Vocational education company Covista (NYSE: CVSA) beat Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q2 CY2026, with sales up 9.7% year on year to $501.4 million. The company expects the full year’s revenue to be around $2.07 billion, close to analysts’ estimates. Its non-GAAP profit of $2.09 per share was 10.4% above analysts’ consensus estimates.
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Covista (CVSA) Q2 CY2026 Highlights:
- Revenue: $501.4 million vs analyst estimates of $486.5 million (9.7% year-on-year growth, 3.1% beat)
- Adjusted EPS: $2.09 vs analyst estimates of $1.89 (10.4% beat)
- Adjusted EBITDA: $126.9 million vs analyst estimates of $123.6 million (25.3% margin, 2.7% beat)
- Adjusted EPS guidance for the upcoming financial year 2027 is $9.03 at the midpoint, beating analyst estimates by 1.5%
- Operating Margin: 19%, up from 16.8% in the same quarter last year
- Free Cash Flow Margin: 19.4%, up from 8.9% in the same quarter last year
- Market Capitalization: $4.39 billion
Company Overview
Formerly known as DeVry Education Group, Covista (NYSE: CVSA) is a global provider of workforce solutions and educational services.
Revenue Growth
A company’s long-term performance is an indicator of its overall quality. Any business can put up a good quarter or two, but many enduring ones grow for years. Over the last five years, Covista grew its sales at a 16.6% compounded annual growth rate. Though this growth is acceptable on an absolute basis, we need to see more than just topline growth for the consumer discretionary sector, which can display significant earnings volatility. This means our bar for the sector is particularly high, reflecting the non-essential and hit-driven nature of the products and services offered. Additionally, five-year CAGR starts around Covid, when revenue was depressed then rebounded.
We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within consumer discretionary, a stretched historical view may miss a company riding a successful new product or trend. Covista’s recent performance shows its demand has slowed as its annualized revenue growth of 11% over the last two years was below its five-year trend. We’re wary when companies in the sector see decelerations in revenue growth, as it could signal changing consumer tastes aided by low switching costs. 
This quarter, Covista reported year-on-year revenue growth of 9.7%, and its $501.4 million of revenue exceeded Wall Street’s estimates by 3.1%.
Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 5.8% over the next 12 months, a deceleration versus the last two years. This projection is underwhelming and implies its products and services will face some demand challenges.
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Operating Margin
Covista’s operating margin has more or less stayed the same over the last 12 months , and we generally like to see margin increases due to economies of scale and cost efficiency over time.
In Q2, Covista generated an operating margin profit margin of 19%, up 2.2 percentage points year on year. This increase was a welcome development and shows it was more efficient.
Earnings Per Share
We track the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) for the same reason as long-term revenue growth. Compared to revenue, however, EPS highlights whether a company’s growth is profitable.
Covista’s EPS grew at 22.7% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years. On the bright side, this performance was better than its 16.6% annualized revenue growth and tells us the company became more profitable on a per-share basis as it expanded.
In Q2, Covista reported adjusted EPS of $2.09, up from $1.66 in the same quarter last year. This print easily cleared analysts’ estimates, and shareholders should be content with the results. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects Covista’s full-year EPS to grow 6% from $8.25 to $8.75.
Key Takeaways from Covista’s Q2 Results
It was encouraging to see Covista beat analysts’ revenue expectations this quarter. We were also glad its EPS outperformed Wall Street’s estimates. Overall, this print had some key positives. The stock remained flat at $124.52 immediately after reporting.
Is Covista an attractive investment opportunity right now? What happened in the latest quarter matters, but not as much as longer-term business quality and valuation, when deciding whether to invest in this stock. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).
