Description of Business

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Description of Business

Description of Business

Laureate Education, Inc. and subsidiaries (hereinafter Laureate, we, us, our, or the Company) provide higher education programs and services to students through an international network of licensed universities and higher education institutions (institutions). Laureate's programs are provided through institutions that are campus-based and internet-based, or through electronically distributed educational programs (online). On October 1, 2015, we redomiciled in Delaware as a public benefit corporation as a demonstration of our long-term commitment to our mission to benefit our students and society. The Company completed its initial public offering (IPO) on February 6, 2017 and its shares are listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol ‘‘LAUR.’’

Discontinued Operations

On August 9, 2018, the Company announced the divestiture of additional subsidiaries located in Europe, Asia and Central America, which are included in the Rest of World (formerly called EMEAA), Andean (formerly called Andean & Iberian), and Central America & U.S. Campuses segments. Previously, the Company had announced the divestiture of certain subsidiaries in the Rest of World and Central America & U.S. Campuses segments. After completing all of these announced divestitures, the Company’s remaining principal markets will be Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Peru, along with the Online & Partnerships segment and the institutions in Australia and New Zealand. This represents a strategic shift that will have a major effect on the Company's operations and financial results. Accordingly, all of the divestitures that are part of this strategic shift, including the divestitures announced on August 9, 2018 and those announced previously, are now accounted for as discontinued operations for all periods presented in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 205-20, ‘‘Discontinued Operations’’ (ASC 205). See Note 4, Discontinued Operations and Assets Held for Sale, for more information. Unless indicated otherwise, the information in the footnotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements relates to continuing operations.

The accompanying unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In our opinion, these financial statements include all adjustments considered necessary to present a fair statement of our consolidated results of operations, financial position and cash flows. Operating results for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the full year. These unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with Laureate's audited Consolidated Financial Statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 (the 2018 Form 10-K).