Investors in education technology companies look to initial public offerings as bellwethers, and the sector has seen only three IPOs in the last five years. So as venture capital pours into ed tech — $500 million for 99 startups in the first quarter, for example — the fortunes and misfortunes of these newly publicly traded companies could be an indicator of what’s to come in the sector.

Recent news from the three companies — 2U Inc.; ePals Corp., now known as Cricket Media; and Chegg Inc. — has been relatively positive, according to analysts. Cricket Media went public on the Toronto stock exchange in 2011, with its name change becoming final in April 2014; Chegg launched on the New York Stock Exchange in November; and 2U started trading this past April on the Nasdaq.

2U Inc.

2U Inc. develops software that allows universities to offer online degree programs, and the news from its most recent fiscal quarter, ended June 30, was good on the whole.

The company’s chief executive, Chip Paucek, pointed out that 2U’s losses “have stopped accelerating,” with an adjusted net loss of $8.5 million, compared to $8.3 million one year earlier. He called that a turning point for the company.

2U has also recently added four new degree programs set to launch in 2014 and 2015, each at a different university, which means that the company has met its goal of launching at least four new programs in 2014 and 2015.

Chegg Inc.

Chegg’s initial performance as a publicly traded stock was underwhelming, driven by investor concerns that its business — selling and renting used textbooks to college students — would eventually go down the Blockbuster video path. But earlier this month, Chegg announced a partnership with Ingram Content Group book distributing that should create more investor optimism. While Ingram will handle the physical book storage and shipping side of the business, Chegg will focus on building its digital business, which includes services like providing e-textbooks, test preparation materials, and online career counseling.

For Chegg’s second quarter, the company reported revenue of $64.5 million, up 15% from the second quarter of 2013. Digital revenue was up 54% from one year earlier, and now makes up 29% of total revenues, compared to 22% in the second quarter of 2013.

Cricket Media

Cricket Media is a self-described education media company and social learning network, providing content for toddlers and the K-12 market globally, offering applications in English, Spanish, and Mandarin. It is used in more than a million classrooms in 200 countries. In the first quarter, Cricket reported $4.6 million in revenue, flush with the same period in 2013, and $7.5 million in operating expenses, down $2.3 million from one year earlier due to a company expense reduction initiative.

In July, the company announced a licensing agreement to allow Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to access Cricket’s digital media library. That same month, Cricket sold about $6.9 million worth of stock through a private placement to raise money for general purposes and working capital.

Conclusions

2U, Chegg, and Cricket Media may well be among the last of a dying breed, according to some analyst predictions. The theory goes that as the ed tech space evolves, most privately financed startups will find their exits not through IPOs, but from mergers and acquisitions with larger companies, such as strategic buyers or private equity firms looking to build out platforms. That’s because the startups are increasingly focused on single business lines, or very few lines.