Youdao, Inc.
- Open
- 15.36
- Day high
- 15.38
- Day low
- 14.92
- Prev close
- 15.37
- Volume
- 9K
- Mkt cap
- $1.8B
- P/E (TTM)
- 175.4
- EPS (TTM)
- $0.09
- P/B
- -6.3
- P/S
- 2.1
- Yield
- —
- Per share
- —
- ▼Insiders net selling $0 over the last 3 months (0 open-market buys, 2 sales)
- 🏛Institutions reducing (13F)
Youdao, Inc. (DAO) is a Consumer Defensive company listed on NYSE. The stock is up 71% over the past year. Over the trailing 3 months, insiders filed 0 open-market buys and 2 sales (SEC Form 4).
Youdao, Inc. (DAO) financials & analyst ratings
Fundamentals (TTM)
Source: exchange market data + company filings. Figures are trailing-twelve-month or as most recently reported. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
DAO earnings date, history & EPS estimates
| Report date | EPS est | EPS actual | Surprise | Revenue | Rev. surprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2026 | $0.05 | $0.05 | +7.3% | $195M | -3.0% |
| Feb 11, 2026 | $0.04 | $0.07 | +92.8% | $221M | +9.6% |
| Nov 20, 2025 | $-0.00 | $0.01 | +14385.7% | $229M | +8.2% |
| Aug 14, 2025 | $-0.00 | $0.01 | +674.7% | $198M | +2.7% |
| May 15, 2025 | $0.03 | $0.09 | +209.0% | $178M | -1.5% |
| Mar 6, 2025 | — | $0.08 | — | $183M | — |
| Nov 14, 2024 | $0.06 | $0.11 | +94.0% | $224M | -3.1% |
| Aug 22, 2024 | $-0.26 | $-0.11 | +57.9% | $182M | -3.5% |
| May 23, 2024 | $-0.11 | $0.02 | +117.5% | $192M | +5.0% |
| Nov 16, 2023 | $-0.12 | $-0.08 | +33.5% | $211M | -6.8% |
| Aug 24, 2023 | $-0.37 | $-0.32 | +12.7% | $167M | +8.2% |
| May 25, 2023 | $-0.18 | $-0.23 | -26.0% | $169M | +4.2% |
DAO insider trading activity (SEC Form 4)
| Date | Insider | Type | Shares | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 1, 2026 | Li Yongweiofficer: Vice President | Option | 4,000 | $4.50 |
| Jul 1, 2026 | Li Yongweiofficer: Vice President | Sell | 2,300 | — |
| Jul 1, 2026 | Li Yongweiofficer: Vice President | Option | 2,300 | $4.50 |
| Jun 1, 2026 | Wu Yinghuiofficer: Senior Vice President | Grant | 10,000 | — |
| Jun 1, 2026 | Peng Suofficer: Senior Vice President | Grant | 10,000 | — |
| Jun 1, 2026 | Lai Jimmy Y.director | Option | 3,997 | $4.50 |
| Jun 1, 2026 | Jin Leiofficer: president | Grant | 82,120 | — |
| Jun 1, 2026 | Li Yongweiofficer: Vice President | Grant | 3,420 | — |
| Jun 1, 2026 | Shum Heung Yeungdirector | Grant | 11,450 | — |
| Jun 1, 2026 | Lai Jimmy Y.director | Sell | 3,997 | — |
| Jun 1, 2026 | Lai Jimmy Y.director | Grant | 11,450 | — |
Source: DAO SEC Form 4 filings, latest Jul 1, 2026. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
See the full DAO insider & 13F page →Youdao, Inc. company profile
Overview
Youdao, Inc. (NYSE:DAO) is a Chinese internet technology company founded in 2006 and headquartered in Hangzhou, China. Originally established as a subsidiary of NetEase, Inc., Youdao went public on the New York Stock Exchange in October 2019. The company operates in China's education technology sector, providing online learning services, smart educational devices, and digital marketing solutions. After years of losses, Youdao achieved its first full-year operating profitability in 2024, marking a significant milestone in its transition from a growth-focused to a profitable technology company.
Business
Youdao operates in China's education technology (EdTech) industry, which encompasses digital learning platforms, educational content, and smart learning devices. The company's business is structured around three main segments that collectively generated RMB 5.4 billion in revenue in 2024. Learning Services represents the largest segment, accounting for approximately 73% of total revenue. This division includes Youdao Lingshi, a comprehensive K-12 tutoring platform that provides personalized learning experiences through AI-powered content delivery. The service offers over 40,000 instructional videos and 100,000 practice questions, targeting students from elementary through high school levels. The segment also encompasses digital content services for exam preparation, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) courses, and adult vocational training programs. Additionally, Youdao operates China University MOOC, a massive open online course platform for higher education. Online Marketing Services comprises roughly 26% of revenue and functions as a digital advertising platform. This business leverages Youdao's user data and AI algorithms to provide targeted advertising solutions for both domestic Chinese companies and international brands seeking to reach Chinese consumers. The platform specializes in performance-based advertising, utilizing real-time bidding technology and key opinion leader (KOL) marketing strategies. Smart Devices accounts for approximately 12% of revenue and manufactures AI-enhanced educational hardware. The flagship product is the Youdao Dictionary Pen, a handheld scanning device that can translate text, provide definitions, and offer pronunciation guidance. With cumulative sales exceeding 10 million units, this product line also includes smart lamps, listening pods, pocket translators, and learning tablets designed to enhance the study experience through integrated AI capabilities.
Revenue model
Youdao generates revenue through multiple business models across its three segments. The Learning Services division primarily operates on a subscription and course fee model, where students pay for access to online tutoring sessions, premium content, and specialized courses. Youdao Lingshi, the flagship K-12 platform, maintains high customer retention rates exceeding 70%, indicating strong recurring revenue potential. The company also offers AI-driven subscription services that generated over RMB 200 million in 2024, growing at 130% year-over-year. The Online Marketing Services segment follows a performance-based advertising model, earning revenue through cost-per-click, cost-per-acquisition, and commission-based arrangements. Clients include entertainment companies, automotive brands, and AI tool developers who pay Youdao to deliver targeted advertising campaigns. This segment benefits from Youdao's large user base across its educational platforms and dictionary applications. Smart Devices operates on a traditional product sales model, selling hardware directly to consumers through online and offline channels. The Dictionary Pen and related products generate one-time purchase revenue, though the company is exploring subscription services for premium AI features. Several factors influence Youdao's profit margins. Positive margin drivers include the scalability of digital content (once created, educational videos and materials can serve unlimited students), AI automation reducing content creation costs, and the high-margin nature of software subscriptions. The company's AI capabilities also enable more efficient advertising targeting, improving yields for marketing clients. Margin pressures come from intense competition in China's education sector, particularly from ByteDance's educational initiatives and traditional tutoring companies. Regulatory changes in China's education industry, including restrictions on after-school tutoring, have historically impacted demand. Additionally, hardware manufacturing faces commodity price fluctuations and supply chain constraints, while customer acquisition costs remain significant in the competitive online education market.
Competitive moat
Youdao's competitive moat is moderate but strengthening, built primarily around data network effects and AI capabilities rather than traditional barriers to entry. The company's strongest defensive position lies in its dictionary and translation ecosystem, where Youdao Dictionary serves as one of China's most popular language learning tools. This creates a flywheel effect: more users generate better translation data, which improves AI accuracy, attracting additional users and creating switching costs through personalized learning histories. The company's AI and machine learning capabilities represent an emerging moat, particularly through its proprietary Confucius-o1 reasoning model and integration with advanced language models like DeepSeek. These technologies enable personalized learning experiences that become more effective over time as they accumulate user interaction data. The 70%+ retention rate for Youdao Lingshi suggests meaningful customer stickiness. However, Youdao faces significant competitive threats. ByteDance's substantial resources and aggressive expansion into education technology poses a major challenge, as the social media giant can leverage its vast user base and advanced AI capabilities. Traditional education companies are also digitalizing rapidly, while international players like Khan Academy and Coursera represent potential future competition if they enter the Chinese market. The company's hardware business lacks strong defensibility, as smart devices can be relatively easily replicated by competitors with manufacturing capabilities. While Youdao has achieved scale with 10 million Dictionary Pen sales, this primarily reflects first-mover advantage rather than sustainable competitive barriers. Regulatory risk remains a wild card, as China's education policies can dramatically reshape market dynamics. The government's 2021 crackdown on after-school tutoring demonstrated how quickly regulatory changes can impact the sector, though Youdao's focus on AI tools and devices provided some insulation from the most severe impacts.
Risks & safety
Youdao presents a moderate margin of safety with improving financial metrics but persistent balance sheet concerns. • Liquidity and Solvency: Current ratio of 0.50 indicates potential short-term liquidity pressure, with current liabilities (RMB 402 million) nearly doubling current assets (RMB 203 million). However, the company maintains RMB 81 million in cash and short-term investments. Debt-to-equity ratio of -0.87 reflects negative shareholders' equity, a structural concern requiring monitoring. • Profitability Trends: 2024 marked a turning point with the first full-year operating profit and positive net income of RMB 11.2 million, compared to RMB 76 million loss in 2023. EBITDA improved to RMB 24.3 million positive versus RMB 60.8 million negative in the prior year. • Valuation Metrics: Trading at 77.2x P/E ratio based on minimal 2024 earnings, though this reflects the transition to profitability rather than mature earnings power. EV/EBITDA of 42.6x appears elevated but reasonable given the growth trajectory and recent profitability achievement. • Cash Flow: Free cash flow remains negative at RMB 10.9 million, though significantly improved from historical levels. Operating cash flow deficit of RMB 9.3 million suggests the business still requires working capital investment. • Other Considerations: NetEase's backing provides implicit support, while the company's focus on AI-driven services offers potential for operating leverage as the business scales.
Recent development
Over the past few years, Youdao has undergone a significant strategic transformation centered around artificial intelligence and profitability optimization. The most notable pivot occurred in 2024 when the company achieved its first full-year operating profitability while simultaneously launching its AI-Native strategy across all business lines. The company's AI development accelerated dramatically with the launch of its proprietary Confucius-o1 reasoning model and the integration of advanced language models like DeepSeek across its product portfolio. This technological advancement enabled the creation of AI-driven subscription services that generated over RMB 200 million in revenue in 2024, growing at 130% year-over-year. Key AI products include Mr. P AI Tutor, which reached nearly 20 million users, and Hi Echo, an AI language learning app that ranked in the top 10 AI applications in China. In the Learning Services segment, Youdao expanded its content library substantially, growing from 20,000 to 40,000 instructional videos and doubling its question bank to 100,000 items. The company enhanced its flagship Youdao Lingshi platform with personalized learning experiences powered by AI, maintaining retention rates above 70%. Strategic initiatives included launching AI College Admission Advisers and exploring offline service integration to complement digital offerings. The Smart Devices division evolved beyond simple hardware manufacturing to become an AI-integrated product ecosystem. The company launched several new models including the Dictionary Pen X7 Pro and SpaceOne, incorporating advanced AI features and achieving the milestone of 10 million cumulative Dictionary Pen sales. These devices now serve as platforms for AI-powered learning experiences rather than standalone translation tools. Online Marketing Services experienced dramatic growth, with revenue increasing 48.3% in 2024 to RMB 2 billion. The company developed sophisticated AI-powered advertising optimization technologies, established partnerships with global platforms like Google and TikTok, and created advanced KOL marketing evaluation models. International expansion became a key focus, with overseas advertising representing approximately 20% of the segment's revenue. Throughout this transformation, Youdao maintained strict financial discipline, controlling operating expenses while investing selectively in high-ROI AI technologies and content development. This balanced approach enabled the transition from consistent losses to sustainable profitability while positioning the company for future growth in China's evolving education technology landscape.
DAO company profile · for informational purposes only — not investment advice.
Track DAO with Drillr
SEC filings, earnings calls, insider activity, alt-data signals — all queryable through Drillr's AI terminal and MCP API.
Try Drillr for free