Core Viewpoint - New Oriental Education Technology (EDU.US; 9901.HK) has shown significant improvement in its financial performance, with a notable increase in operating profit and revenue growth, indicating a potential recovery in the education sector despite regulatory challenges [2][4]. Financial Performance - For the second quarter of fiscal year 2026, New Oriental reported revenue of $1.191 billion, a year-on-year increase of 14.7% [4]. - Operating profit reached $66.3 million, reflecting a substantial year-on-year increase of 244.4% [4]. - Net profit attributable to shareholders was $45.5 million, marking a 42.3% increase compared to the previous year [4]. Profitability Improvement - Despite a 1.1% decrease in sales and marketing expenses to $194 million, overall operating costs rose by 10.4% year-on-year [5]. - General and administrative expenses increased by 15.2%, primarily due to a significant rise of 156.8% in stock-based compensation [5]. - The Non-GAAP operating profit margin improved to 7.5%, up over 4 percentage points from the previous year, attributed to enhanced operational efficiency and resource utilization in the education business [5]. New Education Business Growth - The new education business segment saw a 21.6% year-on-year revenue growth, with non-academic tutoring courses launched in approximately 60 cities, attracting around 1.058 million students [5]. - The active paid user count for the smart learning system and devices reached approximately 352,000 [5]. - The cost structure of the new education business differs from traditional K12 training, allowing for lower marginal costs per student and improved resource efficiency through the OMO (online-merge-offline) model [5]. Market Demand Recovery - In the traditional core business, revenue from overseas exam preparation increased by about 4.1% year-on-year, showing improvement from a 1% increase in the previous quarter [6]. - Domestic exam preparation for adults and college students recorded a year-on-year growth of approximately 12.8% [6]. - The company has raised its full-year revenue guidance for fiscal year 2026 to a range of $5.3 billion to $5.5 billion, expecting a year-on-year growth of 11% to 14% in the third fiscal quarter [6]. Market Valuation - New Oriental's current price-to-earnings ratio is approximately 25.7 times, significantly higher than the 7.6 times of its competitor, China Education Group [7]. - This premium valuation reflects market expectations for growth, supported by visible profit recovery and cash flow improvement [7]. - If the new education and adult training businesses can continue to expand and maintain profit margin improvements, the current valuation may be justified [7].