DUOL Stock: Insider Activity, Filings & Research

Duolingo, Inc. (DUOL) — Drillr’s hub for DUOL insider activity, SEC filings, earnings signals and AI research. Over the trailing 3 months, DUOL insiders filed 0 open-market buys and 7 sales (SEC Form 4).

Sentiment

0/100

Buys (3m)

Sells (3m)

Net (3m)

-$1.1M

Insider trades by month Buys Sells

Sep

Oct

Nov

Feb

Mar

May

Context3-month price +11.7%Institutions reducing (13F)

Date	Insider	Type	Shares	Price
May 29, 2026	Hacker Severindirector, 10 percent owner, officer: Chief Tech Officer, Co-Founder	Tax	31,920	—
May 29, 2026	Hacker Severindirector, 10 percent owner, officer: Chief Tech Officer, Co-Founder	Option	60,000	—
May 29, 2026	von Ahn Luisdirector, 10 percent owner, officer: President & CEO, Co-Founder	Option	120,000	—
May 29, 2026	von Ahn Luisdirector, 10 percent owner, officer: President & CEO, Co-Founder	Tax	54,875	—
May 19, 2026	Chen Stephen C.officer: General Counsel	Sell	1,277	$113.27
May 19, 2026	Glance Natalieofficer: Chief Engineering Officer	Sell	1,300	$114.19
May 19, 2026	Meese Robertofficer: Chief Business Officer	Sell	1,420	$112.16
May 19, 2026	Meese Robertofficer: Chief Business Officer	Grant	19,529	$112.06
May 19, 2026	Glance Natalieofficer: Chief Engineering Officer	Sell	1,929	$112.16
May 19, 2026	Glance Natalieofficer: Chief Engineering Officer	Grant	39,058	$112.06
May 19, 2026	Chen Stephen C.officer: General Counsel	Grant	24,411	$112.06
May 19, 2026	Chen Stephen C.officer: General Counsel	Sell	700	$114.22
May 19, 2026	Glance Natalieofficer: Chief Engineering Officer	Sell	2,060	$113.21
May 19, 2026	Chen Stephen C.officer: General Counsel	Sell	820	$112.16
May 13, 2026	Chen Stephen C.officer: General Counsel	Option	648	$14.42

Source: DUOL SEC Form 4 filings, latest May 29, 2026. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.

Overview

Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) is a Pittsburgh-based educational technology company that operates the world's most popular language-learning platform. Founded in 2011 by Luis von Ahn and Severin Hacker, the company went public in July 2021 and has since grown to serve over 100 million monthly active users across 40+ different languages. The company has evolved from a simple language-learning website into a comprehensive educational platform that now includes mathematics, music, and other subjects, all delivered through its signature gamified learning approach.

Business

Duolingo operates in the digital education technology sector, specifically focusing on language learning and expanding educational content. The company's flagship product is the Duolingo app, a freemium mobile and web-based platform that teaches languages through bite-sized, gamified lessons. The app uses a combination of reading, writing, speaking, and listening exercises, incorporating game-like elements such as streaks, leagues, and virtual rewards to maintain user engagement. The platform offers courses in over 40 languages, including major languages like Spanish, English, French, German, Japanese, Chinese, and Portuguese. Language learning represents approximately 85-90% of the company's focus and user engagement. Beyond languages, Duolingo has expanded into Duolingo Math and Duolingo Music, which together attract about 3 million daily active users, representing roughly 5-10% of the platform's usage. The company also operates Duolingo English Test (DET), a digital English proficiency assessment that serves as an alternative to traditional tests like TOEFL or IELTS. This represents approximately 6% of total revenue. The core value proposition revolves around making education accessible, engaging, and effective through artificial intelligence-powered personalization and a proven pedagogical approach that breaks complex subjects into manageable, sequential lessons.

Revenue model

Duolingo operates a freemium business model with multiple revenue streams. The primary revenue driver is subscription bookings, which accounts for approximately 80-85% of total revenue. The company offers three subscription tiers: a free version supported by advertising, Super Duolingo (the premium tier), and Duolingo Max (the highest tier featuring AI-powered features like conversation practice with GPT-4). The Family Plan, which allows multiple users under one subscription, now represents 23% of all subscribers. Secondary revenue streams include advertising revenue (approximately 8% of total revenue) from the free tier, in-app purchases (6% of revenue) for virtual goods and power-ups, and revenue from the Duolingo English Test (6% of revenue). The company's paying customers are primarily individual consumers learning languages for personal, academic, or professional reasons, with about 8 million paid subscribers out of 100+ million monthly active users. Several factors influence Duolingo's margins positively: the scalable nature of digital content, AI-driven automation reducing content creation costs, viral marketing reducing customer acquisition expenses, and the ability to implement regional pricing strategies. Margin pressures come from increased AI infrastructure costs for premium features, competitive pricing in international markets, and ongoing investments in content creation and product development. The company's freemium model creates a natural funnel where engagement drives conversion, but maintaining the balance between free and paid features remains crucial for monetization.

Competitive moat

Duolingo possesses a moderately strong competitive moat built on several key advantages. The company's primary moat stems from its massive user-generated data advantage - with over 100 million monthly active users generating billions of learning interactions, Duolingo has accumulated an unparalleled dataset on language learning patterns, effectiveness, and user behavior. This data enables continuous improvement of its AI-driven personalization algorithms and content optimization. The company's network effects create additional defensive positioning through viral, word-of-mouth growth that significantly reduces customer acquisition costs compared to traditional educational companies. The gamified learning approach and streak-based engagement system create strong user habit formation and switching costs, as users become emotionally invested in maintaining their progress. However, the moat faces several potential threats. Large technology companies like Google, Microsoft, or Apple could leverage their AI capabilities and distribution advantages to create competitive language learning products. The rise of large language models and AI tutors presents a potential disruption risk, though Duolingo's focus on structured learning, motivation, and habit formation provides some differentiation from pure AI conversation tools. Additionally, the educational technology space remains fragmented with numerous specialized competitors, and the freemium model creates ongoing pressure to continuously innovate to justify premium subscriptions. The company's expansion into math and music, while diversifying the platform, also opens it to competition from established players in those educational segments.

Risks & safety

Duolingo demonstrates a strong margin of safety with robust financial fundamentals and conservative capital structure. • Cash position: $884 million in cash and short-term investments with minimal debt ($50 million), providing substantial liquidity buffer • Profitability: Achieved positive net income of $89 million in 2024, with strong free cash flow generation of $273 million • Current ratio: 2.68x indicating solid short-term liquidity coverage • Debt-to-equity: Very low at 6.6%, minimal financial leverage risk • Growth trajectory: Consistent 40%+ revenue growth with expanding margins (EBITDA margin improving to 27.5%) • Valuation concerns: Trading at high multiples (EV/EBITDA of 179x, P/B of 17x) suggesting limited margin of safety from a valuation perspective • Business model resilience: Freemium model provides flexibility during economic downturns, with free tier maintaining user engagement even if subscription growth slows

Recent development

Over the past few years, Duolingo has undergone significant strategic evolution centered around artificial intelligence integration and platform expansion. The company launched Duolingo Max in 2023, a premium subscription tier powered by GPT-4 that offers advanced features like AI conversation practice and personalized explanations. This represents a major monetization upgrade, with Max now comprising 7% of total subscribers and showing strong adoption particularly among English learners. The company has aggressively embraced AI for internal operations, using generative AI to accelerate content creation across its 148+ language courses while expanding beyond language learning into mathematics and music education. These new subjects now attract over 3 million daily active users and represent a strategic shift toward becoming a comprehensive learning platform for subjects that require long-term skill development. Duolingo has also enhanced its viral marketing approach through social media content creation and word-of-mouth growth strategies, significantly reducing customer acquisition costs. The introduction and expansion of the Family Plan to 23% of subscribers demonstrates successful monetization optimization. Geographically, the company has focused on international expansion, particularly in Asian markets like Japan, Korea, and India, while implementing region-specific pricing strategies. The integration of advanced English learning content has opened new market opportunities targeting the estimated 1.5 billion English learners worldwide, representing a significant addressable market expansion beyond traditional language learning.

DUOL company profile · for informational purposes only — not investment advice.

Track DUOL 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