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Dr. Charlie Tian is the founder and CEO of GuruFocus.com, a leading global investment research platform established in 2004. With a Ph.D. in physics, Dr. Tian transitioned from science to finance, applying a data-driven, disciplined approach to value investing.
Leader EducationHKSE:01449 +15.27%62 WACC % is 7.55% as of Aug. 12, 2026, which is 192% above its 10-year median of 2.59. GuruFocus rates HKSE:01449 with a GF Score™ of 62/100 and a GF Value™ of HK$0.35 (Significantly Overvalued). The stock has 11 warning signs investors should review. Among 269 Education companies, Leader Education ranks better than 53.16% on this metric.
As of today (2026-08-12), Leader Education's weighted average cost of capital is 7.55%%. Leader Education's ROIC % is 1.48% (calculated using TTM income statement data).
Leader Education earns returns that do not match up to its cost of capital. It will destroy value as it grows.
For a comprehensive WACC calculation, please access the WACC Calculator.
Because it costs money to raise capital. A firm that generates higher ROIC % than it costs the company to raise the capital needed for that investment is earning excess returns. A firm that expects to continue generating positive excess returns on new investments in the future will see its value increase as growth increases, whereas a firm that earns returns that do not match up to its cost of capital will destroy value as it grows.
As of today, Leader Education's weighted average cost of capital is 7.55%%. Leader Education's ROIC % is 1.48% (calculated using TTM income statement data).
Leader Education earns returns that do not match up to its cost of capital. It will destroy value as it grows.
Be Aware
1. GuruFocus uses book value of debt (D) to do the calculation. It is simplified by adding latest one-year semi-annual average Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation and Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation together.
For companies that report quarterly, GuruFocus combines all of the most recent year's quarterly debt data from the beginning of the year to the year-end and calculates the average.
For companies that report semi-annually, GuruFocus combines all of the most recent year's semi-annual debt data from the start of the year to the year-end and calculates the average.
For companies that report annually, GuruFocus combines the beginning and ending annual debt data from the most recent year and then calculates the average.
2. The WACC formula discussed above does not include Preferred Stock. Please adjust if preferred stock is considered.
3. (Expected Return of the Market - Risk-Free Rate of Return) is also called market premium. GuruFocus requires market premium to be 6%.
4. GuruFocus uses the latest TTM Interest Expense divided by the latest one-year semi-annual average debt to get the simplified cost of debt.
Related Terms
Leader Education WACC % Historical Data
* Premium members only.
The historical data trend for Leader Education's WACC % can be seen below:
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
For the Education & Training Services subindustry, Leader Education's WACC %, along with its competitors' market caps and WACC % data, can be viewed below:
* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.
Leader Education WACC % vs Education Industry
For the Education industry and Consumer Defensive sector, Leader Education's WACC % distribution charts can be found below:
* The bar in red indicates where Leader Education's WACC % falls into.
The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the rate that a company is expected to pay on average to all its security holders to finance its assets. The WACC is commonly referred to as the firm's cost of capital. Generally speaking, a company's assets are financed by debt and equity. WACC is the average of the costs of these sources of financing, each of which is weighted by its respective use in the given situation. By taking a weighted average, we can see how much interest the company has to pay for every dollar it finances.
WACC
=
E
/
(E + D)
*
Cost of Equity
+
D
/
(E + D)
*
Cost of Debt
*
(1 - Tax Rate)
1. Weights:
Generally speaking, a company's assets are financed by debt and equity. We need to calculate the weight of equity and the weight of debt.
The market value of equity (E) is also called "Market Cap". As of today, Leader Education's market capitalization (E) is HK$503.333 Mil.
The market value of debt is typically difficult to calculate, therefore, GuruFocus uses book value of debt (D) to do the calculation. It is simplified by adding the latest one-year semi-annual average Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation and Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation together. As of Feb. 2026, Leader Education's latest one-year semi-annual average Book Value of Debt (D) is HK$1390.671 Mil.
a) weight of equity = E / (E + D) = 503.333 / (503.333 + 1390.671) = 0.2658
b) weight of debt = D / (E + D) = 1390.671 / (503.333 + 1390.671) = 0.7342
2. Cost of Equity:
GuruFocus uses Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) to calculate the required rate of return. The formula is:
Cost of Equity = Risk-Free Rate of Return + Beta of Asset * (Expected Return of the Market - Risk-Free Rate of Return)
a) GuruFocus uses 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Rate as the risk-free rate. It is updated daily. The current risk-free rate is 4.65%. Please go to Economic Indicators page for more information. Please note that we use the 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Rate of the country/region where the company is headquartered. If the data for that country/region is not available, then we will use the 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Rate of the United States as default.
b) Beta is the sensitivity of the expected excess asset returns to the expected excess market returns. Leader Education's beta is 0.9981.
c) (Expected Return of the Market - Risk-Free Rate of Return) is also called market premium. GuruFocus requires market premium to be 6%.
Cost of Equity = 4.65% + 0.9981 * 6% = 10.6386%
3. Cost of Debt:
GuruFocus uses latest TTM Interest Expense divided by the latest one-year semi-annual average debt to get the simplified cost of debt.
As of Feb. 2026, Leader Education's interest expense (positive number) was HK$89.408 Mil. Its total Book Value of Debt (D) is HK$1390.671 Mil.
Cost of Debt = 89.408 / 1390.671 = 6.4291%.
4. Multiply by one minus TTM Tax Rate:
GuruFocus uses the most recent TTM Tax Expense divided by the most recent TTM Pre-Tax Income to calculate the tax rate. The calculated TTM tax rate is limited to between 0% and 100%. If the calculated tax rate is higher than 100%, it is set to 100%. If the calculated tax rate is less than 0%, it is set to 0%.
The latest calculated TTM Tax Rate = 83.912 / -0.267 = -31427.72%, which is less than 0%. Therefore it's set to 0%.
Leader Education's Weighted Average Cost Of Capital (WACC) for Today is calculated as:
WACC
=
E / (E + D)
*
Cost of Equity
+
D / (E + D)
*
Cost of Debt
*
(1 - Tax Rate)
=
0.2658
*
10.6386%
+
0.7342
*
6.4291%
*
(1 - 0%)
=
7.55%
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
Leader Education (HKSE:01449) has a WACC % of 7.55% as of Aug. 12, 2026. The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the average rate a company pays to finance assets. View historical data on Leader Education and its competitors. This is 192% above median its historical median of 2.59. Over the past decade, Leader Education's WACC % has ranged from 0.67 to 7.41. According to the industry distribution chart, Leader Education ranks #126 out of 269 companies in the Education industry, placing it in the top 46.8%.
Is Leader Education's WACC % too high?
Leader Education's current WACC % of 7.55% is 192% above median its 10-year median of 2.59. Over the past 10 years, this metric has ranged from a low of 0.67 to a high of 7.41. The Education industry median WACC % is 7.74. Leader Education's value of 7.55% is 2.5% below this industry median. Based on the distribution chart, Leader Education ranks #126 out of 269 companies in the Education industry, which is above the industry midpoint. Overall, Leader Education has a GF Score™ of 62/100 and is considered Significantly Overvalued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Leader Education's WACC % compare to EDU and TAL?
According to the Education industry distribution chart, Leader Education ranks #126 out of 269 companies for WACC %. This puts Leader Education in the upper half of its industry. The industry median WACC % is 7.74. Leader Education's value of 7.55% is 2.5% below this benchmark. Historically, Leader Education's own WACC % has ranged from 0.67 to 7.41 over the past decade. While the company's 10-year median is 2.59 vs. the industry median of 7.74, Leader Education has consistently been below the industry average. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good WACC % for an Education company?
The median WACC % among Education companies is 7.74, based on 269 companies in the industry. Companies in the top quartile (top 25%) have a WACC % significantly above this median, while those in the bottom quartile fall well below. However, WACC % should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Leader Education's current WACC % of 7.55% is 2.5% below the industry median. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high WACC % mean?
A high WACC % can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the average rate a company pays to finance assets. View historical data on Leader Education and its competitors. For the Education industry, the median WACC % is 7.74 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. Leader Education's current WACC % is 7.55%, which is 192% above median its own 10-year median of 2.59. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Leader Education stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Leader Education (HKSE:01449) is currently considered Significantly Overvalued. The stock's GF Value™ is HK$0.35, compared to a current price of HK$0.76 — trading 115.7% above its estimated fair value. The current WACC % is 7.55%, which is 192% above median its 10-year median of 2.59 and 2.5% below the Education industry median of 7.74. Leader Education's overall GF Score™ is 62/100 with 11 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is WACC % calculated?
WACC % is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Leader Education (HKSE:01449), the current WACC % is 7.55% as of Aug. 12, 2026. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.
Is Leader Education (HKSE:01449) Overvalued in 2026?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Leader Education stock appears to be overvalued.
The current stock price of HK$0.76 is trading 115.7% above its estimated GF Value™ of HK$0.35.
GuruFocus considers Leader Education to be Significantly Overvalued.
Key valuation signals for HKSE:01449:
WACC %: 7.55% (192% above median its 10-year median of 2.59)
GF Value™: HK$0.35 vs. price of HK$0.76 (115.7% above fair value)
Industry Position: 2.5% below the Education median (#126 of 269)
No single metric tells the full story. See the HKSE:01449 stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.
Leader Education Ltd is engaged in providing private higher education services in the People's Republic of China. The school is a degree-granting private formal university-level education institution that offers undergraduate majors in a wide range of subject areas, including engineering, management, economics, literature, and arts. It operates in one segment, being the provision of private higher education services in the PRC.
62GF Score
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