Yduqs posts record cash generation for a first quarter and announces FCFE (Free Cash Flow to Equity) guidance of up to R$ 620 million for 2026
FCFE reached R$276 million in the first quarter, a record for the period. Premium brands, Ibmec and IDOMED, now account for 49% of the group’s EBITDA. The acquisition of Unifametro was completed during the quarter.
Rio de Janeiro, May 7, 2026 — Yduqs (B3: YDUQ3), one of Brazil’s largest private higher education groups, today reported its results for the first quarter of 2026. The highlight of the period was, once again, cash generation. Free Cash Flow to Equity reached R$276 million, up 10% compared to 1Q25 and R$191 million higher when compared to the same period of 2024. It was the company’s highest cash generation ever recorded for a first quarter. Over the last 12 months, FCFE totaled R$525 million, representing a 20% FCFE yield.
Based on the consistency of its cash generation trajectory, Yduqs announced FCFE guidance of R$ 520 million to R$ 620 million for 2026, a significant increase from the R$500 million delivered in 2025. For earnings per share, the company projects a range of R$1.40 to R$2.00 in 2026, converging to between R$2.00 and R$3.50 from 2027 to 2030.
“We believe cash is currently the best measure of the quality of our business. Yduqs’ ability to generate cash is structural. Cash generation is the company’s core vocation. This is what allows us to present such meaningful Free Cash Flow to Equity guidance. We have strong confidence in the diversification of our business and in the internal levers we are activating, which will continue to enable high-quality growth,” said Rossano Marques, chief executive officer of Yduqs.
Premium reaches 49 percent of EBITDA
Yduqs’ Premium segment, comprising Ibmec and IDOMED, continues to expand at a strong pace and now represents 49% of the group’s adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter of 2026, up 6 p.p. from a year earlier. It also accounted for 31% of net revenue, up 3 p.p. Together, the two premium brands now represent nearly half of the business.
Ibmec was once again one of the company’s main operating highlights, with net revenue up 23%, EBITDA up 34% and an adjusted margin of 46%, an increase of 3.7 p.p.. The intake ticket rose 10% compared with the first quarter of 2025, underscoring the brand’s strength and consistent market appreciation. During the quarter, the company opened a new Ibmec campus in Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro, relocated from downtown Rio.
IDOMED posted record student intake, with more than 2,000 students enrolled in the first intake cycle of 2026, up 8% from the first quarter of 2025. Revenue increased 10%, EBITDA rose 8% and adjusted margin reached 54%, with a renewal rate of 96%. The performance reflects the brand’s core quality thesis in an increasingly competitive medical education market.
Estácio and Wyden show resilience in the access segment
In the access segments, Estácio and Wyden showed resilience amid a challenging macroeconomic environment, marked by household debt levels near 30 %, and an ongoing operational transition following Brazil’s new regulatory framework for distance learning. On a comparable basis, adjusting for lower net revenue caused by reduced adherence to the tuition installment dilution program, known as DIS, the segment grew 3% in both revenue and EBITDA, with an adjusted margin of 28%.
The hybrid learning model continued to accelerate. Student intake increased 64%, and the student base grew 56% year over year, well above the market average. Renewal rates remained high, reaching 84% in on-campus programs, while the average on-campus ticket rose 6%, reflecting disciplined pricing.
Financial discipline and shareholder return
Yduqs ended the first quarter with leverage of 1.53 times net debt to EBITDA. Excluding the effects of dividends and the share buyback program, leverage would already be at 1.19 times, on a clear path toward the company’s target of 1.0 times net debt to EBITDA. The average debt spread was reduced to CDI plus 0.99%, one of the lowest levels in the Brazilian market.
In February 2026, the company distributed R$150 million in dividends, maintaining its track record of annual dividend payments since its initial public offering in 2007. Its new R$100 million share buyback program for 2026 is already 39 percent completed, with R$39 million executed through April.
Strategic acquisition: Unifametro completed
During the first quarter, Yduqs completed the acquisition of Centro Universitário Unifametro, in Fortaleza, Ceará, with an upfront payment of R$75 million. The transaction is aligned with the company’s strategy of selective acquisitions focused on high-return assets in strategic markets.
Technology and ESG
In March 2026, Yduqs launched PLAY, the Yduqs Agent Platform, in partnership with Google Gemini, making it available to all employees. In just one month, more than 365 artificial intelligence agents were created on the platform. Among the highlighted use cases are Project Nora, a predictive agent that reduced total rework costs in product development by 38%, and the PDD agent, which nearly doubled the speed of financial analyses related to the company’s allowance for doubtful accounts.
On the ESG front, the company published its 2025 Integrated Report and its 2025–2030 Sustainability Strategy, structured around four pillars: Education and Employability, Social, Environmental and Governance. Yduqs received the Gold Seal from the GHG Protocol for the third consecutive year, was reappointed as an ambassador of the United Nations Global Compact’s Educa 2030 Movement and is the only company in the education sector recognized as an Industry Mover in S&P Global’s Sustainability Yearbook 2026.
Visit Yduqs’ Investor Relations website at www.yduqs.com.br to access the full presentation, earnings release and related documents.