Here are 5 School Stocks to Buy Before Moving Into 2026

The U.S. education market is shifting toward digital, hybrid and career-focused programs—boosted by AI demand and 2025 federal/state initiatives to better align education with workforce needs—supporting revenue visibility for EdTech and career-training providers despite headwinds from high tuition and access disparities. Zacks identifies five school stocks forecast to deliver >10% EPS growth in 2026: Chegg (Zacks Rank #1; YTD -42.9%; 2026 EPS raised to $0.18 from break-even, implying +228.6% growth), Adtalem (Rank #2; YTD +2.2%; 2026 EPS $7.85, +17.7%), Grand Canyon Education (Rank #2; YTD -4.2%; 2026 EPS $10.10, +11.2%), Nerdy (Rank #2; YTD -16.7%; 2026 loss narrowed to $0.20 from $0.30 and projected to improve ~35.9%) and Legacy Education (Rank #2; YTD +23.8%; 2026 EPS $0.66, +11.9%). Overall, Zacks sees mid-to-long-term upside for digital and career-oriented education plays driven by tech integration and supportive policy, though near-term stock performance is mixed.

Analysis

The U.S. education market is shifting from traditional degree-centric models toward digital, hybrid and career-aligned programs driven by changing student/parent demand, AI-enabled offerings and supportive federal/state initiatives; the article cites a November 2025 set of interagency agreements to streamline education-workforce program delivery and an April 2025 national AI education policy as structural tailwinds for EdTech and workforce-aligned providers. Zacks’ sector data show the Zacks Schools industry median YTD share-price performance sits above the Zacks S&P 500 composite median even as aggregate industry stock performance trails the S&P 500 so far this year, indicating dispersion between winners and laggards. Key headwinds remain elevated tuition and access disparities, but business-model benefits from subscription pricing, scalable software and AI-enhanced adaptive learning are translating into stronger enrollment visibility and unit economics for some providers. Zacks identifies five school stocks expected to deliver >10% EPS growth in 2026: Chegg (CHGG, Zacks #1, YTD -42.9%, 2026 EPS raised to $0.18 from break-even, implied +228.6%), Adtalem (ATGE, #2, YTD +2.2%, 2026 EPS $7.85, +17.7%), Grand Canyon (LOPE, #2, YTD -4.2%, 2026 EPS $10.10, +11.2%), Nerdy (NRDY, #2, YTD -16.7%, 2026 loss narrowed to $0.20 from $0.30 with a 35.9% improvement), and Legacy Education (LGCY, #2, YTD +23.8%, 2026 EPS $0.66, +11.9%); these figures point to idiosyncratic upside but also execution risk given mixed historical earnings surprises.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Consider overweight exposure to Adtalem and Grand Canyon for differentiated, mid-teens EPS growth and relatively stable surprise histories, sizing positions to enrollment and margin data
• Treat Chegg as a tactical recovery trade given the 2026 EPS upgrade to $0.18 and Zacks Rank 1, but limit allocation because of the steep YTD decline and large negative earnings surprises
• Allocate a smaller, higher-risk position to Nerdy for asymmetric turnaround/AI exposure given the narrowed 2026 loss, and require consecutive positive guidance before scaling up
• Maintain or add a measured position in Legacy given YTD strength and ~12% 2026 EPS growth, while monitoring regulatory, access and tuition-pressure signals
• Monitor implementation of the Nov 2025 interagency agreements and Apr 2025 AI education policy, enrollment trends, retention and pricing metrics as primary triggers to increase or reduce exposure and consider hedges if execution or policy risk rises