Duolingo Daily Users Jump 29 Percent to 64.9 Million

Duolingo reported third quarter results late on Tuesday, November 3, and the headline number was people. Daily active users rose 29 percent from a year earlier to 64.9 million, a faster pace than the 23 percent growth recorded in the second quarter.

Revenue rose 14 percent to $309 million, above the roughly $303 million analysts expected. Bookings rose 12 percent to $316.1 million. Paid subscribers rose 14 percent to 13.1 million. Net income was $27.2 million. Earnings per share of $0.54 missed estimates of $0.56 to $0.57. Gross margin was 72.9 percent.

Users first, profit line second

Chief executive Luis von Ahn said on the earnings call that the company began the year focused on making its teaching more effective and on growing its audience, and that the push to attract users is paying off. One newer product is doing heavy work. The company's chess course now draws 10 million daily active users, and management called it under-monetized, according to an Earnings Whispers summary of the call.

Guidance raised, stock jumps

Duolingo raised its full year outlook. It now expects 2026 revenue of $1.221 billion and bookings of $1.296 billion, with adjusted EBITDA of $323 million. For the fourth quarter it guided revenue to $322 million and bookings to $382 million.

Investors focused on the user numbers. Shares rose about 11 to 14 percent in after hours and premarket trading, and a StockTitan live market summary put the stock up 30.8 percent during Wednesday morning trading. The stock had fallen 27 percent this year before the report, which made user growth the test the company had to pass.

The open question is paid growth

The one soft line in the report is the paying base. Paid subscriber growth, at 14 percent, is slower than user growth and has been slowing. An Earnings Whispers review of the report noted that management expects paid growth to bottom out only in a couple of quarters. The same review tracked the user acceleration through the year: daily active user growth of 21 percent in the first quarter, 23 percent in the second and 29 percent in the third. Duolingo also set aside an $11.4 million bonus accrual tied to its fourth quarter user growth goal, a sign that management is paying for the audience push it is reporting. The bet is plain. Grow the free audience first, including through newer subjects such as chess and music, and convert more of it to paid plans later.