Dive Brief:

• Schaumburg, IL-based Career Education Corporation came down in value during the fourth quarter of Fiscal Year 2014, losing 12 cents in earnings per share, though its operating losses fell $6.6 million to $7.8 million.
• Stock prices rebounded after the news, reflecting the stronger-than-expected showing after analysts had expected a loss of 30 cents per share.
• In its earnings report, Career Education emphasized its nearly 15% reduction in expenses during the fourth quarter, as compared to the prior year.

Dive Insight:

For-profit education providers like Career Education have faced consistent scrutiny in recent years for the way they attract students, poor student outcomes, and high loan default rates. At the federal level, this negative attention came largely from Democrats. There is a chance the GOP-controlled Congress will soften its tone against such companies, but in some ways, the damage has already been done. Industry-wide, the companies are facing dwindling enrollments and ensuing revenue losses.

Career Education, though, reported strong improvement in its operating performance Tuesday and optimism for its future.