At a glance
Duolingo Inc is worth $6.61B, about 17 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 38.7% to $1.04B in fiscal 2025, with 39.9% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 45.0% a year. It pays no dividend; it spent $868K buying back its shares over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned −53.9% over the past year with dividends reinvested and −4.2% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 40.5% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 2 months after the low.
The business in plain English
Duolingo makes a smartphone app for learning languages. As of December 31, 2025, it offered over 250 language courses to more than 130 million monthly active users, meaning people who used the app at least once in a month. Lessons are short and feel like a mobile game, with daily streaks to keep learners coming back. The same app also teaches math (added in 2022), music (2023) and chess (2025).
Duolingo uses a freemium model: every course is free, and free users see an ad at the end of each lesson. A paid subscription removes the ads and adds extra features. About 9% of monthly active users paid as of December 31, 2025. In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, revenue was about $1.04 billion. Subscriptions brought in 84.2% of it, ads 7.7%, the Duolingo English Test 4% and in-app purchases (one-off extras bought inside the app) 3.9%.
The Duolingo English Test is an online exam people take to prove their English for university admissions, visas or jobs. Over 6,100 education programs accepted it as of December 31, 2025. Customers outside the United States supplied 62.2% of fiscal 2025 revenue, and the US 37.8%. The company relies mainly on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store to distribute the app and collect payments.
Price history
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DUOL -53.9% over the year to Oct 27, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By product or service
| Subscription | $873.4M | 84.2% |
| Advertising | $79.7M | 7.7% |
| Duolingo English Test | $42.0M | 4% |
| IAPs | $40.5M | 3.9% |
| Other | $1.9M | 0.2% |
By geography
| Rest of World | $645.4M | 62.2% |
| United States | $392.2M | 37.8% |
Latest results
- In Q2 FY2026 (ended Jun 30, 2026), revenue was $298.5M, up 18.3% from a year earlier, and net income was $33.2M (-26.0%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $1.04B (+38.7% year over year; +45.0% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 39.9% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +45.0% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 13.1% watch |
| Free cash flow margin | 35.6% good |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 30.7% good |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 20.8% good |
| Cash and investments | $1.28B (no borrowings found in the filings) good |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $161.7M | $-15.8M | $14.3M |
| FY2021 | $250.8M | $-60.1M | $5.6M |
| FY2022 | $369.5M | $-59.6M | $48.1M |
| FY2023 | $531.1M | $16.1M | $150.4M |
| FY2024 | $748.0M | $88.6M | $273.4M |
| FY2025 | $1.04B | $414.1M | $369.7M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $6.61B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 16.5 |
| Dividend yield | None |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DUOL price data to Oct 27, 2026 | -19.5% | -53.9% | -0.5% | -4.2% | — |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -19.5% |
| 2025 | -45.9% |
| 2024 | +42.9% |
| 2023 | +218.9% |
| 2022 | -33.0% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Before this security existed |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Before this security existed |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 7.2% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 40.5%, back to its old high 1.9 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-31 to 2026-10-31 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 26 sales ($37.7M), 24 of them under pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plans.
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 7, 2026 | Ahn Luis von President & CEO, Co-Founder, Director, 10% owner | sell (plan) | $8.3M |
| Sep 24, 2026 | Ahn Luis von President & CEO, Co-Founder, Director, 10% owner | sell (plan) | $5.8M |
| Sep 21, 2026 | Ahn Luis von President & CEO, Co-Founder, Director, 10% owner | sell (plan) | $5.0M |
| Oct 7, 2026 | Ahn Luis von President & CEO, Co-Founder, Director, 10% owner | sell (plan) | $4.6M |
| Sep 16, 2026 | Ahn Luis von President & CEO, Co-Founder, Director, 10% owner | sell (plan) | $4.1M |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BAILLIE GIFFORD & CO | 11.3% | Sep 30, 2026 |
| Hacker Severin | 7.6% | Mar 31, 2025 |
| AQR Capital Management, LLC | 5.8% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 4.78% | Sep 30, 2026 |
| Durable Capital Partners LP | 4.3% | Mar 31, 2025 |
| FMR LLC | 2.7% | Mar 31, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in DUOL
| WUGI AXS Esoterica NextG Economy ETF | 3.84% |
| MID American Century Mid Cap Growth Impact | 3.79% |
| AGIX KraneShares Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF | 2.52% |
| CSMD Congress SMid Growth ETF | 2.31% |
| COWG Pacer US Large Cap Cash Cows Growth Leaders ETF | 2.29% |
| FPX First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF | 2.17% |
| XMHQ Invesco S&P MidCap Quality ETF | 1.81% |
| OGIG ALPS | O’Shares Global Internet Giants ETF | 1.7% |
What could go wrong
- Users may drift away or stop paying. Revenue depends on keeping learners engaged and turning them into paying subscribers. Only about 9% of monthly active users paid as of December 31, 2025. Weaker engagement or fewer renewals would hit revenue directly.
- Rivals are only a download away. Duolingo calls online language learning highly competitive, with low switching costs and a steady stream of new entrants. Learners can try a rival app at little or no cost.
- Heavy reliance on Apple and Google. The company relies mainly on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store to distribute its app and collect payments. Fee or rule changes, or a dispute, could raise costs or limit access to users.
- AI bets may cost more than they return. Features such as Roleplay and Video Call run on artificial intelligence (AI), which raises computing costs. The company warns its AI efforts may fail and new AI rules could restrict them.
- Rising costs could squeeze profits. Duolingo warns its costs keep rising and some investments shrink profit margins. In the quarter ended June 30, 2026, revenue grew 18.3% from a year earlier while net income fell 26%.
- Dual-class shares concentrate voting control. A two-class share structure concentrates voting control with a small group of affiliated holders. Owners of the Nasdaq-listed Class A shares have limited ability to influence mergers, board elections or other shareholder votes.
Recent events
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Executive or board change; Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Shareholder vote results
- Quarterly results released
- Quarterly results released; Other company announcement
- Quarterly results released; Executive or board change
- Quarterly results released
For income and retirement investors
Duolingo pays no dividend, and its annual report says it does not intend to pay one for the foreseeable future. Gains must come from a rising share price, so the stock may not suit investors who need regular cash income. Free cash flow (cash left after running and investing in the business) was about $370 million in fiscal 2025, yet share repurchases totaled only about $868,000 across fiscal 2021 to 2025.
In the 2022 bear market (a long, broad slide in share prices), Duolingo fell 40.5% from its January 4 peak to its May 11 low, then regained that peak by July 7, 2022. Over the market's full slide from January 3 to October 12, 2022, it lost 7.2%. Its price history is too short to cover the 2008 or 2020 crashes. Its deepest peak-to-trough fall in the three years to October 27, 2026 was 83.3%. A single stock carries more risk than a diversified fund.
Questions investors ask
How does Duolingo make money?
Mostly from subscriptions. In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, subscriptions brought in 84.2% of Duolingo's roughly $1.04 billion in revenue. Every course is free, and free users see an ad after each lesson, which produced 7.7% of revenue. The Duolingo English Test, an online English exam used in university admissions, added 4%, and in-app purchases 3.9%. About 9% of monthly active users were paying subscribers as of December 31, 2025.
Does Duolingo pay a dividend?
No. Duolingo paid no dividends from fiscal 2021 through fiscal 2025, and its annual report filed February 27, 2026 says it does not intend to pay any for the foreseeable future. Shareholders gain only if the share price rises. The company also did very little share repurchasing, about $868,000 over those five years, even though free cash flow (cash left after running and investing in the business) reached about $370 million in fiscal 2025.
Is Duolingo profitable?
Yes. Duolingo earned net income of about $414 million on revenue of about $1.04 billion in fiscal 2025. It turned profitable in fiscal 2023 after losses from 2020 through 2022. Operating income, the profit from the core business, was smaller at about $136 million, a 13.1% margin, so items outside day-to-day operations lifted net income. In the quarter ended June 30, 2026, net income fell 26% from a year earlier while revenue grew 18.3%.
How much has Duolingo stock fallen?
Sharply. As of October 27, 2026, the share price was down 53.9% over one year. It fell 45.9% in calendar 2025 and another 19.5% in 2026 through that date, after gains of 218.9% in 2023 and 42.9% in 2024. Its deepest peak-to-trough drop over the prior three years was 83.3%. At that price, shares traded at about 16.5 times fiscal 2025 earnings (the price-to-earnings ratio), for a total market value of about $6.6 billion.
Who controls Duolingo?
A small group of affiliated shareholders holds concentrated voting control, according to Duolingo's annual report (10-K), because of its two-class share structure. That limits how much other shareholders can influence matters put to a shareholder vote, such as mergers. Co-founder Luis von Ahn, the president and CEO, is listed as a 10% owner in insider filings, and co-founder Severin Hacker reported a 7.6% stake as of March 31, 2025. Investment firm Baillie Gifford reported an 11.3% stake as of September 30, 2026.