, the risk/reward is unfavorable. The company needs to demonstrate margin recovery in FY2027-2028 to justify current valuation, but the gap between management's vision and current cash generation is too wide.

Catalyst Successful ramp of Atlanta and Salt Lake City campuses with strong cohort fill rates proving the campus playbook is repeatable; Q4 FY2026 EBITDA snapback demonstrating operating leverage; or a strategic acquirer values the platform at a premium to public market valuation.
Risk Sustained FCF margin compression from permanently elevated CapEx/marketing spend required to grow, combined with DOE Gainful Employment enforcement that could restrict Title IV funding at underperforming programs and trigger collateral requirements.
Trend
DETERIORATING
Mgmt
6/10
Quarter
4/10
Exp. Move
-6.0%

Latest Earnings Call

Transcript Summary

Universal Technical Institute (UTI) delivered a strong second quarter for fiscal 2026, marked by a 14% increase in new student starts and revenue growth of 6.7% to $221.4 million. The company is successfully executing its 'North Star' strategy, with new campuses in San Antonio and upcoming locations in Atlanta and Salt Lake City exceeding or meeting aggressive growth targets. Management highlighted a structural labor market shift where AI is driving demand for skilled trades like HVAC and electrical work to support data center infrastructure. The healthcare-focused Concorde division also showed steady performance with 10.2% growth in active students. Despite near-term margin pressure from $11 million in growth investments, UTI reaffirmed its full-year 2026 guidance, projecting revenue of $905Mโ€“$915M and adjusted EBITDA of $114Mโ€“$119M. CEO Jerome Grant noted that the company is transitioning from planning to full implementation of its expansion playbook, bolstered by strong industry partnerships and a healthy balance sheet with over $202 million in liquidity. The company remains on track for its 2029 financial framework, aiming for $1.2 billion in revenue as it capitalizes on the growing 'skilled-collar' job market.

Valuation & Metrics

Market Stats

Price$37.41
Market Cap$2.1B
Enterprise Value$2.2B
P/S Ratio2.4x
P/FCF1096.3x
EV/FCF1178.3x
FCF Margin (TTM)0.2%
FCF Yield0.1%
Dividend Yield (TTM)--
Annual Dilution0.5%
CurrencyUSD

TTM Financial Snapshot

Revenue$869.0M
Net Income$42.7M
Free Cash Flow$1.9M

Revenue Growth (YoY)+6.7%
EBITDA Margin12.7%
Net Margin4.9%
FCF Margin0.2%
CapEx % of Revenue9.2%
SBC % of Revenue0.6%
ROIC8.0%
WC Change % Rev-4.2%
Interest Coverage24.4x

DCF Fair Value Estimate

$12.40
-66.8% upside
Fair Enterprise Value$846M
โˆ’ Net Debt$154M
= Fair Equity$691M
Revenue Growth11.0% โ†’ 4.0%
FCF Margin0.2% โ†’ 8.0%
Discount Rate15.0%
Terminal EV/FCF14.0x

Forward Outlook & Risk

Short Interest

Short % of Float5.3%
Short Shares2.8M
Days to Cover6.6
Change (vs Prior)-3.5%
Short % Float History
5.30%+0.90pp
3.0%4.0%5.0%6.0%7.0%04-3007-1509-1511-1401-1504-30

Options

Call IV (ATM)44%
Put IV (ATM)43%
ATM Spread1.2%
Call $OI (near money)$1.9M
Put $OI (near money)$339K
ATM ExpiryJuly 17, 2026 (56D)
ATM Strike$40.0
Major Expirations5
Near-money chain ยท July 17, 2026
StrikeCall Bid/AskCall OIPut Bid/AskPut OI
$32.50$8.20/$8.6025$0.35/$0.601,202
$35.00$6.10/$6.50103$0.70/$1.001,356
$37.50$4.30/$4.60500$1.35/$1.656
$40.00$2.70/$3.201,433$2.35/$2.7023
$42.50$1.60/$1.9017$3.70/$4.1013
$45.00$0.90/$1.15307$5.40/$5.800
$47.50$0.40/$0.65271$7.40/$7.800
$50.00$0.15/$0.405$8.60/$10.200
Snapshot: 2026-05-22

Forward Projections & Estimates

NTM Revenue Growth+10.1%
Forward FCF Margin3.6%
Forward EBITDA Margin12.9%
Forward P/FCF60.1x
Forward EV/FCF64.6x
Forward Int. Coverage19.5x
Model Risk Score7/10
Bankruptcy Odds2%
Est. Borrow Rate6.5%
Terminal EV/FCF14.0x
LT Growth4.0%
LT FCF Margin8.0%

Employees

Headcount3,700
Revenue / Employee$234,861
Gross Profit / Employee$114,073
2022: 1,950 โ†’ 2023: 3,000 โ†’ 2024: 3,700 โ†’ 2025: 4,100 (28% CAGR)

Institutional Ownership

Headline & net flow

NET BUYING

In Q1 2026 so far (quarter still filing), institutions are net buyers โ€” bought 15.9% of float, sold 4.3%. 3 filers moved >1% of shares (3 buying, 0 selling).

Net flow ยท Q1 2026still filing
+11.6% of float (net)
Bought 15.9% ยท Sold 4.3%
255 filers reported (last quarter: 236)

Ownership composition

Active
82.1%(+31.5% YoY)
227 filers
hedge / family / endowment
Retail funds
โ€”
Fidelity, Schwab, 401(k)
Passive
13.6%(+0.5% YoY)
5 filers
Vanguard, iShares, SPDR
Market makers
0.5%(+0.2% YoY)
6 filers
Citadel, Susquehanna
Insiders
12.6%
Form 4 โ€” latest per insider
0%25%50%75%100%2022-062023-032023-122024-092025-062026-03
ActiveRetail fundsPassiveMarket makersRetail direct

Top holders

Fund$ valueCost basisฮ” QoQฮ” YoYฮฑ lifeFund AUM
Coliseum Capital Management, LLC$143M$13.56+$0โˆ’$42.4M-4.9%$1.22B
BlackRock, Inc.Passive$131M$19.76โˆ’$268K+$3.9M-0.2%$5.69T
CONGRESS ASSET MANAGEMENT CO$77.7M$34.18+$16.6M+$77.7M-0.4%$13.95B
WASATCH ADVISORS INC$71.4M$27.51+$8.1Mโˆ’$9.7M-2.9%$14.87B
THRIVENT FINANCIAL FOR LUTHERANS$64.6M$28.87โˆ’$7.6M+$64.6M-0.2%$51.55B
DRIEHAUS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC$63.4M$34.49+$50.1M+$34.4M+0.3%$13.60B
PRICE T ROWE ASSOCIATES INC /MD/$61.4M$30.17+$3.6M+$60.0M-0.2%$864.93B
Hood River Capital Management LLC$57.3M$27.87โˆ’$1.2M+$20.4M-1.1%$9.97B
Point72 Asset Management, L.P.$52.1M$28.88+$16.8M+$52.1M+0.9%$54.88B
AMERICAN CENTURY COMPANIES INC$51.9M$19.33โˆ’$5.8M+$3.3M+0.3%$193.48B
LORD, ABBETT & CO. LLC$49.6M$24.83+$10.9Mโˆ’$56.0M+0.4%$30.58B
DIMENSIONAL FUND ADVISORS LPPassive$46.8M$9.57+$330K+$1.2M-0.4%$480.92B
Conestoga Capital Advisors, LLC$46.6M$34.70+$43.5M+$43.6M-2.6%$4.90B
GEODE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLCPassive$42.2M$15.99โˆ’$528K+$4.8M+2.3%$1.61T
Nuveen, LLC$40.7M$28.02+$4.8M+$31.2M+0.0%$368.63B
PUNCH & ASSOCIATES INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, INC.$38.9M$19.89โˆ’$3.4Mโˆ’$296K-0.3%$1.72B
STATE STREET CORPPassive$37.4M$14.66+$799K+$4.3M-0.2%$2.89T
ROYCE & ASSOCIATES LP$37.2M$36.10+$12.5M+$3.1M-0.9%$10.09B
NEEDHAM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LLC$37.2M$26.78+$8.0M+$26.1M-0.2%$1.95B
Praetorian PR LLC$36.1M$36.10+$36.1M+$36.1M+0.2%$275M
Cost basis is a volume-weighted estimate from accumulation periods within our 13F history; holders who built their position before our window started will show a stale basis. % above the cost basis is the unrealized gain at the current price.

Trading behavior

Smart-money alpha (lifetime, %/qtr)NEUTRAL
Holders
-0.59%
avg per quarter
Holders (ex-self)
-0.72%
excl. this stock
Buyers (this Q)
-0.34%
120 buyers ยท $0.51B in
Sellers (this Q)
-0.43%
96 sellers ยท $-0.12B out
alpha coverage: 100% of $ has a lifetime-alpha record
Holder behavior on this stocksource: stock
On big dips (โˆ’10%+)
+8.0%
how holders react when this stock falls
On quiet Qs
-17.8%
โˆ’10% to +10% baseline
On rallies (+10%+)
-3.6%
how they react when this stock rises
Holders' portfolio flow this Q
-0.2%
outflows โ€” trims may be forced
Sellers' portfolio flow this Q
+1.1%
Sellers grew AUM elsewhere โ€” opinionated cut of this stock.
โ–ธ Compare to holder-profile behavior (across all their stocks)
Holder dip (any stock)
-4.8%
Holder mid (any stock)
-3.0%
Holder rally (any stock)
-6.9%

Top Holders Over Time

5-year share-count history (top 10 holders by peak, incl. exited) + price

04.8M9.6M14.4M19.2M$5.44$13$21$28$362021-062022-062023-062024-062025-062026-03
hover the chart for per-quarter detailprice (right axis)
Coliseum Capital Management, LLC4.0MCONGRESS ASSET MANAGEMENT CO2.2MWASATCH ADVISORS INC2.0MLORD, ABBETT & CO. LLC1.4MTHRIVENT FINANCIAL FOR LUTHERANS1.8MDRIEHAUS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC1.8MPRICE T ROWE ASSOCIATES INC /MD/1.7MHood River Capital Management LLC1.6MAMERICAN CENTURY COMPANIES INC1.4MPoint72 Asset Management, L.P.1.4M

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LINCLincoln Educational Services Corporation6247.48ร—

Analyst Coverage

Analyst Coverage
Price Targets
Last Quarter (3 analysts)$44.001760.0%
Last Year (3 analysts)$44.001760.0%
Current Price$37.41

Corporate

Executive Compensation (2023-2025)

Direct Pay$38.3M
Incentive & Other$13.5M
Total Compensation$51.8M
% of Revenue2.2%

Insider Trading (last 12mo)

Open-market only (Form 4 P-Purchase + S-Sale). Excludes grants, option exercises, tax withholding, gifts.
Officers & directors
Buys ($, 12mo)
$31.07M
5 txns ยท 2 insiders ยท 1,265,173 sh
Sells ($, 12mo)
$24.19M
9 txns ยท 9 insiders ยท 684,615 sh
Recent transactions
DateSideInsiderTitleSharesPriceDollarsOwned $
2026-05-11SELLSRERE LINDA Jdirector15,000$36.59$549K$4.67M
2026-03-27SELLKevane Christopher E.officer: EVP and Chief Legal Officer23,654$37.55$888K$3.14M
2026-03-17SELLBrochick George W.director5,000$36.59$183K$1.01M
2026-03-06SELLOkinaka Shannon Leidirector10,000$34.74$347K$688K
2026-03-04SELLHitchcock Todd Aofficer: EVP/COO16,500$37.33$616K$3.89M
2026-03-02SELLSmith Sherrellofficer: EVP, Chief Academic Officer52,671$37.04$1.95M$1.39M
2026-02-27SELLGrant Jerome Alandirector, officer: Chief Executive Officer60,040$34.95$2.10M$15.04M
2026-02-13SELLFrank Carolyn Annofficer: SVP/Chief HR Officer1,750$30.08$53K$910K
2025-12-05BUYColiseum Capital Management, LLCdirector191,830$25.38$4.87M$100.80M
2025-12-03BUYColiseum Capital Management, LLCdirector355,236$24.81$8.81M$93.78M
2025-12-02BUYColiseum Capital Management, LLCdirector467,020$24.40$11.40M$83.55M
2025-12-01BUYColiseum Capital Management, LLCdirector241,087$23.79$5.74M$70.36M
2025-08-12BUYDEVINCENZI ROBERT THOMASdirector10,000$25.40$254K$3.47M
2025-05-27SELLColiseum Capital Management, LLCdirector500,000$35.00$17.50M$95.07M

Order Flow (FINRA, ~3w lag)

15.2%retail-0.1pp
31.6%dark+0.5pp
week of 2026-04-13
10%20%30%40%24-1125-0225-0525-0825-1126-0226-04retail (non-ATS)dark (ATS)
Off-exchange volume from FINRA. Retail = non-ATS (wholesaler PFOF + broker internalization). Dark = ATS (dark-pool crossing networks, institutional). Lit-exchange = remainder.

Revenue Breakdown

Revenue Segments

By Product (2022-Q4)
Postsecondary Education$106.8M+13%
Other Segments$3.8M+21%

Filing Risk Analysis

Filing Risk Scores

UNIVERSAL TECHNICAL INSTITUTE, INC: Regulatory Collateral and Margin Collapse Masked by Segment Recasts

Overall Risk
6/10
Fraud
3/10
Dilution
4/10
Insolvency
4/10
Earnings Overstated
6/10
Hidden Liabilities
5/10
Legal
5/10
Audit Warnings
3/10
Hidden Upside
4/10
Contextually Acceptable
5/10

Counter-Thesis

Counter-Thesis & Recent News

๐Ÿ“ฐ Recent News

In May 2026, UTI reaffirmed its FY2026 outlook but reported Q2 results that revealed significant 'timing' pressures on operating expenses and increased marketing costs required to sustain student starts. While revenue grew 6.7% to $221.4 million, net income was a razor-thin $400,000 ($0.01/share). Furthermore, insiders have offloaded approximately 145,961 shares valued at over $5.2 million in the last 90 days, including sales by the CEO and Chief Legal Officer (Source: Seeking Alpha, MarketBeat, Quiver Quantitative).

๐Ÿป Bear Case

The bear thesis centers on a widening gap between valuation and fundamental growth. Despite a high P/E ratio exceeding 36x, new student enrollment growth has been described by analysts as 'underwhelming' at 10.9%, trailing the 'hyper-growth' narrative. Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) has consistently declined by roughly 2.7% annually, suggesting that the massive CapEx required for the 'North Star' campus expansions is not yet yielding efficient returns. Analysts also project a decline in free cash flow margins toward 1.9%-2.1% (Source: Barchart, IndexBox).

๐Ÿšฉ Red Flags

Short interest remains elevated at approximately 15.1%, indicating a strong professional consensus against the current price levels. A critical red flag is the 'Gainful Employment' regulatory framework (2024-2025 rules), which poses a persistent threat to Title IV funding if graduate debt-to-earnings ratios exceed strict thresholds. Additionally, the reliance on high-cost marketing to drive enrollments indicates a potential plateau in organic demand (Source: Intellectia AI, Matrix BCG).

โš”๏ธ Competitive Threats

UTI face intense pressure from community colleges that offer comparable technical certifications at 1/4th the price. Newer 'last-mile' vocational providers and short-form boot camps are disrupting the traditional 1-2 year model by offering faster, lower-cost paths to employment. Furthermore, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are increasingly launching their own proprietary, subsidized training programs, bypassing the need for third-party institutes (Source: Reddit r/DieselTechs, Matrix BCG).

๐Ÿ’ฌ Customer Sentiment

Sentiment among the student body is increasingly polarized. Recent reviews cite 'antiquated' equipment (some components dating back to the early 2000s) and an 'inflexible' attendance policy known as the 'infraction system' that forces students to retake expensive classes for minor illnesses. Students frequently warn that the high tuition costs and lack of a traditional associate degree make the return on investment (ROI) questionable compared to free apprenticeships at major shops like Penske or Ryder (Source: YouTube, Quora, Reddit).

Full Earnings Call Transcript

Full Earnings Call Transcript โ€” Q2 โ€ข 2026-05-06

Operator: Good day, and welcome to the Universal Technical Institute Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note, this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Matt Kempton, Vice President of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations. Please go ahead.
Matthew Kempton: Hello, and welcome to Universal Technical Institute's Fiscal Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. Joining me today are our CEO, Jerome Grant; and CFO, Bruce Schuman. Following our prepared remarks, we will open the call for your questions. A replay of this call , its transcript and our investor presentation will be archived on the Investor Relations section of our website at investor.uti.edu, along with our earnings release issued earlier today and furnished to the SEC. During this call, we may make comments that contain forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which by their nature, address matters that are in the future and are uncertain. These statements reflect management's current beliefs and expectations and are subject to a number of factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, those discussed in our earnings release and SEC filings. These statements do not guarantee future performance, and therefore, undue reliance should not be placed upon them. We do not intend to update these forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future developments, except as required by law. Please note, unless otherwise stated, all comparisons in this call will be against our results for the comparable period of fiscal 2025. The information presented today also includes non-GAAP financial measures. These should be viewed in addition to and not as a substitute for the company's reported results prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. All non-GAAP financial measures referenced in today's call are reconciled in our earnings press release to the most directly comparable GAAP measure. For more information regarding definitions of our non-GAAP measures, please see our earnings release, financial supplement and investor presentation. With that, I will turn the call over to Jerome Grant, CEO of Universal Technical Institute for his prepared remarks. Jerome?
Jerome Grant: Thank you, Matt. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us. Before I dive into the details of our second quarter results, I want to take a moment to give you some insight into how we're thinking about the business right now. The first half of the year has played out quite well and in some areas, better than we originally anticipated. As always, a huge thank you to our team, industry partners and over 26,000 active students for being a part of this and driving these strong outcomes. Let me tell you, demand is strong, our model is working, and we have exceptionally clear visibility into the returns on our strategic North Star investments. We're seeing increasing validation that these investments are driving the outcomes we expected. With that in mind, I'll walk you through our Q2 performance and execution before I take you on the journey of opportunities ahead of us. And in a few minutes, our CFO, Bruce Schuman, will dive deeper into our financials. Building on what's been a strong start to the year, we saw some key leading indicators come in at or above our expectations, further reinforcing our confidence in the trajectory of our business. We delivered yet another quarter of strong operational performance, supported by sustained demand across both of our divisions and continued execution against our North Star strategy. Total new student starts increased 14% year-over-year in the quarter with meaningful contributions from both divisions. The UTI division delivered approximately 15% growth, while the Concorde division grew 13%, highlighting the consistency and durability of demand across both our trades and health care. Average full-time active students grew 7%, reflecting continued momentum as we scale both new and existing campuses. Core growth and program expansion performance translated into continued top line strength with revenue of $221 million, up nearly 7% year-over-year. Our baseline adjusted EBITDA came in at $25 million, including approximately $11 million of growth investments, our reported adjusted EBITDA was just over $14 million, in line with expectations. Our performance in the first half of the year has reinforced our confidence in our full year outlook. And as such, we're reaffirming our guidance on all metrics. Bruce will walk you through the guidance in more detail shortly. We believe this reaffirmed strong outlook for 2026 reflects our confidence in the performance of the business while also setting us up brilliantly for the final 3 years of this phase of our North Star strategy. It's not just the macro demand environment that gives us this confidence, but also how we're executing against a model that is proving to be both repeatable and scalable. Our campus launch playbook continues to deliver consistent results. And importantly, those results are trending in line or ahead of our expectations. At UTI San Antonio, which opened in March, each of the first 2 starts exceeded our plan by nearly 60%. Based on early performance, we now expect the campus to ramp to scale at or better than originally modeled with a projected mature run rate of approximately 800 students. In Atlanta, we're preparing to launch our first comprehensive UTI campus in the state. This campus is expected to serve over 1,500 students at scale. We're already seeing great traction with strong interest in early enrollments pacing well in preparation for the planned start in July. Although these are exciting results in 2026, more importantly, they are early leading indicators critical to ensuring the success of this multiyear strategy. They validate not only demand, but also our ability to execute faster and fill campuses more efficiently than originally modeled, giving us increased confidence looking at our broader new campus pipeline. Looking ahead to fiscal 2027, we remain on track with our 4 previously announced locations across the country and are excited to see those launch next year. These campuses include a comprehensive UTI campus in Salt Lake City, expected to serve 1,500 students as well as Concorde conquered campuses in Houston, Atlanta and the Phoenix Metro area, each with projected run rates of approximately 600 students. Throughout all of this, the North Star operational targets we've previously outlined remain unchanged. We plan to open a minimum of 2 and up to 5 new campuses annually as well as launch 12 to 20 new programs across the UTI and Concorde divisions each fiscal year. In fiscal 2026, we will have opened 3 new campuses and are on track to launch 20 new programs with at least 10 coming from each division. On the UTI side, we have 2 campuses and 12 programs lined up this year. The new programs span HVACR, aviation maintenance and our electrical suite, which includes industrial maintenance, robotics and automation and wind and turbine technology. Most recently, the UTI Sacramento campus graduated its first HVACR class in January and the UTI Austin campus successfully delivered its first EV courses in February. On the Concorde side, we've opened 1 new campus and across our existing campuses, we will launch at least 10 new programs in 2026, including high-demand fields such as radiation technology, surgical technology and diagnostic medical sonography. Beyond program replications and new campuses, we're also continuing to focus on optimizing our existing footprint. As you may recall, we recently expanded the UTI Dallas campus to serve an additional 600 students and incorporate HVACR, aviation and electrical programs in addition to auto diesel and welding. Since launching last quarter, all of the program enrollments and starts have exceeded expectations and the second half of the year looks to be just as promising. In addition to expanding capacity for popular programs such as aviation, HVACR, welding and the dental hygiene at legacy campuses, we're increasingly focused on how UTI and Concorde divisions can collaborate more closely across areas such as marketing, admissions and operations. Through cross-brand collaborations fueled by rapid AI technology advancements, we believe we can potentially unlock incremental margin expansion in the coming years while simultaneously enhancing execution across the company. And while on the topic of artificial intelligence, I want to focus on some extremely important opportunities ahead of us at our company. As many of you know from the stories in the media, each quarter as U.S. jobs data is published, we are in the early stages of a generational shift in the labor market. Driven in large part by artificial intelligence, the long-standing dynamic between white collar and skilled-collar jobs opportunities has been disruptive. AI is reshaping the economy, but not only in the way many initially expected. As white collar work is becoming increasingly automated, especially at the entry levels, demand for trades and health care professions is accelerating. Beyond this shift, it's important to realize that there are also new AI-enabling opportunities and roles essential to building, maintaining and operating the infrastructure that supports this new economy. From data centers and energy systems to advanced manufacturing and health care delivery, the physical and technical workforce required to support AI-driven growth has expanded rapidly. This is exactly where we are positioned. We're not only training students for today's job, we're preparing them for the future AI-enabled workforce that's being built right now. Importantly, we believe that this trend is not cyclical, it's structural. We believe this dynamic will continue to drive demand for our programs for years to come. Supported by both powerful macroeconomic tailwinds and long-term partnerships, the opportunity in front of us continues to expand. We maintain strong relationships with leading industry partners, including, for example, a nearly 30-year partnership with Porsche. This quarter, we reached a memorable milestone with them. As of February, UTI has now graduated over 1,000 technicians from the Porsche training centers we run that are serving more than 200 Porsche stores nationwide. We also recently announced a new 3-year partnership with Fuji Auto Spray, who will provide professional-grade equipment for the collision repair and aviation programs on the UTI campuses across the U.S. Long-standing industry partnerships are a cornerstone of the success of our graduates and our company, and we continue to pursue additional such opportunities across automotive, aviation, health care and other high-demand industries. Similarly, we're actively exploring potential B2B opportunities with military programs, state workforce initiatives and employers to help address critical labor shortages across the economy. As we look ahead, our confidence in the business continues to strengthen as our North Star strategy moves into full implementation mode. We have built a durable and repeatable growth engine, supported by strong demand, disciplined execution, a very healthy balance sheet and meaningful long-term macro tailwinds. Organically, we will continue to optimize our campuses and program portfolio, drive operational excellence and expand both capacity and program offerings to meet demand. At the same time, we'll continue to evaluate inorganic opportunities that align with our strategy, particularly in health care, where we see significant long-term potential. Our priorities remain focused on executing our North Star strategy with discipline as well as deploying capital with purpose to position the divisions to deliver sustained growth and value. And we are already starting to discuss what 2029 and onwards looks like for the company. We will share more on that as our plans unfold. With that, I'll turn the call over to Bruce, our CFO, to review our second quarter financials and provide you with additional details on our guidance. Bruce?
Bruce Schuman: Thank you, Jerome. I'll start by saying we're pleased with how the business has performed through the first half of the year. The results we're reporting today reflect a strong start to fiscal 2026 with solid revenue growth, continued momentum in enrollments and leading indicators across the business that remain very encouraging. In the second quarter total average full-time active students grew 7.2% year-over-year to 26,385, while total new student starts increased 13.8% to 7,569, in line with the expectations we outlined last quarter and reflective of recently launched new campuses and programs starting to ramp. The Concorde division grew average full-time active students 10.2% year-over-year for the second quarter, driven by consistent demand trends across our dental and allied health programs. Within the UTI division, average full-time active students grew 5.3% year-over-year, reflecting steady performance across the program portfolio, underpinned by strong demand and recently optimized campus capacity. Turning to our financial performance. Second quarter revenue on a consolidated basis increased 6.7% to $221.4 million. Concorde contributed $78.7 million, an increase of 7.5% over the prior year quarter, while the UTI division contributed $142.7 million, an increase of 6.3% over the prior year quarter. Shifting to profitability. Consolidated net income for the second quarter was $400,000 or $0.01 per diluted share, which was in line with the outlook we shared last quarter. Baseline adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter was $25.1 million, including $11 million in growth investments, our SEC reported adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $14.1 million. At the end of the quarter, we had 55 million shares outstanding. Total available liquidity at the end of the quarter was $202.4 million, including short-term investments and remaining capacity on our revolving credit facility. Year-to-date capital expenditures were $52.7 million or approximately half of our expected spend for the year. Turning to our full year outlook. Based on our performance in the first half and the visibility we have into the second half, we are pleased to reaffirm our fiscal 2026 outlook. We continue to expect consolidated revenue to range from $905 million to $915 million for fiscal 2026 or approximately 9% year-over-year growth at the midpoint. As I shared last quarter, we expect mid- to high single-digit revenue growth in Q3 as we saw in Q2. Q4 is still anticipated to be the highest revenue growth quarter in the low to mid-double-digit range. Net income is anticipated to be between $40 million and $45 million with diluted earnings per share of $0.71 to $0.80. As I also shared in prior quarters, the net income contraction in Q2 will improve in Q3, though we still expect year-over-year contraction. In Q4, we expect strong net income growth. Our baseline adjusted EBITDA is anticipated to exceed $150 million. Including approximately $40 million in growth investments, our SEC reported adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $114 million and $119 million. Similar to net income, as we make our significant growth investments this year, the adjusted EBITDA contraction in Q2 will improve in Q3, though we still expect year-over-year contraction. In Q4, we expect robust year-over-year adjusted EBITDA growth. Total new student starts are expected to be between 31,500 and 33,000. We anticipate high single-digit growth in the remaining quarters as our base business performs and our growth initiatives continue to ramp. Looking at the broader North Star financial framework, our expectations remain unchanged. We continue to target more than $1.2 billion in revenue by fiscal 2029 with a 10% CAGR throughout that period and adjusted EBITDA approaching $220 million in that year. Beginning in fiscal 2027, we expect revenue to accelerate and are targeting modest EBITDA dollar growth and more meaningful EBITDA expansion in fiscal 2028 and 2029. To support the new campuses and programs driving this growth, we continue to plan for $100 million or more of annual capital expenditures. Overall, we view the first half of the year as a strong start, reflecting solid execution, improving demand trends and continued progress against our North Star strategy, giving us increased confidence in the repeatability and durability of our model. We are investing from a position of strength with clear visibility into the path ahead. The actions we are taking in 2026 are intended to support faster scaling, higher utilization and stronger long-term returns, including predictable and sustainable cash flows and increasing profits for years to come. At the same time, we are creating additional opportunities to expand margins through increased operational efficiency and greater leverage as the company further grows, reinforcing our confidence in delivering on both our fiscal 2026 guidance and our longer-term financial objectives. In addition to this earnings call transcript, we encourage everyone to review our press release, financial supplement, investor presentation and upcoming 10-Q filing. These materials include the latest updates on our consolidated and segment results, strategic initiatives and guidance. Thank you to our students, team, partners and investors for your ongoing support. I'd now like to turn the call over to the operator for Q&A. Operator?
Operator: [Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Mike Grondahl with Northland Securities.
Mike Grondahl: Congratulations on the progress. Maybe the first one for Jerome. You talked about data centers a little bit more this call. Are you seeing incremental opportunities there? And are you able to start new programs? How are you kind of responding to that? And what are you seeing?
Jerome Grant: Well, I think the example we gave was really to highlight the sources of job opportunities for the students in the programs we already teach are growing and in some cases, accelerating. Data centers need welders, Data centers need electronics technicians, building automation specialists, all of the things that we have. If you've listened to some of the folks in the AI space talking about what's holding them back, it's not technology, it's their ability to actually get these places open because they can't find enough workers. And so what we're seeing from a job standpoint is a stronger diversification of employers that are coming to the table and looking for our skilled trades workers.
Mike Grondahl: Got it. Got it. And then -- maybe one for Bruce. Bruce, when you were talking about UTIs, I think, enrollment up 5.3% year-over-year, you mentioned recently optimized campus capacity. Could you just explain that a little bit?
Bruce Schuman: Yes. Sure, Mike. So I mean, our optimization has been a core foundational pillar we've been talking about for quite a while, and we continue to optimize capacity, looking for space in legacy campuses to put these program replications, things like HVAC, welding, aviation. We're using some of our legacy campuses to roll that out. That's what I was referring to. That work continues and is continuing to improve our margin outlook.
Mike Grondahl: Can you speak to like, hey, you expanded capacity a couple of percent over the last 6 months? Or is there any way to kind of quantify that?
Bruce Schuman: Well, I mean, basically, if you look at our base, our core business, that what we delivered last year, roughly 100 basis points of expansion, we would have kind of delivered similar if it weren't for the growth investments. A lot of that comes -- probably more than half of that comes from that optimization pillar of our strategy. That's the best way I could explain it to you, Mike.
Operator: Our next question comes from Raj Sharma with Texas Capital.
Raj Sharma: Congratulations on the execution. If I could talk about any -- also great new details on the data in the supplementary. So that's very appreciated. I was just trying to understand, revenues were up about 7% year-on-year. The operating expenses were up 16%. And even if I take out the growth OpEx, your OpEx of $11 million, if you take it out, the OpEx was still up about 10%. I'm trying to understand that. Is that -- was that all the increase in advertising?
Bruce Schuman: Yes. Raj, it's Bruce. Yes, I can address that. So a lot of it really is we're executing the year here. There's a little bit of timing element, frankly, as we execute our full year. Again, I'd just remind you, the vast majority of that margin contraction really was from the growth investments. There were a few other things, timing. Our medical, for example, was up a little higher than we planned on, and we chose to invest a little bit more in marketing to make sure we are on track for our second half revenue and starts. But it's really timing. We have offsets for that in Q3, and we feel very confident in our full year profitability that we guided to.
Raj Sharma: Got it. And then I know you reaffirmed the fiscal guidance. Is it fair to assume that you're looking for starts growth to perhaps be higher for the year given your first half performance? And I know that doesn't impact the current year numbers, but sorry...
Jerome Grant: By the way, thanks for throwing that in there because it was the thing I was going to say, as a leading indicator, we're very, very happy with what we're seeing primarily the overachievement of the new campuses and the new programs that we're putting into place. And yes, that monetizes mostly over '27 and beyond. So we've got a lot of confidence that, that's going to continue to happen. Now will San Antonio continue to sit people at 60% higher than what we had in the model? Not likely, but it's a very, very strong start, and we think that it will continue to move past our models as is the programs that we're moving on. So we feel real confident that the starts aren't going to fall anywhere near below and could be in the top part of the range. So I feel good about it.
Raj Sharma: Great. And then just last for me, any sort of new opportunities that could expand your current growth plan? Or do you think you're good for now until you get to the North Star 2 strategy is that there's likelihood of not any further expansion in that?
Jerome Grant: No. I actually -- I mean, remember, we're -- at the end of '26, we're 2 years into a 5-year strategy. We're set up very -- for the strategy, the way it's laid out right now, which is primarily an organic strategy of 2 to 5 campuses a year, 12 to 20 new programs a year, modest base growth out of our same-store, 2% to 5% growth in our same-store. What we're trying to express is a high level of confidence in the execution on the plan as is. All of that, which you're talking about would be sort of gravy on top. And there's a lot of great conversations going in the B2B space right now that I wouldn't count out opportunities during this 5-year time frame that could have some impact on the upside of that number. Nothing to announce today, but there are a lot of employers and manufacturers out there right now that are seeing the same thing we are needing, which is the supply and demand problem is growing, not shrinking. And that brings them more to the table to have constructive conversations around partnering to solve it. So we feel good that some of that will come in line during this [ strat plan ] period, not after.
Operator: The next will come from Max Michaelis with Lake Street.
Maxwell Michaelis: Just 2-parter here. San Antonio looks like, obviously, you have terrific starts there, up 60% versus your internal expectations. Anything different you did there in terms of go-to-market, advertising that you could share? And then the second part of that question would be, obviously, that's a pretty high standard that San Antonio has already set. But what kind of demand trends are you seeing at the Atlanta -- new Atlanta campus? And would you put that on par with San Antonio?
Jerome Grant: Well, why don't I answer in reverse is we're really happy with what we're seeing in Atlanta. We don't really like to talk about prestart numbers because we want to make sure that we get people comfortably in their seats and moving forward. But the trends we're seeing in terms of contract pace for the timeline. Remember, we still have until July to get this open makes us real confident that Atlanta is going to be quite the winner for us. Once we get past our -- I think when we report in August, we're going to have some solid numbers for you, and we're really optimistic about what we're going to see there. One of the things I think we've always said to you, the analysts and folks out there is Texas has been a very, very strong market for us. Austin blew away our projections quite quickly. And our thoughts about San Antonio is that could happen. Of course, again, not counting your chickens before they hatch, we didn't want to go out there strong. Well, what we're seeing is that's quite true. right, which is there is a very strong demand in Texas for what UTI is bringing. So we're thrilled with what we see. And when we're picking new sites around the country, of which Salt Lake City is coming up and then the subsequent sites from there, we really do think about those same metrics as can we see a way to beat our models. And when we're picking sites of the many that are available, we're really looking for where we might be able to ramp the fastest. And so far, we're really happy with what we're seeing with the first 2, which is San Antonio and Atlanta.
Operator: Up next, we have Jasper Bibb with Truist.
Jasper Bibb: Just a quick clarification question. I heard high single-digit growth in starts in the next 2 quarters. I think you had guided to mid- to high single-digit growth for those quarters on the last call. So just wanted to confirm you're kind of thinking this year is going to end up in the upper end of the range on starts. Is that kind of the right way to think about it?
Bruce Schuman: Yes, Jasper, this is Bruce. That's correct. That's how we're thinking about how the year is shaping up.
Jasper Bibb: Okay. Makes sense. And then some of your, I guess, online education peers have talked about like the consumer shift to GenAI over search and algorithm changes at Google kind of impacting the top of the funnel on student acquisition a bit. The starts are obviously strong, so it doesn't seem like an issue for you, but I'm just wondering if you're seeing something similar and how you're managing through that?
Jerome Grant: Well, it's actually one of the reasons that we wanted to underscore the collaboration going on between the 2 divisions, specifically in areas like customer acquisition, marketing is that there is a pretty significant shift in how people are searching for opportunities out there, much in the same way as TV moved to streaming very, very fast for the 18- to 24-year-olds. Information is moving quite rapidly to the AI engines from traditional search. And we want to make sure that we're on the leading edge of capturing that as those advertising platforms harden over the next months and years. And so what we really wanted to do is we really wanted to make sure that our digital organizations were working in unison one, so we're not overspending researching these things between the 2 divisions. And #2, that each of them can take advantage of the opportunities that we're seeing by beginning to invest in these areas. So we feel like we're well positioned to get the most out of that transition.
Jasper Bibb: Last one for me. I think you mentioned kind of ongoing discussions for B2B partnerships, also potentially some opportunities with the military or state workforce development programs, too. So I guess maybe my question is, are you seeing a broadening kind of interest in the types of B2B partnerships that are coming to you and potentially a different structure, too, versus, I guess, what you already did versus Heartland with the Heartland campus?
Jerome Grant: So the short answer is yes. There is a broadening of who is approaching us to see whether we can help them solve their problems, whether it is municipalities, other portions of the military who may be engaged with some of the onshoring activity to help people who are trying to solve that problem, hospital chains, things along those lines where they're starting to think we better act in concert with some of the larger partners like ourselves in the country. And so the incoming is definitely on the rise and broadening and where we get them. I made a comment about data centers and infrastructure for AI. Two years ago, we weren't getting calls from construction companies that were opening data centers around the country, looking for HVAC techs, welders, electricians, building automation specialists. Now we are. And so I think those are all opening doors for opportunities for us to potentially look at training models in unique and innovative ways. And -- but those things take time. And again, like I said, we have nothing to announce on a specific front on those, but we are staffed up and diligently focused on it because we think those are going to be an opportunity over the next couple of years.
Operator: Our next question comes from Steven Frankel with Rosenblatt.
Steven Frankel: Maybe give us an update on what kind of incentives employers are offering these days in terms of tuition payback, working while you're going to school, et cetera. Is that pace continued to climb with more people trying to do that? Or in the current economy, have they backed away from some of those moves?
Jerome Grant: No, they haven't -- that's a great question. There's a lot of conversation out there right now around student debt and leaving college with large student loan balances and the like. And even there's been things in the press around trade school folks coming out with debt. And so the programs we started in auto diesel a number of years back that have gotten us to a point where somewhere in the neighborhood of 6,000 employers nationwide are offering incentive packages to our graduates to come and work for them are continuing to proliferate as we proliferate our product offerings into the skilled trades, right? This is a new concept to HVAC companies to electronics companies to aviation companies. And so the trip agreements, as we call them, are something that we're working to broaden across the entire portfolio that we have, and we're seeing quite good responses. So we've seen anything other than employers backing away from incentives because the problem is getting more acute.
Steven Frankel: Great. And any early learnings from Heartland that would lead to the way you might do the next one?
Jerome Grant: Heartland is -- I don't -- there are no new aha moments there, which is you've got an employer who has become a very strong partner with us, who has a very big problem and is willing to co-invest to solve that problem around the country. And the time it takes to get others to get on the same page is usually tied to them trying to see what the outcomes will be from the partnerships that we already have. And Heartland is very happy. The cohorts that we started were very strong. And we anticipate doing similar deals with other partners very soon.
Steven Frankel: And then lastly, any early peak into what you think the high school class is going to look like this year?
Jerome Grant: High school looks good. I mean, again, I think one of the things that we've said over the years is that high school kids tend to gravitate towards the automotive and diesel areas. You just got your driver's license and you're 16, and you don't know that much about HVAC or welding or those sorts of things. And so it's primarily a focus in the auto diesel areas. And we're seeing strong returns from what we've seen. It's a good point to bring up, and we're very -- we feel very, very strong about our guidance that we have and coming in the range on the guidance that we have. But to your point, half of our starts on the UTI side come in the fourth quarter, and it's mostly to high school. And we just want to make sure that those are coming in as strong as the leading indicators show.
Operator: This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Jerome Grant, CEO, for any closing remarks.
Jerome Grant: Thank you, operator. Just some brief remarks. First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who attended today. As always, Bruce, Matt and I are available for follow-up questions. And also, as we've said, every single quarter, we encourage as many of you as possible to come out and visit one of our campuses. If you're interested, please let us know, we'd be happy to host you. Love doing that. And we look forward to speaking with you on our investors call in fiscal third quarter, which will be in August. So thanks, and have a great evening.
Operator: The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.