YDUQS Participações S.A. is one of the largest private higher education groups in Brazil and its common shares are traded on B3 under the ticker YDUQ3. The group’s origins date back to the creation of the Faculdade de Direito Estácio de Sá in 1970 in Rio de Janeiro, conceived as a non-profit 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 outreach. Starting in 2005, a corporate reorganization process began, transforming the former supporting entities into private for-profit companies, a stage completed in 2007 that prepared the company to access the capital markets.

In 2007, then-named Estácio Participações carried out a public offering of primary and secondary distribution of Units, raising capital and opening its shareholder base to new investors. In 2008, it signed an agreement to join the Novo Mercado segment of the former BM&FBOVESPA, now B3, and started 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 various 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, while also strengthening its presence in on-campus and distance-learning programs. In 2014, the company’s American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) started trading on the US 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 the trading code of its shares on B3 to YDUQ3, as well as the ADR ticker to YDUQY, as part of an effort to reinforce its positioning strategy as a multi-brand higher education platform.

YDUQS’s business model is centered on providing higher education and postgraduate educational services, with revenue predominantly generated from tuition fees for traditional undergraduate programs, technological undergraduate courses, distance education, specialization, master’s, doctoral, extension, open-enrollment 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 and On-campus. Most of the revenue comes from recurring tuition payments, supplemented by academic fees related to administrative services such as issuing documents, grade reviews and admissions processes, as well as revenues from digital subscriptions tied to content focused on civil service exams and other tests.

The company operates a brand portfolio that targets different audience profiles and market positions within Brazilian higher education. Its main academic brands include Estácio, Ibmec, IDOMED and Wyden, covering everything from generalist undergraduate courses to more specialized programs such as medicine and executive education. YDUQS also controls brands focused on preparatory education, such as Damásio, Hardwork Medicina and Grupo Q, dedicated to preparation for public exams, 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 has one of the largest student bases in the country among private higher education providers. On December 31, 2024, the company had approximately 1.32 million students enrolled in undergraduate, postgraduate, master’s, doctoral, preparatory and open-enrollment courses, in on-campus, blended and digital formats. Traditional undergraduate programs accounted for around 59% of the total base, while postgraduate and other programs made up 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. This demonstrates significant nationwide reach without, however, depending on large individual clients, since no student or entity accounts for more than 10% of net revenue.

On the academic and operational front, 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 education, seeks to integrate different modalities through a unified curriculum matrix and assessment tools based on Item Response Theory (IRT), 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 lengths, as well as multiple admissions pathways, including entrance exams, use of ENEM scores, public programs such as ProUni, second-degree programs, external transfers, re-enrollment and international admissions processes aimed at Ibmec and IDOMED.

The group’s operations are subject to strict state regulation, a characteristic of the Brazilian higher education sector. The educational institutions maintained by YDUQS depend on authorizations, accreditations, reaccreditations and course approvals granted by the Ministry of Education, which works in conjunction with the National Education Council, the National Institute for Educational Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira (INEP) and the National Commission for the Evaluation of Higher Education (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 built up experience in dealing 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 dedicated areas for academic experience and multichannel service, including on-campus 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 also seeking to maintain financial discipline and a focus on operational efficiency—factors that are relevant for analyzing its shares traded on B3 under the code YDUQ3 and its ADR programs in the international market.