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Duolingo: The 21% DAU Growth Question Investors Cannot Ignore?

Duolingo’s first quarter of 2026 reflected a focus on execution aligned with its strategic shift toward improving teaching quality and user growth. The company reported daily active users (DAUs) rising 21% year-over-year, consistent with management’s expectations. Several new features aimed at enhancing language learning experience were introduced during the quarter, including a greater emphasis on speaking practice for both free and paid users, the rollout of speaking adventures to simulate real conversational scenarios, and the launch of Flashcards to facilitate word recall. Duolingo also extended its course content to professional proficiency (B2 CEFR level) across its nine most learned languages, publishing 20,500 course units in Q1 alone—a tenfold increase compared to two years ago—leveraging AI technology to drive content generation. Financially, Duolingo delivered double-digit growth in bookings and revenue, expanded its gross margin, and posted adjusted EBITDA of $83 million or 29% margin.