Stadio now has more students than Wits, UCT, or Stellenbosch

Stadio has exceeded its pre-listing milestone of 56,000 students, with the private education giant now boasting 59,191 students.

This means Stadio has more students than many top South African universities, including Stellenbosch University, the University of Cape Town, and the University of the Witwatersrand, based on their latest available figures.

This comes as demand for private education in South Africa continues to grow, with Stadio reaping the rewards.

Stadio released its results for the six months through June 2026 on Friday, 28 August, which revealed that this demand remained strong.

Stadio’s revenue grew by 13% to R1.08 billion, driven by a 10% rise in student numbers.

The company reported having 56,171 students at the end of June 2026, up from 51,197 at the same time in 2025. 

This means Stadio has officially surpassed its pre-listing milestone of 56,000 students, with the private education giant now eyeing 80,000 students by 2030.

The group appears likely to reach this target, with its interim results showing it had already grown to 59,191 students in August 2026.

Since its founding in 2017, following its unbundling from Curro, Stadio has seen consistent growth in student numbers, rising from 13,000 in January 2017 to nearly 60,000 today.

Currently, Stadio’s students are made up of contact learners, who account for 14% of the total, and distance learners, accounting for 86%.

The group has been pushing to increase its ratio of contact learners by opening multiple campuses across the country.

In the first half of its 2026 financial year, Stadio opened its Durbanville and AFDA Hatfield campuses.

Stadio Durbanville opened with 1,250 students, exceeding the group’s opening targets. 

However, contact learning numbers at AFDA were negatively affected by the broader pressures facing the film industry.

Stadio recorded R147 million in capital expenditure for the six-month period, with R79 million allocated to the construction of the Durbanville campus.

R18 million was spent to acquire additional capacity at Stadio’s Waterfall campus, and R12 million went to new curriculum and software development.

Despite the increased costs Stadio incurred to open its two new campuses, its EBITDA margin expanded to 31.3%, up from 30.6% the year prior.

Stadio also reported that its earnings growth remained strong, with core headline earnings up 18% year-on-year. 

Headline earnings per share rose 16% to 24 cents per share, while earnings per share lifted 15%, also to 24 cents.

The group recorded a profit of R209.21 million, up 14% year-on-year, and it generated R416 million in cash, up 13%.