Global Education Communities Corp.
Strategic Student Housing Cushions Market Headwinds
Published: Jan 17, 2026
Author: FRC Analysts
Disclosure: Global Education Communities Corp. has paid FRC a fee for research coverage and distribution of reports. See last page for other important disclosures, rating, and risk definitions.
Company Details
Sector – Research Report
Trading Information
Ticker & Exchange – GEC.TO :TSX
Report Highlights
- Q1 FY2026 (ended November 2025): EPS exceeded expectations, driven by stronger-than-anticipated revenue from the flagship student housing business, higher gross margins, and lower G&A expenses.
- Revenue: Increased 2% YoY, missing our estimate by 3%. Growth was led by the rental business (+14% YoY, 67% of total revenue vs. 60% last year), partially offset by weaker education revenue due to lower international enrollments.
- Profitability: Gross margin rose 2.7 pp to 63% (1.5 pp above estimate). G&A declined following last year’s sale of Sprott Shaw College (SSC), lifting EPS from ($0.07) to $0.01, +7% vs. our estimate.
- Federal Immigration Cuts & Market Insulation: We believe federal cuts to international student permits, immigration caps, and tighter work permit rules will put pressure on housing markets across Canada. However, Vancouver is relatively insulated, especially GEC’s student housing, due to a severe shortage of affordable units, with vacancy rates under 1%. We believe GEC’s strategic mix, with 40–50% domestic students, further cushions the impact by reducing reliance on international students.
- Rental Recovery and Persistent Demand: Following a brief cooling in 2025, we expect Vancouver rents to rise through 2026 and 2027, driven by low vacancy rates, and higher construction costs. We believe that rising rental income, combined with lower interest rates, will boost GEC’s property valuations this year.
- Relative to REITs, GEC is trading at 8x forward revenue (sector: 12x), and 14x forward EBITDA (sector: 20x), a 31% discount on average.
Price and Volume (1-year)

| YTD | 12M | |
| KIDZ | 50% | 25% |
| TSXV | 13% | 15% |
GEC operates B.C.’s largest off campus student housing platform, comprising 14 buildings, eight currently operating and six under development Rental assets offer inflation-protected income, with low volatility, making them attractive to pension funds and institutions Per
Q1 financial statements, these projects were appraised at $307 M, up 0.3% QoQ Eight operating buildings across six projects (1,232 beds)GEC holds minority interests, and acts as project operator across all properties Potential to generate $14M in NOI, or $11k/bed in NOI per year Developing six buildings across four projects (2,988 beds)
Core Business Strategy

In addition to GEC, the company also owns two language schools : Sprott Shaw Language College (SSLC) and Vancouver International College (VIC) .
Source: Company Several major Canadian REITs have recorded property write-downs over the past 12 months, largely due to softer market rents and valuation pressures. With rents and property values expected to recover modestly in 2026, we believe GEC is well positioned to report valuation gains . These gains should be further supported as ongoing development projects reach completion, providing additional upside to asset values and NAV.
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