Duolingo Reports 45% Revenue Growth and Record Profitability in First Quarter 2024; Raises Full Year Guidance
Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ: DUOL) reported a 45% revenue growth and record profitability in the first quarter of 2024, with total bookings of $197.5 million, an increase of 41% from the prior year quarter. Paid subscribers reached 7.4 million, a 54% increase. The company saw a 54% year-over-year growth in daily active users, reaching 31.4 million DAUs. Net income was $27.0 million compared to a net loss of $2.6 million in the prior year quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was $44.0 million, a significant increase from $15.1 million in the prior year quarter. Duolingo raised its full-year guidance, citing confidence in product improvements and the rollout of higher-priced subscription tiers.
Duolingo reported a 45% revenue growth in the first quarter of 2024, with total bookings of $197.5 million, up 41% from the prior year quarter.
The company achieved record profitability, with net income of $27.0 million compared to a net loss of $2.6 million in the prior year quarter.
Paid subscribers totaled 7.4 million, a 54% increase from the prior year quarter, indicating strong user growth and engagement.
While revenue and profitability increased, there may be concerns about sustaining the high growth rates in the future.
Duolingo's reliance on user engagement metrics like DAU-to-MAU ratio for monetization could pose a risk if user engagement declines.
The company's guidance for the second quarter and full year implies expectations for continued growth, which may be challenging to meet in a competitive market.
Insights
Duolingo's report showing a 45% revenue growth and a transformation from a net loss to a net income of $27 million indicates a robust financial performance. The increase in daily active users by 54% and the rise in paid subscribers showcases a successful conversion of users to paying customers, which is vital for recurring revenue streams. Their subscription bookings rising by 47% suggests that their subscription model is resonating with users.
The move to raise full-year guidance reflects management's confidence in continued growth and operational efficiency, as evidenced by the significant improvement in Adjusted EBITDA margin from 13.1% to 26.3%. The launch of Duolingo Max, a higher-priced subscription tier, could further bolster Average Revenue Per User (ARPU), a key metric for app monetization. However, investors should be mindful of the company's ability to sustain these growth rates as competition in the edtech space intensifies and the market matures.
The surge in Duolingo's user engagement, with a high DAU-to-MAU ratio, is a strong indicator of the platform's stickiness, an attribute that can attract advertisers seeking to capitalize on highly engaged audiences. The growth in paid subscriber base is particularly encouraging, as it suggests that Duolingo's product improvements and content are effectively monetizing its user base. This aligns with broader industry trends of successful freemium models transitioning users to premium offerings.
With the edtech sector growing due to increased acceptance of mobile and online learning, Duolingo's strategic improvements to its family plan could further capture market share from traditional learning solutions. However, it's important to monitor how user growth trends align with post-pandemic behavior changes, as a return to in-person education could affect platform engagement levels.
PITTSBURGH, May 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ: DUOL), the world’s leading mobile learning platform, announced results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024 in a shareholder letter that is posted at investors.duolingo.com.
“We are pleased to report another quarter of stellar performance, with strong bookings and revenue growth, alongside record profitability,” said Luis von Ahn, Co-Founder and CEO of Duolingo. “Our
We believe that we are still in the early stages of our monetization journey, and discovering multiple avenues to enhance bookings. We’re excited about the broader rollout of Duolingo Max, our higher-priced subscription tier, and the strides we’re making to improve our family plan, giving us the confidence to raise our full year guidance.”
First Quarter 2024 Highlights
- Total bookings were
$197.5 million , an increase of41% from the prior year quarter; - Subscription bookings were
$161.5 million , an increase of47% from the prior year quarter; - Paid subscribers totaled 7.4 million at quarter end, an increase of
54% from the prior year quarter; - Daily active users (DAUs) were 31.4 million, an increase of
54% from the prior year quarter and monthly active users (MAUs) were 97.6 million, an increase of35% from the prior year quarter; - Total revenues were
$167.6 million , an increase of45% from the prior year quarter; - Net income was
$27.0 million , compared to a net loss of$2.6 million in the prior year quarter; - Adjusted EBITDA was
$44.0 million , compared to$15.1 million in the prior year quarter, a26.3% versus13.1% Adjusted EBITDA margin, respectively; - Cash flow from operating activities was
$83.5 million compared to$29.6 million in the prior year quarter, and free cash flow was$79.6 million compared to$28.8 million in the prior year quarter.
Financial and Key Operating Metrics
The following table summarizes our financial and operating highlights for the quarters ended March 31, 2024 and 2023:
| Three Months Ended March 31, | ||||||
| (In millions) | 2024 | 2023 | % Change | |||
| Operating Metrics | ||||||
| Monthly active users (MAUs) | 97.6 | 72.6 | 35 | % | ||
| Daily active users (DAUs) | 31.4 | 20.3 | 54 | % | ||
| Paid subscribers (at period end) | 7.4 | 4.8 | 54 | % | ||
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||
| (In thousands) | 2024 | 2023 | % Change | ||||||
| Operating Metrics | |||||||||
| Subscription bookings | $ | 161,466 | $ | 110,122 | 47 | % | |||
| Total bookings | $ | 197,452 | $ | 140,054 | 41 | % | |||
| Financial Measures | |||||||||
| Total revenues (GAAP) | $ | 167,553 | $ | 115,661 | 45 | % | |||
| Net income (loss) (GAAP) | $ | 26,956 | $ | (2,582 | ) | nm | |||
| Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP) | $ | 44,005 | $ | 15,111 | > | ||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities (GAAP) | $ | 83,514 | $ | 29,604 | > | ||||
| Free cash flow (Non-GAAP) | $ | 79,621 | $ | 28,792 | > | ||||
The following table provides revenues by product type:
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
| (in thousands) | 2024 | 2023 | Change | % Change | |||||||
| Subscription | $ | 131,688 | $ | 86,185 | $ | 45,503 | 53 | % | |||
| Advertising | 12,952 | 11,635 | 1,317 | 11 | |||||||
| Duolingo English Test | 12,755 | 9,972 | 2,783 | 28 | |||||||
| In-App Purchases | 9,924 | 7,852 | 2,072 | 26 | |||||||
| Other | 234 | 17 | 217 | >100 | |||||||
| Total revenues | $ | 167,553 | $ | 115,661 | $ | 51,892 | 45 | % | |||
Financial Outlook
Duolingo is providing the following guidance for the second quarter ending March 31, 2024 and updating its guidance for the full year ending December 31, 2024:
| Second Quarter 2024 | Full Year 2024 | ||||||||||||||
| (in millions) | Low | High | Low | High | |||||||||||
| Total Bookings | $ | 179.0 | $ | 181.5 | $ | 808.5 | $ | 817.5 | |||||||
| Revenues | $ | 175.0 | $ | 177.5 | $ | 726.5 | $ | 735.5 | |||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 36.8 | $ | 39.1 | $ | 167.1 | $ | 176.5 | |||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA Margin | 21 | % | 22 | % | 23 | % | 24 | % | |||||||
With regards to the non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin outlook provided above, a reconciliation to GAAP net income (loss), the most directly comparable financial measure presented in accordance with GAAP, has not been provided as the quantification of certain items included in the calculation of GAAP net income (loss) cannot be calculated or predicted at this time without unreasonable efforts. For example, the non-GAAP adjustment for stock-based compensation expenses related to equity awards requires additional inputs such as number of shares granted and market price that are not currently ascertainable, and the non-GAAP adjustment for certain legal, tax and regulatory reserves and expenses depends on the timing and magnitude of these expenses and cannot be accurately forecasted. For the same reasons, we are unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information, which could have a potentially unpredictable, and potentially significant, impact on our future GAAP financial results.
Dilutive Securities
Duolingo has various dilutive securities. The table below details these securities (shares in millions; rounding differences may occur):
| (Amounts in millions, except share price) | Price as of March 31, 2024 | Weighted- average exercise price | Shares | ||||
| Share price | $ | 220.58 | |||||
| Common stock outstanding as of March 31, 2024 | 43.1 | ||||||
| Founder awards (1) | 1.6 | ||||||
| Dilutive effect of stock options outstanding (2) | $ | 16.63 | 2.5 | ||||
| RSUs outstanding | 1.8 | ||||||
| Total estimated diluted shares outstanding | 49.0 | ||||||
| (1) | Includes 1.4 million underlying performance-based Restricted Stock Units ("RSUs") where performance criteria has not been satisfied. |
| (2) | The Company has 2.7 million options outstanding as of March 31, 2024. The estimated dilutive effect is calculated as the number of shares expected to be issued upon vesting or exercise, adjusted for the strike price proceeds that are received by the Company and assumed to be used to repurchase shares of Duolingo common stock. |
Video Webcast
Duolingo will host a video webcast to discuss its quarterly results today, May 8, 2024 at 5:30 p.m. ET. This live webcast and related materials will be publicly available and can be accessed at investors.duolingo.com. A replay will be available on the Investor Relations section of our website two hours following completion of the call and will remain available for a period of one year.
About Duolingo
Duolingo is the leading mobile learning platform globally. Its flagship app has organically become the world's most popular way to learn languages and the top-grossing app in the Education category on both Google Play and the Apple App Store. With technology at the core of everything it does, Duolingo has consistently invested to provide learners a fun, engaging, and effective learning experience while remaining committed to its mission to develop the best education in the world and make it universally available.
Definitions
Monthly Active Users (MAUs). MAUs are defined as unique users who engage with our Duolingo App or the learning section of our website each month. MAUs are reported for a measurement period by taking the average of the MAUs for each calendar month in that measurement period. The measurement period for MAUs is the three months ended March 31, 2024 and the same period in the prior year where applicable, and the analysis of results is based on those periods. MAUs are a measure of the size of our global active user community on Duolingo.
Daily Active Users (DAUs). DAUs are defined as unique users who engage with our Duolingo App or the learning section of our website each calendar day. DAUs are reported for a measurement period by taking the average of the DAUs for each day in that measurement period. The measurement period for DAUs is the three months ended March 31, 2024 and the same period in the prior year where applicable, and the analysis of results is based on those periods. DAUs are a measure of the consistent engagement of our global user community on Duolingo.
Paid Subscribers. Paid subscribers are defined as users who pay for access to any Duolingo subscription offering and had an active subscription as of the end of the measurement period. Each unique user account is treated as a single paid subscriber regardless of whether such user purchases multiple subscriptions, and the count of paid subscribers does not include users who are currently on a free trial or who are non-paying members of a family plan.
Subscription Bookings and Total Bookings. Subscription bookings represent the amounts we receive from a purchase of any Duolingo subscription offering. Total bookings include subscription bookings, income from advertising networks for advertisements served to our users, purchases of the Duolingo English Test, and in-app purchases of virtual goods. We believe bookings provide an indication of trends in our operating results, including cash flows, that are not necessarily reflected in our revenues because we recognize subscription revenues ratably over the lifetime of a subscription, which is generally from one to twelve months.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release, including without limitation, statements regarding our business model and strategic plans, including the anticipated scaling of our user base and enhancement of bookings, our anticipated monetization of our products, and our financial outlook are forward-looking statements. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as “may,” “will,” “shall,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “could,” “intends,” “target,” “projects,” “contemplates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” “goal,” “objective,” “seeks,” or “continue” or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions that concern our expectations, strategy, plans, or intentions. Such forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements due to various factors, including, but not limited to: our ability to retain and grow our users and sustain their engagement with our products; competition in the online language learning industry; our limited operating history; our ability to maintain profitability; our ability to manage our growth and operate at such scale; the success of our investments; our reliance on third-party platforms to store and distribute our products and collect revenue; our reliance on third-party hosting and cloud computing providers; our ability to compete for advertisements; acceptance by educational organizations of technology-based education; changes in our business and macroeconomic conditions; our ability to access, collect, and use personal data about our users and payers, and to comply with applicable data privacy laws; regulatory and legislative developments on the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning; potential intellectual property-related litigation and proceedings; our ability adequately obtain, protect and maintain our intellectual property rights; and the other important factors more fully detailed under the caption "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, as any such factors may be updated from time to time, including without limitation in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2024 and in our other filings with the SEC, accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at investors.duolingo.com. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change.
Limitation of Key Operating Metrics and Other Data
We manage our business by tracking several operating metrics, including MAUs, DAUs, paid subscribers, and subscription and total bookings. While these metrics are based on what we believe to be reasonable estimates of our user base for the applicable period of measurement, there are inherent challenges in measuring how our platform is used. These metrics are determined by using internal data gathered on an analytics platform that we developed and operate and have not been validated by an independent third party. This platform tracks user account and session activity. If we fail to maintain an effective analytics platform, our metrics calculations may be inaccurate. Because we update the methodologies we employ to create metrics, our operating metrics may not be comparable to those in prior periods. Other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate these metrics differently.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
We use certain non-GAAP financial measures to supplement our Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, which are presented in accordance with GAAP. These non-GAAP financial measures include Adjusted EBITDA; Adjusted EBITDA margin; Free cash flow, and Free cash flow margin. Please refer to the definitions and reconciliation at the end of this press release. We use these non-GAAP financial measures for financial and operational decision-making and as a means to evaluate period-to-period comparisons. By excluding certain items that may not be indicative of our recurring core operating results, we believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information regarding our performance. Accordingly, we believe these non-GAAP financial measures are useful to investors and others because they allow for additional information with respect to financial measures used by management in its financial and operational decision-making and they may be used by our institutional investors and the analyst community to help them analyze the health of our business. However, there are a number of limitations related to the use of non-GAAP financial measures, and these non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for or in isolation from, our financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP. Other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate these non-GAAP financial measures differently or not at all, which reduces their usefulness as comparative measures.
Website Information
We routinely post important information for investors on the Investor Relations section of our website, investors.duolingo.com, and also from time to time may use social media channels, including our Twitter account (twitter.com/duolingo) and our LinkedIn account (linkedin.com/company/duolingo/), as an additional means of disclosing public information to investors, the media and others interested in us. It is possible that certain information we post on our website and on social media could be deemed to be material information, and we encourage investors, the media and others interested in us to review the business and financial information we post on our website and on the social media channels identified above, in addition to following our press releases, SEC filings, public conference calls, presentations and webcasts. The information contained on, or that may be accessed through, our website and our social media channels is not incorporated by reference into, and is not a part of, this document.
| DUOLINGO, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATEDBALANCE SHEETS (Amounts in thousands) | |||||
| March 31, 2024 | December 31, 2023 | ||||
| ASSETS | |||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 829,713 | $ | 747,610 | |
| Accounts receivable | 76,421 | 88,975 | |||
| Deferred cost of revenues | 60,397 | 53,931 | |||
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | 10,747 | 7,282 | |||
| Noncurrent assets | 91,389 | 56,159 | |||
| Total assets | $ | 1,068,667 | $ | 953,957 | |
| LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY | |||||
| Deferred revenues | $ | 279,313 | $ | 249,192 | |
| Accounts payable | 2,625 | 2,447 | |||
| Other current liabilities | 21,784 | 25,723 | |||
| Long-term obligation under operating leases | 53,893 | 21,094 | |||
| Total liabilities | 357,615 | 298,456 | |||
| Total stockholders’ equity | 711,052 | 655,501 | |||
| Total liabilities and stockholders' equity | $ | 1,068,667 | $ | 953,957 | |
| DUOLINGO, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS) (Amounts in thousands, except per share amounts) | |||||||
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||||
| Revenues | $ | 167,553 | $ | 115,661 | |||
| Cost of revenues | 45,191 | 31,492 | |||||
| Gross profit | 122,362 | 84,169 | |||||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||
| Research and development | 50,878 | 45,844 | |||||
| Sales and marketing | 19,931 | 16,601 | |||||
| General and administrative | 35,114 | 30,243 | |||||
| Total operating expenses | 105,923 | 92,688 | |||||
| Income (loss) from operations | 16,439 | (8,519 | ) | ||||
| Other (expense) income, net | (621 | ) | 182 | ||||
| Income (loss) before interest income and income taxes | 15,818 | (8,337 | ) | ||||
| Interest income | 10,033 | 5,639 | |||||
| Income (loss) before income taxes | 25,851 | (2,698 | ) | ||||
| Benefit from income taxes | (1,105 | ) | (116 | ) | |||
| Net income (loss) and comprehensive income (loss) | $ | 26,956 | $ | (2,582 | ) | ||
| Net income (loss) per share attributable to Class A and Class B common stockholders, basic | $ | 0.63 | $ | (0.06 | ) | ||
| Net income (loss) per share attributable to Class A and Class B common stockholders, diluted | $ | 0.57 | $ | (0.06 | ) | ||
| DUOLINGO, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATEDSTATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Amounts in thousands) | |||||||
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||||
| Cash flows from operating activities: | |||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | 26,956 | $ | (2,582 | ) | ||
| Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by operating activities: | |||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 2,074 | 1,762 | |||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | 24,985 | 21,073 | |||||
| Gain on sale of capitalized software | — | (100 | ) | ||||
| Changes in assets and liabilities: | 29,499 | 9,451 | |||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | 83,514 | 29,604 | |||||
| Net cash used for investing activities | (5,021 | ) | (1,312 | ) | |||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 3,610 | 4,619 | |||||
| Net increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | 82,103 | 32,911 | |||||
| Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash - Beginning of period | 750,345 | 608,180 | |||||
| Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash - End of period | $ | 832,448 | $ | 641,091 | |||
DUOLINGO, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
ADJUSTED EBITDA RECONCILIATION
(Amounts in thousands)
Adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income (loss) excluding interest income, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation expenses related to equity awards, acquisition earn-out costs, and gain on sale of capitalized software. Adjusted EBITDA margin is defined as Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of revenues. These non-GAAP financial measures are used by management to evaluate the financial performance of our business and we present these non-GAAP financial measures because we believe that they are helpful in highlighting trends in our operating results and that they are frequently used by analysts, investors and other interested parties to evaluate companies in our industry. The following table presents a reconciliation of our net income (loss), the most directly comparable financial measure presented in accordance with GAAP, to Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin.
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||
| (In thousands) | 2024 | 2023 | |||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | 26,956 | $ | (2,582 | ) | ||
| Add (deduct): | |||||||
| Interest income | (10,033 | ) | (5,639 | ) | |||
| Benefit from income taxes | (1,105 | ) | (116 | ) | |||
| Depreciation and amortization | 2,074 | 1,762 | |||||
| Stock-based compensation expenses related to equity awards (1) | 26,113 | 21,673 | |||||
| Acquisition earn-out costs (2) | — | 113 | |||||
| Gain on sale of capitalized software (3) | — | (100 | ) | ||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 44,005 | $ | 15,111 | |||
| Revenues | $ | 167,553 | $ | 115,661 | |||
| Adjusted EBITDA Margin | 26.3 | % | 13.1 | % | |||
| (1) | In addition to stock-based compensation expense of |
| (2) | Represents costs incurred related to the earn-out payment on an acquisition. |
| (3) | Represents proceeds from a sale of capitalized software. |
DUOLINGO, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
FREE CASH FLOW RECONCILIATION
(Amounts in thousands)
Free Cash Flow. Free cash flow represents net cash provided by operating activities, reduced by capitalized software development costs and purchases of property and equipment and increased by taxes paid related to stock-based compensation equity awards as we believe they are not indicative of future liquidity. Free cash flow margin is defined as Free cash flow as a percentage of revenues. We believe that free cash flow is a measure of liquidity that provides useful information to our management, investors and others in understanding and evaluating the strength of our liquidity and future ability to generate cash that can be used for strategic opportunities or investing in our business. Free cash flow has certain limitations in that it does not represent our residual cash flow for discretionary expenditures and our non-discretionary commitments. The following table presents a reconciliation of net cash provided by operating activities, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with GAAP, to free cash flow.
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||
| (In thousands) | 2024 | 2023 | |||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 83,514 | $ | 29,604 | |||
| Less: Capitalized software development costs and purchases of intangible assets | (3,607 | ) | (731 | ) | |||
| Less: Purchases of property and equipment | (1,414 | ) | (681 | ) | |||
| Plus: Taxes paid related to stock-based compensation equity awards | 1,128 | 600 | |||||
| Free cash flow | $ | 79,621 | $ | 28,792 | |||
| Revenues | $ | 167,553 | $ | 115,661 | |||
| Free cash flow margin | 47.5 | % | 24.9 | % | |||
Contacts
Investor Relations:
Deborah Belevan, VP of Investor Relations
IR@duolingo.com
Press:
Sam Dalsimer, Global Head of Communications
press@duolingo.com
FAQ
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