Duolingo reaches milestone with 100 billion lessons - CEO describes it as the best year ever!
Duolingo (DUOL) is the leading language learning app and is already used by around 90% of all people who use online services every month. Around 2 billion people worldwide are currently learning a language, which illustrates the huge potential that still exists. Co-founder and CEO Luis von Ahn spoke of 2023 as the best year ever, also reaching the milestone of 100 billion lessons. User engagement is higher than ever, which is partly due to a clever social-first marketing strategy. The duo mascot was not only featured in the Barbie movie, but also in a 5-second ad during the Super Bowl. The impromptu ad only cost around a tenth of the average media spend and is said to have generated "above-average social buzz". It generated the most likes of any brand on X/Twitter during the event.
At 65%, the growth in daily active users increased for the 10th consecutive quarter to 26.9 million people. First 8.3% of all users pay with subscriptions to the services, which can be better reached with personalized AI-powered learning experiences via the new Duolingo Max subscription and math and music learning apps launched in November. Generative also helps to create new content quickly and more cost-effectively, such as conversation scenarios with the AI Coach or DuoRadio, which offers a podcast-like learning experience.
In Q4, the business grew by over 45% and net profit was also above expectations at $0.26 per share (consensus: $0.15). Revenues of between $717.5 million and $729.5 million (consensus: $699.29 million) are targeted for the 2024 financial year. This means that growth should again be around 35% to 37% after 44% in 2023. Management believes it is on track to achieve its long-term booking growth target of over 25%. The adjusted EBTIDA margin is expected to improve by 500 basis points to 22.5% this year, bringing it closer to the long-term target of 30% to 35%. After stabilizing at the MA 200, the share is now attacking the all-time high again.
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