Pittsburgh, April 26, 2026, 11:03 EDT
Faruqi & Faruqi on Sunday flagged it’s probing potential investor claims tied to Duolingo Inc., after shares slumped. The firm joins others issuing alerts as Duolingo’s stock lost ground, following management’s push for user growth and a bigger bet on artificial intelligence—even if that means slowing monetization for now. February’s drop came after Duolingo said it would channel more resources into AI and aim for 100 million daily active users by 2028, accepting softer profits in the near term.
Here’s the thing: Nasdaq stayed closed Sunday, so Duolingo Class A shares last changed hands Friday. The stock wrapped up at $103.45, posting a 3.15% daily gain. Still, that’s nowhere near this year’s $544.93 high, and with shares sitting just above the 52-week low of $87.89, the recovery looks pretty shallow.
Duolingo will drop its first-quarter results after the U.S. market shuts on May 4, offering investors the latest snapshot from the Pittsburgh-based outfit. The company has a webcast lined up for 5 p.m. ET that day, per .
Duolingo has moved beyond touting efficiencies and tweaking its main app. As of April 22, the company says nine of its most popular courses now include advanced content reaching up to B2 on the CEFR—the six-tier Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Previously, most users only got as far as A2, Duolingo notes.
Duolingo has broadened its free offerings to cover advanced lessons in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese, with access available on the web, iOS, and Android. TechCrunch reports the move puts pressure on competitors such as Babbel and Busuu, which keep their higher-level material behind a paywall. “Reaching job-ready proficiency in a new language used to be out of reach for most people,” said Bozena Pajak, Duolingo’s head of learning science, in a statement.
That’s in step with what CEO Luis von Ahn laid out in February. Duolingo wrapped up 2025 with more than 50 million daily active users and cleared $1 billion in bookings—advance sales that count before revenue hits the books. The board also approved a share buyback program, authorizing up to $400 million.
Wall Street took a hard look at the costs behind Duolingo’s strategic pivot. Back in February, Reuters reported the company’s first-quarter bookings guidance at about $301.5 million—noticeably below the $329.7 million consensus from Visible Alpha. Full-year projections landed between $1.27 billion and $1.30 billion, still trailing the $1.39 billion analysts wanted. “If we’re seeing faster user growth than we’re expecting, and what we are expecting is about 20%, then that means the strategy is working,” CEO von Ahn told Reuters. Reuters
The catch is plain enough: free access only works if it translates into a larger, more active user base—otherwise, subscription revenue, ads, and any side bets like new products just won’t deliver for investors. Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan cut his price target on Duolingo, lowering it to $100 from $105, though he’s sticking with a Neutral rating. Sheridan pointed to weaker user growth and engagement, plus lingering uncertainty about Duolingo’s recent chess, math, and music launches—not to mention what generative AI might mean for demand down the line.
Quent Capital ramped up its investment in Duolingo in the fourth quarter, MarketBeat reported Sunday. The firm’s stake reached 12,528 shares, worth about $2.2 million at quarter’s end, according to its Form 13F. Those filings, though, only show holdings as of the reporting date—they don’t tell whether Quent Capital still holds the shares now.
Duolingo’s earnings story this season isn’t about that green owl mascot. The spotlight is on whether more free content can really lock in users—and if those loyal users will actually drive solid revenue, even as the company juggles margin pressure.
