Covista Reports First Quarter Fiscal Year 2027 Results; Raises Fiscal Year 2027 Revenue and Adjusted EPS Guidance

Total enrollment up 7.6% YoY

Revenue up 10.7% YoY

Diluted earnings per share $1.95; Adjusted EPS $2.19, growth of 25.1% YoY

Chief Financial Officer Robert Phelan announces planned retirement; will continue to serve until a successor is named

First quarter highlights

• Total student enrollment of 104,713, up 7.6% year-over-year, achieved 13^th straight quarter of growth
• Revenue of $511.5 million, up 10.7% year-over-year
• Chamberlain University achieved 3^rd straight quarter of total enrollment growth and achieved 17^th straight quarter of pre-licensure BSN total enrollment growth
• Walden University achieved 13^th straight quarter of total enrollment growth, up 12.8% year-over-year, highest total enrollment in university history
• Medical and Veterinary delivered total enrollment growth of 3.5% year-over-year
• GAAP net income $67.4 million; adjusted EBITDA $131.2 million, up 17.1% year-over-year

Capital allocation

• Repurchased $84 million of shares in the first quarter
• Net leverage of 0.5x as of Sep. 30, 2026
• Repriced our $510 million Term Loan B, reducing the interest rate margin by 25 basis points to SOFR plus 2.00%

Increased fiscal year 2027 guidance

• Revenue in the range of $2,060 million to $2,095 million, or approximately 5.5% to 7% growth year-over-year, and from a previous range of $2,050 million to $2,090 million
• Adjusted earnings per share in the range of $9.00 to $9.20, or approximately 9% to 11.5% growth year-over-year, and from a previous range of $8.90 to $9.15

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Covista Inc. (NYSE: CVSA), America’s largest healthcare educator, today reported first quarter fiscal year 2027 results (ended Sep. 30, 2026). This quarter, the Company launched Purpose at Scale, its three-year strategy to train the next generation of healthcare professionals at industry-leading scale. Purpose at Scale is underpinned by operational excellence, platform extension, employer integration and a technology focus.

“Purpose at Scale is delivering and all four pillars of the strategy are contributing to our momentum. Total enrollment grew for the 13th consecutive quarter, powering our double-digit revenue growth and continued margin expansion. On that strength, we are raising our fiscal 2027 guidance,” said Steve Beard, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Covista. “The demand behind our strategy is durable, and Covista is critical infrastructure for American healthcare. We serve an urgent need in the communities where care matters most, and by doing that well, we are strategically positioned to create lasting value for our shareholders.”

Financial Highlights

Selected financial data for the three months ended Sep. 30, 2026:

• Revenue of $511.5 million increased 10.7% compared with the prior year
• Operating income of $98.0 million, compared with $85.5 million in the prior year;
  adjusted operating income of $106.6 million, compared with $90.3 million in the prior year
• Net income of $67.4 million, compared with $61.8 million in the prior year;
  adjusted net income of $75.8 million, compared with $64.9 million in the prior year
• Diluted earnings per share of $1.95, compared with $1.67 in the prior year;
  adjusted earnings per share of $2.19, compared with $1.75 in the prior year
• Adjusted EBITDA of $131.2 million, compared with $112.0 million in the prior year;
  adjusted EBITDA margin of 25.6%, compared with 24.2% in the prior year

Business Highlights

• Covista's strategic nursing collaboration with Advocate Health began enrolling students through Chamberlain University in Wisconsin. Building on that successful launch, the relationship is expanding to Chamberlain's three Chicago-area campuses.
• Chamberlain University opened its Cincinnati and Salt Lake City campuses. The Company also announced it will open its 27th campus in Nashville, which is expected to begin classes in January 2027.
• Walden University launched four new programs this quarter. Programs introduced heading into the 2026 academic year have already enrolled more than 2,000 students, demonstrating Walden’s speed to market in high-demand fields.
• Covista released new analysis showing that students at Ross University School of Medicine and American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine passed the United States Medical Licensing Examination® (USMLE®) Step 1 on their first attempt at rates comparable to or higher than U.S. MD students with similar MCAT scores in most score bands.¹
• Covista’s performance and responsible business practices continued to earn national recognition, including TIME’s America’s Growth Leaders 2027 and World’s Best Companies 2026, and Newsweek’s America’s Greenest Companies 2027 and America’s Greatest Companies 2026.

Segment Highlights

Chamberlain

• Total student enrollment increased 1.3% compared with the prior year, driven by growth in pre-licensure nursing.

Walden

• Total student enrollment increased 12.8% compared with the prior year, driven by growth in healthcare and non-healthcare programs.

Medical and Veterinary

• Total student enrollment increased 3.5% compared with the prior year, driven by growth in both medical and veterinary.

Fiscal Year 2027 Outlook

Covista raised its revenue guidance for fiscal year 2027 from a range of $2,050 million to $2,090 million, or approximately 5% to 7% growth year-over-year, to a range of $2,060 million to $2,095 million, or approximately 5.5% to 7% growth year-over-year.

Covista also raised its adjusted earnings per share guidance from a range of $8.90 to $9.15, or approximately 8% to 11% growth year-over-year, to a range of $9.00 to $9.20, or approximately 9% to 11.5% growth year-over-year.

Management Update

Chief Financial Officer Robert Phelan has decided to retire from Covista after nearly seven years, as part of a planned transition. He will remain in this role until a successor is named, with no change in responsibilities. He will support the incoming Chief Financial Officer through a transition period. An active search is underway.

Conference Call and Webcast Information

Covista will hold a conference call to discuss its first quarter fiscal year 2027 results today at 4:00 p.m. CT (5:00 p.m. ET).

The call can be accessed by dialing +1 877-407-6184 (U.S. participants) or +1 201-389-0877 (international participants) and stating “Covista earnings call” or by using conference ID:13762351. The call will be simulcast through the Covista investor relations website at: https://investors.covista.com.

Covista will archive a replay of the call for 30 days. To access the replay, dial +1 877-660-6853 (U.S.) or +1 201-612-7415 (international), conference ID: 13762351, or visit the Covista investor relations website.

About Covista

Covista (NYSE: CVSA) is America's largest healthcare educator, serving 100,000 students and supported by a community of 400,000 alumni across five accredited institutions. Through personalized, tech-enabled education powered by 10,000 faculty and colleagues, Covista expands access to healthcare careers and addresses the U.S. healthcare workforce shortage at scale. Covista is the parent company of American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, Chamberlain University, Ross University School of Medicine, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine and Walden University. For more information, visit covista.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.

Cautionary Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this release are forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact, which includes statements regarding Covista’s future growth. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “future,” “believe,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “plan,” “intend,” “may,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “can,” “continue,” “preliminary,” “potential,” “range,” and similar terms. These forward-looking statements are subject to risk and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements are disclosed in Item 1A. “Risk Factors,” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K. You should evaluate forward-looking statements in the context of these risks and uncertainties and are cautioned to not place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. We caution you that these factors may not contain all of the factors that are important to you. We cannot assure you that we will realize the results, performance or developments we expect or anticipate or, even if substantially realized, that they will result in the consequences or affect us or our operations in the way we expect. All forward-looking statements are based on information available to us as of the date any such statements are made, and Covista assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements even if experience or future changes make it clear that any projected results expressed or implied therein will not be realized, except as required by law.

A reconciliation of non-GAAP guidance measures to corresponding GAAP measures is not available on a forward-looking basis without unreasonable effort due to the uncertainty of special items that may be incurred in the future, although these special items could be material to Covista's results in accordance with GAAP.

Covista Inc.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Reconciliations

We believe that certain non-GAAP financial measures provide investors with useful supplemental information regarding the underlying business trends and performance of Covista’s ongoing operations as seen through the eyes of management and are useful for period-over-period comparisons. We use these supplemental non-GAAP financial measures internally in our assessment of performance and budgeting process. However, these non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered as a substitute for, or superior to, measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. The following are non-GAAP financial measures used in the subsequent GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliation tables:

Adjusted net income (most comparable GAAP measure: net income) – Measure of Covista’s net income adjusted for restructuring expense, amortization of acquired intangible assets, strategic advisory costs, loss on debt extinguishment, debt modification costs, U.S. tax benefit due to an increase in foreign-derived income, and loss (income) from discontinued operations.

Adjusted earnings per share (most comparable GAAP measure: diluted earnings per share) – Measure of Covista’s diluted earnings per share adjusted for restructuring expense, amortization of acquired intangible assets, strategic advisory costs, loss on debt extinguishment, debt modification costs, U.S. tax benefit due to an increase in foreign-derived income, and loss (income) from discontinued operations.

Adjusted operating income (most comparable GAAP measure: operating income) – Measure of Covista’s operating income adjusted for restructuring expense, amortization of acquired intangible assets, strategic advisory costs, and debt modification costs.

Adjusted EBITDA (most comparable GAAP measure: net income) – Measure of Covista’s net income adjusted for loss (income) from discontinued operations, interest expense, other income, net, provision for income taxes, depreciation, amortization of acquired intangible assets, amortization of cloud computing implementation assets, stock-based compensation, restructuring expense, strategic advisory costs, and debt modification costs. Provision for income taxes, interest expense, and other income, net are not recorded at the reportable segments, and therefore, the segment adjusted EBITDA reconciliations begin with adjusted operating income.

Free cash flow (most comparable GAAP measure: net cash provided by operating activities-continuing operations) – Defined as net cash provided by operating activities-continuing operations less capital expenditures.

Net debt – Defined as total long-term debt principal less cash and cash equivalents.

Net leverage – Defined as net debt divided by adjusted EBITDA.

A description of special items in our non-GAAP financial measures described above are as follows:

• Restructuring expense primarily related to workforce reductions and prior real estate consolidations at Covista’s home office. We do not include normal, recurring, cash operating expenses in our restructuring expense.
• Amortization of acquired intangible assets.
• Amortization of cloud computing implementation assets.
• Strategic advisory costs related to expanding capabilities and bringing new capacities to market to further enhance our strategic position. We do not include normal, recurring, cash operating expenses in our strategic advisory costs.
• Loss on debt extinguishment related to the amendment of the Revolver.
• Debt modification costs related to refinancing our Term Loan B.
• U.S. tax benefit due to an increase in foreign-derived income.
• Loss (income) from discontinued operations includes activity from ongoing litigation costs and settlements related to prior divestitures.

Investor Contact: Jeremy Cohen
Investor.Relations@Covista.com

Media Contact: Nick Lucido
CovistaMedia@Covista.com