Why Duolingo Stock Plunged Today

By Anders Bylund – Feb 27, 2026 at 4:03PM ESTKey PointsDuolingo's Q4 results beat Wall Street estimates across the board.New features are rolling out to make the platform more engaging.Long-term investors may see this dip as a buying opportunity.Duolingo (DUOL 14.33%) had a tough day on Friday. After reporting Q4 2025 results on Wednesday evening, the online language-learning specialist's stock opened 21.7% lower. It didn't quite stick to the bottom, but still held on to a 15% price drop just before the closing bell. ExpandNASDAQ: DUOLDuolingoToday's Change(-14.33%) $-16.83Current Price$100.62Key Data PointsMarket Cap$5.4BDay's Range$92.01 - $101.4352wk Range$92.01 - $544.93Volume1.1MAvg Vol2.1MGross Margin71.39% Wait, the numbers looked great The Q4 results exceeded Wall Street's targets across the board. Revenue rose 35% year-over-year to $283 million while the bottom line rose from $0.32 to $0.92 per share. The number of daily active users (DAUs) rose 30% to 52.7 million. Bookings (the total dollar value of new subscriptions and ad sales in this reporting period) increased by 24% and free cash flow rose 16% to $80.9 million. The company offered revenue guidance just below the current Street projections. Critics latched on to this downside. Image source: Getty Images. Duolingo chose users over dollars (for now) The company's recent focus on monetization and subscription sales resulted in "friction," according to management's notes. Efforts such as higher ad loads and repeated pushes for subscription plans generated revenues in the short term, but made the Duolingo platform less engaging. Ergo, user growth decelerated while revenues rose. The company is currently focused on a more user-friendly experience, aiming to maximize the number of active users before switching back to revenue optimization in the future. Looking for examples? The video chat with in-game character Lily is now available on the lower-priced Super plan, the chess course will soon add game analytics and opening theory, and the music course will soon be more game-like. As a longtime Duolingo user and subscriber, I can't wait to see these experience boosts rolling out. As a Duolingo investor, I don't mind switching the focus from profits to user growth for a while. Eventually swapping back to monetization should be more effective with a larger and more engaged user base, after all. It will probably be worth the wait, and today's price drop looks like a knee-jerk reaction with the wrong focus. Investing is a marathon, not a sprint to the next quarterly profit haul.Read NextFeb 25, 2026 •By Keith NoonanDuolingo Stock Fell 24% in January and Has Kept Plunging in FebruaryFeb 3, 2026 •By Anders BylundHow Duolingo Stock Fell 23.6% in JanuaryJan 14, 2026 •By Anders BylundWhy Duolingo Stock Lost 46% in 2025 (And What's Next)Jan 12, 2026 •By Jon QuastMy 5 Favorite Stocks to Buy Right NowDec 25, 2025 •By Anders Bylund2 Growth Stocks Wall Street Might Be Sleeping On, but I'm NotDec 7, 2025 •By Jon QuastWhy I'm Buying Duolingo Stock Like There's No TomorrowAbout the AuthorAnders Bylund is a contributing Motley Fool media and technology analyst covering semiconductors, cloud computing, internet infrastructure, quantum computing, and streaming media. Previously, Anders was a systems administrator for Nielsen Technology and CSX, gaining hands-on experience with enterprise-class systems. He was also a freelance writer for Ars Technica, TIME, USA Today, CNN, WIRED, and AOL's Daily Finance. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in library and information sciences from Florida State University. He believes in coyotes and time as an abstract.TMFZahrimX@TMFZahrimStocks MentionedDuolingoNASDAQ: DUOL$100.62(-14.33%)-$16.83*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.