Lincoln Educational ServicesLINC +1.57%63 WACC % is 6.78% as of Jun. 24, 2026, which is 17% below its 10-year median of 8.16. GuruFocus rates LINC with a GF Score™ of 63/100 and a GF Value™ of $18.81 (Significantly Overvalued). The stock has 8 warning signs investors should review. Among 271 Education companies, Lincoln Educational Services ranks better than 57.2% on this metric.
As of today (2026-06-24), Lincoln Educational Services's weighted average cost of capital is 6.78%%. Lincoln Educational Services's ROIC % is 5.80% (calculated using TTM income statement data).
Lincoln Educational Services 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.
Lincoln Educational Services (NAS:LINC) WACC % Explanation
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, Lincoln Educational Services's weighted average cost of capital is 6.78%%. Lincoln Educational Services's ROIC % is 5.80% (calculated using TTM income statement data).
Lincoln Educational Services 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 quarterly 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 quarterly average debt to get the simplified cost of debt.
Related Terms
Lincoln Educational Services WACC % Historical Data
* 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, Lincoln Educational Services'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.
Lincoln Educational Services WACC % vs Education Industry
For the Education industry and Consumer Defensive sector, Lincoln Educational Services's WACC % distribution charts can be found below:
* The bar in red indicates where Lincoln Educational Services'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, Lincoln Educational Services's market capitalization (E) is $1517.839 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 quarterly average Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation and Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation together. As of Mar. 2026, Lincoln Educational Services's latest one-year quarterly average Book Value of Debt (D) is $194.3148 Mil.
a) weight of equity = E / (E + D) = 1517.839 / (1517.839 + 194.3148) = 0.8865
b) weight of debt = D / (E + D) = 194.3148 / (1517.839 + 194.3148) = 0.1135
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 4.406%. 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. Lincoln Educational Services's beta is 0.5095.
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 = 4.406% + 0.5095 * 6% = 7.463%
3. Cost of Debt:
GuruFocus uses latest TTM Interest Expense divided by the latest one-year quarterly average debt to get the simplified cost of debt.
As of Mar. 2026, Lincoln Educational Services's interest expense (positive number) was $3.53 Mil. Its total Book Value of Debt (D) is $194.3148 Mil.
Cost of Debt = 3.53 / 194.3148 = 1.8166%.
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 = 6.482 / 28.891 = 22.44%.
* 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.
Lincoln Educational Services (LINC) has a WACC % of 6.78% as of Jun. 24, 2026. The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the average rate a company pays to finance assets. View historical data on Lincoln Educational Services and its competitors. This is 17% below median its historical median of 8.16. According to the industry distribution chart, Lincoln Educational Services ranks #116 out of 271 companies in the Education industry, placing it in the top 42.8%.
Is Lincoln Educational Services' WACC % too high?
Lincoln Educational Services' current WACC % of 6.78% is 17% below median its 10-year median of 8.16. The Education industry median WACC % is 8.00. Lincoln Educational Services' value of 6.78% is 15.3% below this industry median. Based on the distribution chart, Lincoln Educational Services ranks #116 out of 271 companies in the Education industry, which is above the industry midpoint. Overall, Lincoln Educational Services has a GF Score™ of 63/100 and is considered Significantly Overvalued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Lincoln Educational Services' WACC % compare to DAO and COUR?
According to the Education industry distribution chart, Lincoln Educational Services ranks #116 out of 271 companies for WACC %. This puts Lincoln Educational Services in the upper half of its industry. The industry median WACC % is 8.00. Lincoln Educational Services' value of 6.78% is 15.3% below this benchmark. While the company's 10-year median is 8.16 vs. the industry median of 8.00, Lincoln Educational Services 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 8.00, based on 271 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. Lincoln Educational Services's current WACC % of 6.78% is 15.3% 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 Lincoln Educational Services and its competitors. For the Education industry, the median WACC % is 8.00 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. Lincoln Educational Services's current WACC % is 6.78%, which is 17% below median its own 10-year median of 8.16. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Lincoln Educational Services stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Lincoln Educational Services (LINC) is currently considered Significantly Overvalued. The stock's GF Value™ is $18.81, compared to a current price of $47.85 — trading 154.4% above its estimated fair value. The current WACC % is 6.78%, which is 17% below median its 10-year median of 8.16 and 15.3% below the Education industry median of 8.00. Lincoln Educational Services' overall GF Score™ is 63/100 with 8 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 Lincoln Educational Services (LINC), the current WACC % is 6.78% as of Jun. 24, 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 Lincoln Educational Services (LINC) Overvalued in 2026?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Lincoln Educational Services stock appears to be overvalued.
The current stock price of $47.85 is trading 154.4% above its estimated GF Value™ of $18.81.
GuruFocus considers Lincoln Educational Services to be Significantly Overvalued.
Key valuation signals for LINC:
WACC %: 6.78% (17% below median its 10-year median of 8.16)
GF Value™: $18.81 vs. price of $47.85 (154.4% above fair value)
Industry Position: 15.3% below the Education median (#116 of 271)
No single metric tells the full story. See the LINC stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.
Lincoln Educational Services Corp provides diversified career-oriented post-secondary education to high school graduates and working adults. The company offers programs in automotive technology, skilled trades, healthcare services, hospitality services, and business and information technology. Its reportable segments include: Campus Operations and Transitional. The majority of the revenue is generated from the Campus Operations segment, which includes all campuses that are continuing in operation and contribute to the company's core operations and performance.
63GF Score
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