Duolingo vs Grand Canyon Education
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Duolingo and Grand Canyon Education side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Grand Canyon Education is the larger business, with $1.1B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $1.0B for Duolingo.
- Duolingo grew revenue faster (38.7%, against 7.1%).
- Grand Canyon Education kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (24.0% operating margin, against 13.1%).
- Duolingo turned more of its sales into free cash flow (35.6% FCF margin, against 21.6%).
- Duolingo earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (77.6%, against 45.3%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Grand Canyon Education’s earnings: a P/E of 19.8x against 16.9x for Duolingo.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 10 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Duolingo
DUOL
7/10
Revenue growth5-year growthNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityNet debt / EBITDA
Grand Canyon Education
LOPE
2/10
Operating marginShare count change
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | DUOL FY25 | LOPE FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $7.2B | $4.3B |
| Revenue | $1.0B | $1.1B |
| Free cash flow | $370M | $239M |
| Net income | $414M | $216M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 38.7% | 7.1% |
| 5-year growth | 45.0% | 5.6% |
| Share count change | 2.6% | −4.3% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 72.2% | — |
| Operating margin | 13.1% | 24.0% |
| Net margin | 39.9% | 19.5% |
| FCF margin | 35.6% | 21.6% |
| Return on capital | 77.6% | 45.3% |
| Return on equity | 38.1% | 28.2% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | −$1.0B | −$300M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −6.9x | −1.0x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $0.0M | $265M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 16.9x | 19.8x |
| Piotroski F-score | 4 | 4 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.