Grand Canyon Education, Inc. Leases Disclosure
6. Leases
The Company has operating leases for off-campus classroom and laboratory site locations, office space, office equipment, and optical fiber communication lines. These leases have terms that range from one month to years and nine months. At lease inception, we determine the lease term by assuming no exercises of renewal options, due to the Company’s constantly changing geographical needs for its university partners. Leases with an initial term of 12 months or less are not recorded in the consolidated balance sheets and we recognize lease expense for these leases on a straight-line basis over the lease term. The Company has operating lease costs of $17,793, $16,694 and $13,496 for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
As of December 31, 2025, the Company had $15,542 of non-cancelable operating lease commitments for three off-campus classroom and laboratory sites that had not yet commenced. The Company’s weighted-average remaining lease term relating to its operating leases is 7.24 years, with a weighted-average discount rate of 4.44%. The cash paid for operating lease liabilities was $17,111, $14,895 and $11,391 for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. As of December 31, 2025, the Company had no financing leases.
Future payment obligations with respect to the Company’s operating leases, which were existing at December 31, 2025, by year and in the aggregate, are as follows:
Year Ending December 31, | | Amount | |
2026 | $ | 18,750 | |
2027 | 18,151 | ||
2028 | 17,475 | ||
2029 | 17,363 | ||
2030 | 15,560 | ||
Thereafter | 39,576 | ||
Total lease payments | $ | 126,875 | |
Less interest | 19,552 | ||
Present value of lease liabilities | $ | 107,323 | |
Historical Timeline
| Fiscal Year | Filed | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Feb 18, 2026 | Showing above |
| 2024 | Feb 19, 2025 | |
| 2023 | Feb 13, 2024 | |
| 2022 | Feb 16, 2023 | |
| 2021 | Feb 16, 2022 | |
| 2020 | Feb 17, 2021 | |
| 2019 | Feb 20, 2020 | |
| 2015 | Feb 17, 2016 | |
About Leases Disclosures
Lease disclosures under ASC 842 provide a comprehensive view of a company's leased asset portfolio, including the split between operating and finance leases, discount rates used to present-value future payments, and the maturity schedule of lease obligations. This section reveals a significant source of off-balance-sheet commitments that were largely hidden before the current standard.
Key signals: the weighted-average discount rate affects the size of recorded lease liabilities — a higher rate reduces the reported obligation, so compare the chosen rate against the company's incremental borrowing rate. The operating versus finance lease mix affects both EBITDA and operating income presentation. Watch the maturity table for concentration risk: large payment cliffs in specific years may create cash flow pressure. Variable lease payments excluded from the liability measurement represent real obligations that do not appear on the balance sheet. Compare total lease costs against prior-year operating lease expense to assess the true economic burden.