YDUQ3 YDUQS

YDUQS Participações S.A. is one of the largest private higher education groups in Brazil and has common shares traded on B3 under the ticker YDUQ3. The group’s origin dates back to the creation of Faculdade de Direito Estácio de Sá in 1970, in Rio de Janeiro, conceived as a nonprofit institution by judge João Uchôa Cavalcanti Netto. Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, the organization expanded its course offerings, becoming Faculdades Integradas Estácio de Sá in 1972 and achieving university status in 1988, which broadened its activities in teaching, research, and extension. Beginning in 2005, a corporate restructuring process was launched, transforming the former sponsoring entities into private for-profit companies, a stage completed in 2007, preparing the company to access the capital markets.

In 2007, the then Estácio Participações carried out a public offering of primary and secondary distribution of Units, raising funds and opening its shareholder base to new investors. In 2008, it signed an agreement to join the Novo Mercado segment of the then BM&FBOVESPA, now B3, starting to operate under more demanding corporate governance practices. Over the following years, the company executed a consolidation strategy in the higher education sector, marked by successive acquisitions of colleges and university centers in several Brazilian regions, such as Roraima, Rio Grande do Norte, Amapá, Maranhão, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Pará, Amazonas, and Piauí, among other states. This movement resulted in strong geographic expansion and an increase in the student base, consolidating the group’s position in the national higher education market.

From 2013 onward, with new share offerings and additional fundraising in the capital markets, the company intensified its inorganic growth strategy, incorporating educational institutions in state capitals and mid-sized cities, in addition to strengthening its presence in on-campus and distance-learning programs. In 2014, the company’s American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) began trading on the U.S. OTCQX International Premier market, increasing its visibility among foreign investors. In 2019, the group adopted the corporate brand YDUQS, unifying its institutional identity and updating its B3 trading code to YDUQ3, as well as the ADR ticker to YDUQY, in a move that reinforced its positioning strategy as a multibrand higher education platform.

YDUQS’s business model centers on providing higher education and graduate-level educational services, with revenue primarily generated through tuition from traditional undergraduate programs, technology-focused undergraduate programs, distance learning, specialization, master’s, doctorate, extension, short courses, and preparatory courses. In 2024, net revenue from educational services totaled R$ 5.36 billion, entirely linked to this scope of services, and is internally segmented into three business fronts: Premium, Digital Learning, and On-Campus. Most of the revenue comes from recurring tuition payments, complemented by academic fees related to administrative services, such as issuing documents, grade reviews, and admissions fees for selection processes, as well as subscription revenue from digital content aimed at exams and competitive entrance tests.

The company operates a brand portfolio that targets different audience profiles and positions within the Brazilian higher education market. The main academic brands include Estácio, Ibmec, IDOMED, and Wyden, covering everything from generalist undergraduate programs to more specialized offerings, such as medicine and executive education. YDUQS also controls brands focused on preparatory education, such as Damásio, Hardwork Medicina, and Grupo Q, geared toward preparation for civil service examinations, legal exams, and specific tests. EnsineMe operates as an academic and technological support vertical, responsible for developing methodologies, digital platforms, audiovisual content, and learning management solutions, supplying the group’s on-campus and digital education ecosystem.

YDUQS’s student base is one of the largest in the country in private higher education. As of December 31, 2024, the company had approximately 1.32 million students enrolled in undergraduate, graduate, master’s, doctorate, preparatory, and short courses, across on-campus, blended, and digital modalities. Traditional undergraduate programs accounted for about 59% of the total base, while graduate and other programs accounted for the remaining 41%. In the same period, YDUQS operated one university, 23 university centers, and 49 colleges accredited by the Ministry of Education, with around 106 physical campuses and more than 2,500 distance-learning hubs across all Brazilian states and the Federal District, illustrating significant nationwide reach while not depending on large individual clients, since no student or entity accounts for more than 10% of net revenue.

On the pedagogical and operational fronts, YDUQS adopts a structured and standardized academic model supported by educational technology and proprietary methodologies. EnsineMe develops content, platforms, and digital experiences at scale, with intensive production of videos, learning objects, and interactive resources. The Aura methodology, applied to both on-campus and digital teaching, seeks to integrate different modalities through a unified curriculum matrix and assessment tools based on Item Response Theory (TRI), which makes it possible to measure student proficiency, calibrate the difficulty levels of assessments, and generate data to monitor the academic journey. In addition to undergraduate courses, YDUQS offers lato sensu and stricto sensu programs of varying durations, as well as multiple admission pathways, including regular entrance exams (vestibular), use of ENEM scores, public programs such as ProUni, second degree programs, external transfers, re-enrollment, and international processes aimed at Ibmec and IDOMED.

The group’s operations are subject to strong government regulation, a characteristic of the Brazilian higher education sector. The educational institutions maintained by YDUQS depend on authorizations, accreditations, reaccreditations, and course recognitions granted by the Ministry of Education, which works together with the National Education Council, the National Institute for Educational Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira (INEP), and the National Higher Education Evaluation Commission (CONAES). These bodies are responsible for setting guidelines, conducting on-site evaluations, regulating the opening of new institutions, campuses, and courses, as well as monitoring academic quality indicators. Over its history, the company has accumulated experience in interacting with this regulatory framework, including participation in government programs such as Mais Médicos, through the authorization of medical courses in different municipalities.

In terms of management and stakeholder relations, YDUQS emphasizes information transparency and the maintenance of structured communication channels with students, faculty, employees, and investors. The company develops specific initiatives for student acquisition, engagement, and retention, with areas dedicated to academic experience and multichannel service, including on-site offices, remote service centers, apps, and digital platforms. The company states that it incorporates sustainability practices into its strategy, covering social, environmental, economic, and governance dimensions, while seeking to maintain financial discipline and a focus on operational efficiency—relevant aspects for the analysis of its shares traded on B3 under the code YDUQ3 and its ADR programs in the international market.