What is Duolingo?
Duolingo is an innovative American digital language-education company whose mission is to make the best language learning globally accessible. It offers 106 language courses in more than 40 languages on its website and mobile app, where users can practice their vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation.
In recent months, Duolingo saw a 513% increase in the number of users learning the Ukrainian language, with many of the users coming from European countries – like Poland – that regularly welcome Ukrainians fleeing away from their country. Furthermore, in keeping with the company’s mission, all advertising profits made from learners studying Ukrainian will be donated to Ukraine relief, and the company is also forgoing all test fees for Ukrainians who are interested in earning an English language accreditation.
Duolingo’s Paid Subscribers Doubled YoY
Duolingo reckons that almost 2 billion people, globally, are studying at least one foreign language. Likewise, the company anticipates that within the next three years, digital language education could exceed a striking $47 billion on an annual basis.
In line with the above estimates, Duolingo’s monthly active users (MAU) for the first quarter of 2022 have gone up to 49.2 million, a 23% increase year-over-year, out of which, 6.8 percent (2.9 million) have become paid subscribers. This is a considerable increase from both 2020 and 2021, where 3.6% (1.1 million) and 4.8% (1.8 million), respectively, paid for their membership to enrich their learning experience. To go along with Duolingo’s impressive growth, the company’s mobile app is the highest grossing “Education” app across both the Apple App Store and Alphabet’s Google Play Store. Furthermore, considering that the pace at which Duolingo’s learners are becoming paid subscribers is growing rapidly and substantially – even more rapidly than the pace at which Duolingo adds new users – the company estimates that they might see a notable revenue growth moving forward.
Duolingo’s Shares Skyrocketed after Announcing Stellar Q1 Growth
Duolingo’s shares (NYSE: DUOL) soared end of last week after reporting better quarterly bookings and revenue than what Wall Street had anticipated; stocks were up by 40% on Friday, trading at $93.63. “All elements of our business performed well this quarter and we saw accelerating user growth, record quarterly bookings, and strong margins,” Luis von Ahn, co-founder and CEO of Duolingo, stated in a press release, adding: “We believe these results come from the investments we’ve made in R&D to drive innovation and continuously make our products more effective, more fun, more engaging, and more social.” Total bookings were $102.1 million – compared to the estimate of $94 million – a 55 percent increase compared to the prior-year quarter. Additionally, the company’s first-quarter revenue increased to $81.2 million, a 47% increase year-over-year, compared to Wall Street’s expectation of $77.6 million. With the outstanding performance of the language-learning app in the first quarter of 2022, a record high, the company has now adjusted its full-year revenue forecast to $388 to $397 million, up from an earlier estimate of $332 million to $342 million.
Overall, Duolingo reported better-than-expected numbers on all fronts – higher revenue and earnings, and substantial user and paid subscriber growth. According to von Ahn, this was the company’s best quarter in its entire history, as he states “… I think the reason that happens is we have a really iconic brand that a lot of people talk about.”
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