What happened

Shares of Stride (LRN -0.50%), the childhood education company formerly known as K12, were surging today after the company posted strong results in its fiscal second-quarter earnings report.

As of 10:06 a.m. ET, the stock was up 22%.

Person helps child with schoolwork.

Image source. Getty Images.

So what

Stride, which provides K-12 education and other services, easily beat estimates in the earnings report, posting revenue of $458.4 million, which was up 12% from a year ago and ahead of expectations at $443.2 million.  

Stride also showed off record enrollment growth from the first quarter, with 180,300 enrollments. While that was down 4% from the quarter a year ago, due in part to rolling off pandemic tailwinds, the improvement from the first quarter shows that getting back on track. 

Profitability was also strong, as the company reported adjusted EBITDA up 21.5% to $100.5 million, and adjusted earnings per share rose from $1.00 to $1.19, ahead of the analyst consensus at $1.04.

Now what

Looking ahead, the company also issued better-than-expected guidance, calling for full-year revenue of $1.775 billion to $1.815 billion, up from a previous forecast of $1.71 billion to $1.79 billion. It also raised its adjusted operating income range from $160 million to $190 million to $180 million to $200 million.

Stride stock had mixed results over its history, as the federal government has cracked down on for-profit educators, but since the start of the pandemic, the stock has been steadily growing. Keep your eye on enrollment numbers, as those are the ultimate driver of growth in the business, but the jump from the first quarter to the second quarter is clearly encouraging.