Duolingo

DUOL · Nasdaq · Consumer Discretionary · Financials, fiscal 2020 to 2025

DUOL · Last close · October 26, 2026

$138.60

Duolingo's revenue rose 38.7% to $1.0 billion in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was 13.1%, up from 8.4% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $370 million, up 35.2%. The diluted share count rose 2.6%.

Duolingo, Inc. Latest fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 10-K filed February 27, 2026 · 0001628280-26-012494 Updated October 9, 2026

Revenue

$1.0B

38.7%

Operating margin

13.1%

4.7 pts

Net income

$414M

367.5%

Free cash flow

$370M

35.2%

Return on capital

77.6%

Market cap

$6.9B

Oct 26 close

P/E

16.4x

On $8.44 EPS, 4 qtrs

Operating margin is operating income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on capital is after-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash. Market cap is the last closing share price times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate. P/E is the last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters, or the latest fiscal year where the quarters aren't available; there is none when the company made a loss.

About these figures. Duolingo reports no borrowings, so debt is counted as zero.

What Duolingo does

Duolingo makes a phone app for learning languages through short, game-like lessons. It offers over 250 language courses, plus courses in math, music and chess. Anyone can use the app for free; free users see ads after lessons, while paying subscribers get no ads and extra features, some of them powered by AI. It also runs the Duolingo English Test, an online English exam that over 6,100 education programs accept for international student admissions.

At the end of 2025 it had more than 130 million monthly active users, and about 12.2 million of them paid for a subscription. Subscriptions are its main source of money, bringing in $873.4 million in 2025; ads, the English test and other sales brought in $164.1 million. Most payments come through Apple's and Google's app stores, and US customers made up 38% of revenue. It competes with other online and app-based language programs, classes and other offline ways of learning, and, in its newer subjects, with other math, music and chess learning products.

Duolingo was founded by Luis von Ahn and Severin Hacker, who met at Carnegie Mellon University. It had more than 900 employees at the end of 2025, more than 430 of them engineers.

Its biggest risks, as it describes them

Failing to keep or add users, or to turn free users into paying subscribers.
Strong competition, with low costs for users to switch and new rivals that could use AI to grow fast.
Rising costs, including for AI computing, that could squeeze its profits.
Its reliance on Apple's and Google's app stores to reach users and collect payments.
Damage to its brand or reputation, including from bad press or missteps on social media.

From Duolingo's annual report on Form 10-K, filed February 27, 2026, in our words; the 10-K has the full description and every risk factor. Updated with each new 10-K.

Charts show fiscal years, from the 10-K filings.

Revenue and margins

Revenue

US$ billions, fiscal years

Margins

Percent of revenue

GrossOperatingNetFree cash flow

Net income and earnings per share

From fiscal 2023 to 2025, earnings per share grew 394.8% a year and net income 407.2% a year, as new shares raised the share count by 4% and diluted each share's earnings.

Net income

US$ billions, fiscal years; loss years in red.

Diluted earnings per share

US$ per share, fiscal years, restated for any stock splits; loss years in red.

Returns on capital

Return on capital and on equity

Percent. Return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business (debt plus equity, minus cash); return on equity is net income over shareholders' equity. Both use the average of opening and closing balances.

Return on capitalReturn on equity

Cash flow

Free cash flow

US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure; negative years in red.

Payouts and share count

Dividends and buybacks

US$ billions, cash paid in each fiscal year

DividendsShare buybacks

Diluted share count

Weighted-average diluted shares, millions

Valuation

Two ways to value Duolingo yourself, both starting from its filings: a discounted cash flow model and the price-to-earnings method.

Discounted cash flow (DCF)

A discounted cash flow (DCF) model values a business as the cash it may generate in future, discounted back to today. The starting figures come from Duolingo's 10-K (or, for net cash and shares, its latest 10-Q) and the assumptions are yours: start from one of three example scenarios, then change any figure to see what it implies for a share, and how that compares with the last share price.

Value per share on three example scenarios, from Duolingo's fiscal 2025 free cash flow of $370M, net cash of $1.0B at December 31, 2025 and 48 million diluted shares, from its filings. The scenarios are fitted to Duolingo: the base scenario's growth in years 1 to 5 is its revenue growth over the last 3 years, 41.1% a year, kept between 0% and 20%; the cautious and optimistic ones are lower and higher, and growth in years 6 to 10 is halfway to the long-run rate. The base scenario's discount rate is 11%: 9% for a business of moderate risk (Education Services), plus 1 point as a smaller company, worth $6.9B, plus 1 point for unsteady results (a loss in fiscal 2022); the cautious and optimistic ones use a point more and a point less. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.

From the filings

Starting free cash flow, US$ millions

Cash from operations minus capital spending in fiscal 2025.

Net cash, US$ millions

Cash and short-term investments minus debt and finance leases at December 31, 2025. Negative means net debt.

Diluted shares, millions

Weighted-average diluted shares in fiscal 2025.

Your assumptions

Start from

Fitted to Duolingo's own revenue growth, as above. Cautious: growth of 10% then 6% a year, 2% after year 10, a 12% discount rate. Base: growth of 20% then 11% a year, 2.5% after year 10, a 11% discount rate. Optimistic: growth of 25% then 14% a year, 3% after year 10, a 10% discount rate.

Free cash flow growth, years 1 to 5 (% a year)

Free cash flow growth, years 6 to 10 (% a year)

Growth after year 10 (% a year)Long-run growth forever after year 10. Usually close to inflation, and always below the discount rate.

Discount rate (% a year)The yearly return an investor wants for the risk. A higher rate gives a lower value.

Value per share on these assumptions

—

Last close, October 26, 2026: $138.60
Value on these assumptions, against the last close: —

Cash flows in years 1 to 10, valued today: —
Everything after year 10, valued today: —
Plus net cash: —
Share of value from after year 10: —

Projected free cash flow

US$ billions. Each column is one year's projected free cash flow, split into what it is worth today and the part removed by discounting.

Value todayRemoved by discounting

How the value changes with two assumptions

Value per share in US$, with the growth rates above. The highlighted cell matches the current assumptions.

How the model works. Free cash flow grows at the first rate for five years and the second rate for five more, and each year is discounted at the discount rate. Everything after year 10 is valued as year-10 cash flow × (1 + growth after year 10) ÷ (discount rate − growth after year 10), discounted back ten years. Net cash is added and the total is divided by diluted shares. The result depends entirely on the assumptions. It is not a forecast, a price target or a recommendation. The last close is the consolidated US closing price, from Databento.

Price-to-earnings (P/E) method

Another common way to value a company is to multiply its earnings per share by a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple: the number of years of today's earnings an investor pays for a share. A higher multiple usually means investors expect earnings to grow. Choose a multiple, for example from similar companies, to see the value it gives.

Value per share on three example scenarios, from Duolingo's earnings per share of $8.44 (over the last four quarters). Each grows earnings for a year at the cash flow scenarios' rates and applies a multiple to next year's earnings: 16.5×, the middle of Duolingo's own P/E today, its peers' median and its sector's median (its peers' median) for the base scenario, 20% less and more for the cautious and optimistic ones. The price is brought back a year at 12%, 11% and 10%. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.

Earnings per share, US$

Diluted earnings per share over the four quarters to June 30, 2026, from the 10-Qs and 10-K.

P/E multiple

P/E today is the last close divided by the latest earnings per share, the four quarters' where available. Peers: Grand Canyon Education, Strategic Education, Perdoceo Education, Universal Technical Institute.

Earnings growth in the years ahead (% a year) Starts at Duolingo's revenue growth over the last 3 years, 41.1% a year, kept between 0% and 20%, as the base scenario does.

Earnings per share in the years ahead, US$

Year 1Year 2Year 3Year 4Year 5

Type your own estimate for any year; the years after it carry on at the growth rate.

Apply the multiple to earnings

A multiple on a future year's earnings gives the price then, brought back to today at the discount rate below.

Discount rate (% a year) The yearly return an investor wants for the risk, as in the cash flow model.

Value per share today at this multiple

—

Last close, October 26, 2026: $138.60
Value at this multiple, against the last close: —
Duolingo's P/E at the last close: 16.4×

Company	Last close	Earnings per share	P/E today
Universal Technical InstituteUTI	$21.99	$0.61	36.0×
Grand Canyon EducationLOPE	$160.71	$8.24	19.5×
DuolingoDUOL	$138.60	$8.44	16.4×
Strategic EducationSTRA	$81.19	$5.99	13.6×
Perdoceo EducationPRDO	$32.71	$2.75	11.9×

How the P/E method works. Value per share is earnings per share times the multiple. On a future year's earnings, that gives the price in that year, which is brought back to today at the discount rate: price ÷ (1 + discount rate) for each year ahead. It is quick and easy to compare across companies, but it ignores debt and cash, and earnings can swing with one-off gains and charges, so a multiple says most about steady, profitable businesses. Like the cash flow model, the result depends entirely on the assumptions you choose. It is not a forecast, a price target or a recommendation.

Balance sheet

Fiscal year end	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Cash and short-term investments	554	608	748	786	1,036
Debt incl. finance leases	0	0	0	0	0
Net debt (negative means net cash)	−554	−608	−748	−786	−1,036
Net debt to EBITDA	—	—	—	−10.7x	−6.9x
Debt to equity	0.0x	0.0x	0.0x	0.0x	0.0x
Interest coverage	—	—	—	—	—
Current ratio	5.2x	3.8x	3.2x	2.6x	2.6x
Quick ratio	5.2x	3.8x	3.2x	2.6x	2.6x

US$ millions unless stated, at each fiscal year end. Net debt to EBITDA is debt minus cash, divided by operating income before depreciation and amortization: roughly how many years of those earnings the net debt equals. Debt to equity is debt as a multiple of shareholders' equity. Interest coverage is operating income divided by interest expense. The current ratio is current assets over current liabilities; the quick ratio leaves out inventory.

Insider trades

Over the 12 months between October 27, 2025 and October 26, 2026, 1 insider bought $498,800 of Duolingo shares on the open market, and 7 insiders sold $47.5 million, $46.6 million of it under trading plans set up in advance.

Date	Insider	Trade	Shares	Price	Value	Filing
Oct 7, 2026	Ahn Luis vonPresident & CEO, Co-Founder, Director, 10% owner	Sold plan	110,046	$151.70	$16.7 million	Form 4
Sep 24, 2026	Ahn Luis vonPresident & CEO, Co-Founder, Director, 10% owner	Sold plan	46,682	$150.63	$7.0 million	Form 4
Sep 22, 2026	Ahn Luis vonPresident & CEO, Co-Founder, Director, 10% owner	Sold plan	3,614	$151.91	$548,996	Form 4
Sep 21, 2026	Ahn Luis vonPresident & CEO, Co-Founder, Director, 10% owner	Sold plan	37,366	$150.53	$5.6 million	Form 4
Sep 16, 2026	Ahn Luis vonPresident & CEO, Co-Founder, Director, 10% owner	Sold plan	28,292	$150.22	$4.3 million	Form 4
Sep 14, 2026	Stephen C. ChenGeneral Counsel	Sold plan	8,072	$149.33	$1.2 million	Form 4
Sep 8, 2026	William B GordonDirector	Sold plan	10,000	$145.67	$1.5 million	Form 4
Aug 18, 2026	Natalie GlanceChief Engineering Officer	Sold plan	1,539	$137.81	$212,082	Form 4
Aug 17, 2026	Natalie GlanceChief Engineering Officer	Sold plan	2,751	$129.13	$355,237	Form 4
Aug 17, 2026	Robert MeeseChief Business Officer	Sold	1,354	$129.13	$174,842	Form 4
Aug 17, 2026	Stephen C. ChenGeneral Counsel	Sold	1,024	$129.13	$132,229	Form 4
May 18, 2026	Natalie GlanceChief Engineering Officer	Sold plan	3,360	$113.59	$381,660	Form 4

The latest 12 of 33 trades. Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from their Form 4 filings with the SEC: one row per person, day and filing, at the day's average price. Grants, option exercises and shares withheld for tax aren't counted. Insiders buy and sell for many reasons, such as taxes, spreading their savings or a plan set up months earlier, so a trade on its own says little about where a company is heading. For information only, not investment advice. Insider trades at all companies

Piotroski F-score

The F-score counts how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency a company passed in a year (Piotroski, 2000). The more tests passed, the stronger the year: 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.

Test	FY23	FY24	FY25
Net income is positive	Pass	Pass	Pass
Cash from operations is positive	Pass	Pass	Pass
Return on assets rose	Pass	Pass	Pass
Cash from operations exceeds net income	Pass	Pass	Fail
Debt fell relative to assets	Fail	Fail	Fail
Current ratio rose	Fail	Fail	Fail
Share count didn't rise	Fail	Fail	Fail
Gross margin rose	Pass	Fail	Fail
Revenue rose relative to assets	Pass	Pass	Pass
F-score	6 of 9	5 of 9	4 of 9
Accruals ratio	−16.2%	−17.5%	1.6%

The accruals ratio is net income minus cash from operations, over average total assets.

Compare

Put Duolingo side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.

Similar companies

Company	Year	Revenue growth	Operating margin	Free cash flow margin	Return on capital	Net debt to EBITDA	F-score	Compare
Duolingo	FY25	38.7%	13.1%	35.6%	77.6%	−6.9x	4
Grand Canyon Education	FY25	7.1%	24.0%	21.6%	45.3%	−1.0x	4	Compare
Strategic Education	FY25	4.0%	13.7%	12.1%	8.4%	−0.7x	6	Compare
Perdoceo Education	FY25	24.2%	23.2%	25.6%	—	—	—	Compare
Universal Technical Institute	FY25	14.1%	10.0%	6.6%	24.0%	−0.3x	6	Compare

Each company's latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so the periods don't line up exactly. Free cash flow margin is free cash flow as a share of revenue. Net debt to EBITDA is explained under the balance sheet, and the F-score above.

6 years of figures

Fiscal year	FY20	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Income statement
Revenue	162	251	370	531	748	1,038
Revenue growth	—	55.1%	47.3%	43.7%	40.8%	38.7%
Gross profit	116	182	270	389	544	750
Research and development	53	104	150	194	235	306
Operating income	−16	−60	−65	−13	63	136
Net income	−16	−60	−60	16	89	414
Diluted EPS (US$)	−1.24	−2.57	−1.51	0.35	1.88	8.57
Diluted shares (millions)	13	23	40	46	47	48
Cash flow
Cash from operations	18	9	54	154	286	388
Capital expenditure	3	4	6	3	12	18
Free cash flow	14	6	48	150	273	370
Dividends paid	0	0	0	0	0	0
Share buybacks	0	1	0	0	0	0
Acquisitions	0	0	4	0	7	33
Stock-based compensation	17	41	74	95	110	137
Balance sheet at fiscal year end
Cash and short-term investments	120	554	608	748	786	1,036
Debt incl. finance leases	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total assets	176	661	747	954	1,302	1,992
Total liabilities	74	148	205	298	477	645
Shareholders' equity	−81	513	542	656	824	1,347
Margins and ratios
Gross margin	71.6%	72.4%	73.1%	73.2%	72.8%	72.2%
Operating margin	−9.9%	−23.9%	−17.6%	−2.5%	8.4%	13.1%
Net margin	−9.8%	−24.0%	−16.1%	3.0%	11.8%	39.9%
Free cash flow margin	8.9%	2.2%	13.0%	28.3%	36.5%	35.6%
Return on capital	—	—	—	—	—	77.6%
Return on equity	—	−27.8%	−11.3%	2.7%	12.0%	38.1%
Return on assets	—	−14.4%	−8.5%	1.9%	7.8%	25.1%
Net debt to EBITDA	—	—	—	—	−10.7x	−6.9x

US$ millions unless stated. Where a later 10-K restated a year, the latest filed figure is shown. Download all figures (CSV, US$ millions)

Source: Duolingo's Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR. For information only, not investment advice. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with Duolingo.