DUOL vs DAO Stock Comparison

Duolingo and Youdao Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
DUOL Duolingo, Inc.
$143.04 -2.0% 1M -54.4% 1Y
Market cap
$6.47B
P/E
15.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.15B
Div. yield
–
Education Technology Technology
6 wins
DAO Youdao, Inc.
$19.18 +30.1% 1M +80.3% 1Y
Market cap
$2.27B
P/E
95.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$864.12M
Div. yield
–
Education Technology Technology
3 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Duolingo leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Duolingo 6, Youdao 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionDUOLDAOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $6.47B $2.27B DUOL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 15.8x 95.3x DUOL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 54.6x 83.4x DUOL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +29.4% +10.2% DUOL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 35.9% 2.8% DUOL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -54.4% +80.3% DAO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -4.3%/yr +8.0%/yr DAO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 65.3% 60.3% DAO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 70/100 38/100 DUOL

Percentile Scorecard

DUOLDAO

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisDUOLDAO
Valuation 40 #54 of 90 36 #58 of 90
Growth 100 #1 of 82 43 #47 of 82
Profitability 80 #16 of 77 66 #27 of 77
Financial Health 80 #20 of 96 8 #88 of 96
Shareholder Returns 47 #29 of 54 –
Overall 70 38
  • DUOL ranked among 99 companies in Vertical Software
  • DAO ranked among 99 companies in Vertical Software

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodDUOLDAOSPY
1 month -2.0%+30.1% -1.0%
3 months +17.0%+24.7% +2.9%
6 months +38.3%+75.2% +6.4%
Year to date -18.5%+90.3% +11.4%
1 year -54.4%+80.3% +13.1%
3 years -11.0%+363.3% +79.4%
3 years, per year -3.8%+66.8% +21.5%
5 years -19.8%+47.1% +67.7%
5 years, per year -4.3%+8.0% +10.9%

Risk

MeasureDUOLDAOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 65.3%60.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 73.3%59.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.670.80 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.831.33 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -83.3%-83.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -54.4%-1.1% -2.5%
52-week high $313.45$19.39 $779.14
52-week low $90.03$8.43 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleDUOLDAO
P/E now vs peer median 16.3xmedian 42.7x 95.2xmedian 42.7x
P/S now vs peer median 11.7xmedian 2.7x 5.4xmedian 2.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 69.8xmedian 19.0x —median 19.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 32.8xmedian 19.6x —median 19.6x
P/B now vs peer median 9.5xmedian 1.8x -17.3xmedian 1.8x
PEG now vs peer median 0.11median 1.75 3.04median 1.75

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsDUOLDAO
Revenue $1.15B $864.12M
Gross profit $832.62M $390.46M
Operating income $157.09M $37.36M
Net income $410.77M $23.46M
Free cash flow $407.93M –
R&D $337.43M $76.01M
EPS (diluted) $8.21 $0.20
Cash & equivalents $1.18B $83.80M
Total debt – $1.01B
Shares (diluted) 50.03M 119.85M
Enterprise value $1.65B $1.89B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricDUOLDAO
P/E 16.3x 95.2x
P/FCF 32.8x –
P/Operating cash flow 31.1x –
P/S 11.7x 5.4x
P/B 9.5x -17.3x
P/Tangible book 9.7x -17.3x
EV/EBITDA 69.8x –
EV/EBIT 76.8x 128.9x
EV/Revenue 10.5x 5.6x
EV/FCF 29.6x –
EV/Operating cash flow 28.0x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.11 3.04

Growth

14 metrics
MetricDUOLDAO
Revenue growth (1Y) 29.4% 10.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 37.3% 5.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 30.6% 5.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 37.1% 0.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 86.1% -17.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 71.4% 33.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 250.5% -26.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 147.5% 36.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 243.3% -22.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 142.8% 31.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 28.2% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 70.3% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 24.3% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 69.8% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricDUOLDAO
Gross margin 72.7% 45.2%
EBITDA margin 15.1% –
Operating margin 13.7% 4.3%
Pretax margin 17.6% 3.0%
Net margin 35.9% 2.8%
FCF margin 35.6% –
Operating cash flow margin 37.6% –
Return on equity 29.3% –
Return on assets 19.9% 8.6%
Return on invested capital – –
Return on capital employed 10.6% –
Asset turnover 0.6x 3.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x –
Stock comp / revenue 12.6% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricDUOLDAO
Debt / assets – 86.1%
Debt / equity – -0.9x
Net debt / EBITDA – –
Debt / FCF – –
Liabilities / assets 32.0% 194.3%
Equity / assets 68.0% -94.3%
Interest coverage – –
Current ratio 2.7x 0.6x
Quick ratio 2.5x 0.5x
Cash ratio 2.3x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 13.71 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricDUOLDAO
Dividend yield – –
Net buyback yield 0.5% –
Shareholder yield 0.5% –
Payout ratio (earnings) – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusDUOLDAO
Forward P/E 54.6xFY2026 83.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.62FY2026 $0.23FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -69.3%FY2026 +76.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +21.0% +60.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.17BFY2026 $982.11MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +12.2%FY2026 +16.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +24.2% +16.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersDUOLDAO
Held by institutions 85.1% 9.6%
Institutions holding 430 33
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.7% -2.7%
Institutions buying 262 12
Institutions selling 124 11
Buyers to sellers 2.11 1.09

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

DUOLDAO
DUOL 1.00 0.08
DAO 0.08 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, DUOL and DAO?

Duolingo (DUOL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Duolingo (DUOL) $6.47B, Youdao (DAO) $2.27B.

Which stock is cheaper, DUOL and DAO?

Duolingo (DUOL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Duolingo (DUOL) 15.8x, Youdao (DAO) 95.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Duolingo (DUOL) is cheapest (Duolingo (DUOL) 54.6x, Youdao (DAO) 83.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Duolingo (DUOL) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Duolingo (DUOL) +29.4%, Youdao (DAO) +10.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Duolingo (DUOL) has the highest net margin (Duolingo (DUOL) 35.9%, Youdao (DAO) 2.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Youdao (DAO) returned the most: Duolingo (DUOL) -54.4%, Youdao (DAO) +80.3%. Over five years, Youdao (DAO) compounded fastest (Duolingo (DUOL) -4.3%/yr, Youdao (DAO) +8.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Youdao (DAO) has been the steadiest (Duolingo (DUOL) 65.3%, Youdao (DAO) 60.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do DUOL and DAO move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.08, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, DUOL and DAO?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Duolingo (DUOL) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.