UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 6-K

REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER

PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16

UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the month of May 2019

Commission File Number: 001-38235

RISE EDUCATION CAYMAN LTD

Room 101, Jia He Guo Xin Mansion,

No. 15 Baiqiao Street Guangqumennei, Dongcheng District

Beijing 100062, People’s Republic of China

(Address of principal executive offices)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.

Form 20-F  ☒             Form 40-F  ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1):  ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7):  ☐

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

Date: May 16, 2019

Exhibit Index

Exhibit 99.1

RISE Education Announces First Quarter 2019 Unaudited Financial Results

BEIJING, May 16, 2019 – RISE Education Cayman Ltd (“RISE” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: REDU), a leading junior English Language Training (“ELT”) provider in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2019.

Highlights for the First Quarter of 2019

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“We are pleased to see the robust top and bottom line growth during the quarter,” commented Mr. Yiding Sun, Chief Executive Officer of RISE. “We maintained the pace of our planned capacity expansion which is key to driving long-term sustainable growth, by opening 2 self-owned learning centers and 13 franchised centers during the quarter. We will continue to support organic revenue growth throughout the remainder of the year while taking advantage of market opportunities to diversify and accelerate growth momentum. Our goal for 2019 is to leverage our investments in content development, teacher training, and technology to improve our product offerings and enhance business operations. We believe these investments will allow us to further improve the educational experience for both students and parents. I strongly believe that this laser-like focus on growing the business sustainably over the long-term will help us consolidate our leading position in the market.”

Ms. Jiandong Lu, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of RISE, stated, “Our student retention rate during the quarter increased to 72%, demonstrating just how effective we have been at enhancing the quality of our education products and building upon the trust and loyalty parents have in us. We continue to invest in selling and marketing in a controlled and targeted manner to attract new students and strengthen word-of-mouth referrals. Learning centers opened during prior quarters are performing well and are on track to generate higher utilization rates as they ramp up capacity, mature, and contribute to revenue more meaningfully. We are in negotiations with a number of franchise partners to acquire their learning centers which are progressing well. I am confident that we have the right strategy in place to drive organic revenue growth by mid-twenty percentage for the year while generating healthy profit.”

Financial Results for the First Quarter of 2019

Revenues

Total revenues for the first quarter of 2019 increased by RMB64.9 million, or 24.0%, to RMB335.0 million (US$49.9 million) from RMB270.1 million for the same period of the prior year. The increase was primarily attributable to an increase in revenues from educational programs.

Cost of Revenues

Cost of revenues for the first quarter of 2019 increased by RMB28.9 million, or 23.1%, to RMB154.4 million (US$23.0 million) from RMB125.5 million during the same period last year. The increase was primarily due to an increase in rental costs associated with the Company’s expanding operations and personnel costs associated with an increase in teacher headcount and total teaching hours at the Company’s self-owned learning centers. Non-GAAP cost of revenues³ for the first quarter of 2019 increased by 23.6% to RMB150.5 million (US$22.4 million).

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Gross Profit

Gross profit for the first quarter of 2019 increased by RMB36.0 million, or 24.9%, to RMB180.6 million (US$26.9 million) from RMB144.7 million for the same period of the prior year. Gross margin increased to 53.9% during the first quarter of 2019 from 53.6% during the same period of last year.

Operating Expenses

Total operating expenses for the first quarter of 2019 increased by RMB24.7 million, or 24.0%, to RMB127.6 million (US$19.0 million) from RMB102.9 million for the same period of the prior year. Non-GAAP operating expenses for the first quarter of 2019 were RMB123.9 million (US$18.5 million).

Operating Income and Operating Margin

Operating income for the first quarter of 2019 was RMB53.0 million (US$7.9 million). Non-GAAP operating income for the first quarter of 2019 increased by 24.3% year-over-year to RMB60.7 million (US$9.0 million).

Operating margin for the first quarter of 2019 was 15.8%, compared with 15.5% during the same period of the prior year. Non-GAAP operating margin stayed the same at 18.1% compared with the same period last year.

Interest Expense

Interest expense for the first quarter of 2019 was RMB9.0 million (US$1.3 million) compared to RMB8.2 million during the same period of the prior year. The increase in interest expense was primarily attributable to higher interest rate.

Other Income

Other income for the first quarter of 2019 was RMB7.9 million (US$1.2 million), compared with RMB10.9 million during the same period of the prior year.

Net Income Attributable to RISE

Net income attributable to RISE for the first quarter of 2019 increased by 1.5% to RMB36.4 million (US$5.4 million) from RMB35.8 million during the same period of the prior year. Net margin attributable to RISE for the first quarter of 2019 was 10.9%. Non-GAAP net income attributable to RISE for the first quarter of 2019 increased by 2.7% year-over-year to RMB44.0 million (US$6.6 million) from RMB42.8 million for the same period of the prior year.

EBITDA represents net income before interests, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. EBITDA for the first quarter of 2019 was RMB77.1 million (US$11.5 million). Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter of 2019 increased by RMB11.6 million, or 16.8%, to RMB80.5 million (US$12.0 million) from RMB68.9 million for the same period of the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 24.0% for the first quarter of 2019, compared to 25.5% for the same period of the prior year.

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Basic and Diluted Earnings per ADS

Basic and diluted net income attributable to RISE per ADS was RMB0.64 (US$0.10) and RMB0.63 (US$0.09), respectively, for the first quarter of 2019. Basic and diluted non-GAAP net income attributable to RISE per ADS was RMB0.77 (US$0.12) and RMB0.76 (US$0.11), respectively, for the first quarter of 2019.

For details on the calculation of and reconciliation to the nearest GAAP measures for each of non-GAAP cost of revenues, operating expenses, net income, net income attributable to RISE per ADS, EBITDA, and adjusted EBITDA, see “About Non-GAAP Financial Measures” and “Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results.”

Cash Flow

Net cash provided by operating activities for the first quarter of 2019 was RMB5.0 million (US$0.7 million) compared to RMB198.4 million during the same period of the prior year. The decrease was mainly attributable to (i) the annual increase in course prices for Beijing which took place in January this year rather than in April as in previous years, which resulted in students’ early payment of tuition fees during the fourth quarter of 2018 before the price increase took effect; and (ii) the collection of tuition fee payments in three-month installments rather than in full to comply with new government policies.

Balance Sheet

As of March 31, 2019, the Company had cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash of RMB1,293.1 million (US$192.7 million) compared to RMB1,316.8 million as of December 31, 2018.

Current and non-current deferred revenue and customer advances were RMB995.6 million (US$148.4 million) as of March 31, 2019, representing a decrease of 4.2% from RMB1,038.8 million as of December 31, 2018. The decrease was primarily due to the change of tuition fees collection schedule for K-12 tutoring courses.

Business Outlook

For the second quarter of 2019, the Company expects its total revenues to be in the range of RMB369 million to RMB375 million, representing a year-over-year growth of approximately 23% to 25%. This forecast reflects the Company’s current and preliminary view on the market and operational conditions, which is subject to change.

Conference Call Information

RISE will hold a conference call on Thursday, May 16, 2019 at 9:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time (Friday, May 17, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. Beijing Time) to discuss the financial results. Participants may access the call by dialing the following numbers:

The replay will be accessible through May 23, 2019 by dialing the following numbers:

A live and archived webcast of the conference call will also be available at the Company’s investor relations website at http://ir.risecenter.com/.

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Exchange Rate

This announcement contains translations of certain RMB amounts into U.S. dollars (“USD”) at specified rates solely for the convenience of the reader. Unless otherwise stated, all translations from RMB to USD were made at the rate of RMB6.7112 to US$1.00, the noon buying rate in effect on March 31, 2019 in the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board. The Company makes no representation that the RMB or USD amounts referred could be converted into USD or RMB, as the case may be, at any particular rate or at all. For analytical presentation, all percentages are calculated using the numbers presented in the financial statements contained in this earnings release.

About Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement RISE’s financial results presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, the Company uses non-GAAP financial measures, which are adjusted from results based on U.S. GAAP. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to U.S. GAAP financial measures are set forth in table at the end of this earnings release titled “Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results,” which provides more details on the non-GAAP financial measures.

Non-GAAP cost of revenues, non-GAAP operating expenses, including non-GAAP selling and marketing expenses and non-GAAP general and administrative expenses, provides the Company with an understanding of the results from the primary operations of the Company’s business by excluding the effects of certain transaction-related expenses that do not reflect the ordinary operating expenses of the Company’s operations and share-based compensation.

EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin and non-GAAP net income provide the Company with an understanding of the results from the primary operations of the Company’s business by excluding the effects of certain transaction-related expenses that do not reflect the ordinary EBITDA and net income of the Company’s operations.

The Company uses non-GAAP operating expenses, including non-GAAP selling and marketing expenses and non-GAAP general and administrative expenses, non-GAAP operating income, Non-GAAP operating margin, EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, non-GAAP net income attributable to RISE, and non-GAAP basic and diluted net income per ADS attributable to RISE to evaluate the Company’s period-over-period operating performance because the Company’s management believes these provide a more comparable measure of the Company’s continuing business as it adjusts for transaction-related expenses that are not reflective of the normal earnings of the Company’s business. These measures may be useful to an investor in evaluating the underlying operating performance of the Company’s business, and to enhance investors’ overall understanding of the historical and current financial performance of the Company’s continuing operations and prospects for the future.

Non-GAAP financial information should not be considered a substitute for or superior to U.S. GAAP results. In addition, calculations of this non-GAAP financial information may be different from calculations used by other companies, and therefore comparability may be limited.

Non-GAAP cost of revenues exclude relevant share-based compensation expenses and amortization of certain intangible assets (“IA”) acquired as part of the 2013 acquisition from cost of revenues. Non-GAAP operating income adds back share-based compensation expenses and amortization of certain intangible assets acquired as part of the 2013 acquisition. Each of non-GAAP operating expenses, non-GAAP selling and marketing expenses or non-GAAP general and administrative expenses excludes relevant share-based compensation expenses and amortization of certain intangible assets acquired as part of the 2013 acquisition. EBITDA represents net income before interests, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

For more information on non-GAAP financial measures, please see the tables captioned “Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the nearest comparable GAAP measures.”

About RISE Education

RISE Education Cayman Ltd is a leading junior English Language Training (“ELT”) provider based in Beijing. Founded in 2007, the Company pioneered the application of the “subject-based learning” philosophy in China, which uses language arts, math, natural science, and social science to teach English in an immersive environment that helps students learn to speak and think like a native speaker. Through three flagship courses, Rise Start, Rise On, and Rise Up, the Company provides ELT to students aged three to six, seven to twelve and thirteen to eighteen, respectively. The Company’s highly scalable business model includes both self-owned and franchised learning centers. For more information, please visit http://en.risecenter.com/.

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Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains statements of a forward-looking nature. These statements, including the statements relating to the Company’s future financial and operating results, are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these forward-looking statements by terminology such as “will,” “expects,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “estimates” and similar statements. Among other things, management’s quotations and the Business Outlook section contain forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about RISE and the industry. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those relating to its ability to attract new students and retain existing students, its ability to maintain or enhance its brand, its ability to compete effectively against its competitors, its ability to execute its growth strategy, its ability to introduce new products or enhance existing products, its ability to obtain required licenses, permits, filings or registrations, its ability to grow or operate or effectively monitor its franchise business, quarterly variations in its operating results caused by factors beyond its control, macroeconomic conditions in China and government policies and regulations relating to its corporate structure, business and industry and their potential impact on its future business development, financial condition and results of operations. All information provided in this press release is as of the date hereof, and RISE undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although RISE believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that its expectations will turn out to be correct, and investors are cautioned that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results. Further information regarding risks and uncertainties faced by RISE is included in RISE’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2018.

Investor Relations Contact

Mei Li

RISE Education

Email: riseir@rdchina.net

Tel: +86 (10) 8559-9191

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RISE EDUCATION CAYMAN LTD

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(in thousands)

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RISE EDUCATION CAYMAN LTD

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

(in thousands, except share and ADS data and per share and per ADS data)

Note 1: Each ADS represents two ordinary shares.

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RISE EDUCATION CAYMAN LTD

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

(in thousands, except share data and per share and per ADS data)

9

RISE EDUCATION CAYMAN LTD

RECONCILIATION OF GAAP AND NON-GAAP RESULTS

(in thousands, except ADS data and per ADS data)

10