Advtech’s tertiary division is about twice the size of Stadio Holdings on revenue and has roughly 15,000 more students, going by the two JSE-listed groups’ latest interim results for the six months to 30 June 2026. Advtech’s results announcement reports tertiary revenue of R2.243 billion and 71,467 students. Daily Investor’s report on Stadio’s results puts Stadio’s revenue at R1.08 billion and its enrolment at 56,171.
What it means for your business: if you sponsor study, recruit graduates or choose a provider for staff training, “biggest” depends on what is measured. The two groups are built differently, and neither is yet formally a university.
The numbers side by side
Advtech released its interim results on 24 August 2026. Its Tertiary division grew revenue by 17% to R2,243 million (2025: R1,911 million) and operating profit by 19% to R592 million (2025: R496 million), at an operating margin of 26.4%. Enrolments in full qualifications rose 19% to 71,467, from 60,067 a year earlier.
Stadio released its results on 28 August 2026, according to Daily Investor. Revenue grew 13% to R1.08 billion on a 10% rise in student numbers. It had 56,171 students at the end of June 2026, up from 51,197, and 59,191 by August. Daily Investor also reports an EBITDA margin of 31.3% (up from 30.6%) and a profit of R209.21 million, up 14%.
On those figures Advtech’s tertiary division has the larger revenue (about R1.16 billion more over the half-year) and the larger student count (about 15,300 more at 30 June). Stadio’s margin is higher. We could not open Stadio’s own results document, because the JSE’s announcement archive blocked access, so Stadio’s numbers rest on Daily Investor’s account. Our own earlier reports cover the Advtech results notice and the Stadio results notice.
Why “biggest” needs care
The comparison appears in a BusinessTech article published in late October 2026, which also notes that Advtech’s market value is larger than Stadio’s, with Advtech closing at 5,540 cents and Stadio at 1,640 cents on 28 October 2026. A higher share price alone says nothing about size, since it depends on how many shares each company has issued, and we did not verify the market capitalisation figures ourselves.
BusinessTech also cautions that the comparison is not entirely like for like. Stadio operates only in higher education. Advtech also runs a large schools business, and the group’s total enrolment is 119,197, of which 47,730 are in schools according to its results document. The tertiary division is the part comparable to Stadio.
The mix inside each division differs too. Advtech says a larger share of its tertiary student growth came from Rosebank International, which earns lower revenue per student than its other tertiary brands. Daily Investor reports that 86% of Stadio’s students are distance learners and 14% contact learners, and that Stadio opened its Durbanville and AFDA Hatfield campuses in the half-year.
Neither group is formally a university yet
Advtech’s announcement says the government’s policy for recognising institutional types (university, university college and higher education college) was promulgated in 2025, creating a route for private institutions to apply for university status. The regulations setting out the application process, timelines and criteria are still being drafted, it says, and once they are published Rosebank International and Emeris will both apply.
Emeris is the brand that brought Varsity College, Vega, MSA and HSM together. Advtech says it opened a R420 million campus in Sandton in February 2026, and that a new Durban campus is planned, with construction expected to start in 2027 and phase one opening in 2029 to hold 8,000 students. Rosebank International is expanding its Braamfontein, Durban and Polokwane sites and will open a campus in KuGompo City (previously East London) in 2027.
BusinessTech reports that at the start of 2026 there were 164 accredited private higher-education institutions in South Africa offering 706 qualifications across 15 fields of study. We did not check that count against the Department of Higher Education and Training’s register.
What to do
- Check what you are buying. Ask any provider for its accreditation status, the qualification’s registration level and its throughput (the share of students who complete).
- For sponsored study, compare cost and completion, not size. Private providers depend entirely on tuition fees, as BusinessTech notes, so budget for fee increases.
- If you recruit from either group, note that distance learning dominates at Stadio, so many graduates will have studied while working.
- Watch for the university-status regulations, which Advtech says it is waiting for, and for Stadio’s next results for the full year.
