It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Vulcan Materials (VMC - Free Report) . Shares have lost about 8.3% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.
Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Vulcan due for a breakout? Well, first let's take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the recent drivers for Vulcan Materials Company before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late.
Vulcan Q1 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates on Pricing and Cost ControlVulcan posted exceptional first-quarter 2026 results with adjusted earnings and total revenues beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate and increasing year over year. The quarter’s results reflect benefits realized from the aggregates-led business and consistent focus on its strategic disciplines. Besides, efforts to incorporate top-tier innovation and technology advancements also aided the quarter’s financial performance.
Vulcan’s Q1 Earnings & RevenuesVMC reported adjusted earnings of $1.35 per share in the first quarter, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.12 by 20.5%. The figure climbed 35% from the year-ago quarter’s adjusted earnings of $1.00.
Quarterly revenues were $1.76 billion, up 7.4% year over year and ahead of the consensus mark of $1.67 billion by 5.2%. Aggregates shipments rose to 50.0 million tons, supported by large projects and continued strength in public construction activity.
VMC Delivers Solid Margin GrowthProfitability expanded faster than sales in the quarter. Gross profit increased 15.7% year over year to $422.7 million, helped by higher pricing and disciplined operating execution across the footprint. Operating earnings improved 17.2% to $265.4 million. Net earnings attributable to Vulcan rose to $165.5 million from $128.9 million a year ago, reflecting stronger operating leverage and a cleaner mix of contributions.
Adjusted EBITDA increased 8.8% to $447.1 million, and the adjusted EBITDA margin widened to 25.5% from 25.1%, highlighting modest but important margin expansion early in the year.
Vulcan Tightens Cost Structure as SAG LeveragesBelow-the-line discipline complemented the operational gains. Selling, administrative and general (SAG) expenses were $135.7 million, modestly lower than the prior-year level of $138.3 million. SAG (as a percentage of revenue) improved year over year to 7.7% from 8.5%, signaling better overhead absorption.
Depreciation, depletion, accretion and amortization totaled $170.3 million compared with $186.4 million a year ago, and other operating expense, net, rose to $21.3 million from $8.0 million, partially offsetting the year-over-year operating gains.
Vulcan's Aggregates Engine Drives ProfitThe Aggregates segment again did the heavy lifting. Segment sales increased 8.6% year over year to $1.45 billion, while segment gross profit climbed to $400.3 million from $357.3 million.
Freight-adjusted sales price improved to $22.80 per ton from $22.03 year over year and cash gross profit per ton rose to $10.93 from $10.63. Management pointed to widespread pricing gains and effective cost control, which lifted the segment gross profit margin 90 basis points to 27.6%.
Freight-adjusted revenues advanced to $1.14 billion from $1.05 billion, underscoring that growth was not just a function of pass-through freight. At the same time, freight-adjusted cash cost of sales per ton increased to $11.87 from $11.40, suggesting that execution and pricing had to work together to protect per-ton profitability.
VMC's Asphalt and Concrete Show Margin GainsPerformance in the non-aggregates portfolio improved meaningfully compared with the prior year. Asphalt segment revenues edged up to $215.8 million from $208.7 million, while gross profit more than doubled to $12.2 million, reflecting a sharply improved gross profit margin. Concrete also contributed to incremental profit. Segment revenues increased to $187.5 million from $177 million and gross profit rose to $10.2 million from $3.2 million, aided by margin expansion to 5% in the quarter.
Operationally, asphalt mix shipments increased to 2.3 million tons from 2.2 million tons and the segment’s sales price improved to $83.71 from $81.32. In ready-mixed concrete, shipments rose to 1 million cubic yards from 0.9 million cubic yards and the sales price was $190.45 compared with $189.38.
Vulcan’s Liquidity & Capital Return HighlightsLiquidity stayed solid, with cash and cash equivalents of $140.2 million at quarter's end. The company carried $197 million of short-term debt and $4.36 billion of long-term debt, and total debt to trailing-12-month adjusted EBITDA stood at 1.9x. The company exited the quarter with a balance sheet positioned for continued investment and shareholder returns. Net cash provided by operating activities was $241.1 million, and the company invested $176.5 million in property, plant and equipment during the period.
Vulcan returned $217 million through $149.5 million of share repurchases and $67.9 million of dividends, alongside $90 million of maintenance and growth project capital expenditures highlighted by management.
VMC Reaffirms 2026 OutlookManagement reiterated its full-year adjusted EBITDA outlook of $2.4-$2.6 billion and cited a healthy backlog supported by large projects and public construction activity.
Under the Aggregates segment, Vulcan expects continued improvement in cash gross profit per ton compared with $11.33 in 2025. Shipment growth is expected between 1% and 3% year over year. Freight-adjusted price improvement is projected between 4% and 6%. Freight-adjusted unit cash cost is expected to increase in the low single digits.
The total Asphalt and Concrete segment’s cash gross profit is expected to be approximately $290 million compared with $322 million in 2025. The outlook excludes California ready-mixed concrete assets held for sale. The Asphalt segment is expected to contribute about 85% of segment profit, while the Concrete segment is expected to contribute about 15%.
Vulcan expects SAG expenses to be between $580 million and $590 million compared with $564 million in 2025. Interest expense is expected to be approximately $225 million.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?In the past month, investors have witnessed a downward trend in fresh estimates.
VGM ScoresAt this time, Vulcan has a average Growth Score of C, a grade with the same score on the momentum front. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock was allocated a score of D on the value side, putting it in the bottom 40% for value investors.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of D. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
OutlookEstimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. Interestingly, Vulcan has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.
, /PRNewswire/ -- Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE: VMC), the nation's largest producer of construction aggregates, today announced that it completed the divestiture of its ready-mixed concrete operations in California and acquired the southern Colorado and Dallas-Fort Worth operations of Brannan Sand & Gravel, LLC. The strategic acquisition includes a rail-connected aggregate quarry with long-term reserves in Lamar, Colorado, and a new distribution yard in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Ronnie Pruitt, Chief Executive Officer, said, "These portfolio actions align with our aggregates-led growth strategy by expanding our reach into southern Colorado and strengthening our distribution network in Dallas-Fort Worth to meet growing customer demand with high-quality aggregates."
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT DISCLAIMER
This communication contains "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other securities laws, regarding Vulcan, including, but not limited to, statements about the benefits of the transaction between Vulcan and Brannan Sand & Gravel, LLC, including Vulcan's plans, objectives, expectations and intentions. You can generally identify forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "explore," "evaluate," "intend," "may," "might," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "seek," "should," or "will," or the negative thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are based on Vulcan's current plans, objectives, estimates, expectations and intentions and inherently involve significant risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Vulcan's control. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties, which include, without limitation, risks and uncertainties associated with: failure to realize the expected benefits of the transaction; significant transaction costs and/or unknown or inestimable liabilities; the risk that Brannan Sand & Gravel, LLC's business will not be integrated successfully or that such integration may be more difficult, time-consuming or costly than expected; risks related to future opportunities and plans for the acquired assets; disruption from the transaction, making it more difficult to conduct business as usual or maintain relationships with customers, employees or suppliers; effects relating to the announcement of the transaction on the market price of Vulcan's common stock; the possibility that, if Vulcan does not achieve the perceived benefits of the transaction as rapidly or to the extent anticipated by financial analysts or investors, the market price of Vulcan's common stock could decline; regulatory initiatives and changes in tax laws; general economic conditions; and other risks and uncertainties, including those described from time to time under the caption "Risk Factors" in reports and filings made by Vulcan with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Vulcan's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, Vulcan's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2026 and future filings and reports made by Vulcan. Moreover, other risks and uncertainties of which Vulcan is not currently aware may also affect Vulcan's forward-looking statements and may cause actual results and the timing of events to differ materially from those anticipated. Vulcan cautions investors that such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that undue reliance should not be placed on such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements made in this communication are made only as of the date hereof or as of the dates indicated in the forward-looking statements and reflect the views stated therein with respect to future events as at such dates, even if they are subsequently made available by Vulcan on its website or otherwise. Vulcan does not undertake any obligation to update or supplement any forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, new information, future events, changes in its expectations or other circumstances that exist after the date as of which the forward-looking statements were made, except as required by law.
Investor Contact: Mark Warren (205) 298-3220
Media Contact: Jack Bonnikson (205) 298-3220
Sprinklr (NYSE:CXM – Get Free Report) and SPX Technologies (NYSE:SPXC – Get Free Report) are both business services companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, valuation and risk.
Risk and Volatility Sprinklr has a beta of 0.73, suggesting that its share price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SPX Technologies has a beta of 1.34, suggesting that its share price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Insider and Institutional Ownership 40.2% of Sprinklr shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.8% of SPX Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 60.5% of Sprinklr shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.3% of SPX Technologies shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability This table compares Sprinklr and SPX Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Sprinklr 2.67% 7.86% 4.05% SPX Technologies 10.77% 17.82% 9.72% Analyst Ratings This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Sprinklr and SPX Technologies, as reported by MarketBeat.
Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Sprinklr 3 4 2 0 1.89 SPX Technologies 0 1 9 0 2.90 Sprinklr presently has a consensus target price of $8.31, indicating a potential upside of 36.38%. SPX Technologies has a consensus target price of $244.67, indicating a potential upside of 24.50%. Given Sprinklr’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Sprinklr is more favorable than SPX Technologies.
Valuation and Earnings This table compares Sprinklr and SPX Technologies”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Sprinklr $857.20 million 1.77 $22.91 million $0.09 67.72 SPX Technologies $2.27 billion 4.35 $244.00 million $5.01 39.22 SPX Technologies has higher revenue and earnings than Sprinklr. SPX Technologies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sprinklr, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary SPX Technologies beats Sprinklr on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Sprinklr (Get Free Report)
Sprinklr, Inc. provides enterprise cloud software products worldwide. The company operates Unified Customer Experience Management platform, a software that enables customer-facing teams to collaborate across internal silos, communicate across digital channels, and leverage a complete suite of capabilities to deliver customer experiences. Its products include Sprinklr Service, a suite of artificial intelligence (AI) powered products and solutions that unifies customer service across voice, digital, and social channels; Sprinklr Social, a suite of AI-powered products and solutions that unifies social media publishing and engagement across various channels; Sprinklr Insights, a suite of AI-powered products and solutions that unifies consumer, customer, competitive and industry data from a high volume of third-party, second-party and first-party sources; and Sprinklr Marketing, a suite of AI-powered products and solutions that unifies content production and content lifecycle management with paid campaign orchestration across various channels. The company also provides professional, managed, training, and consultancy services. Sprinklr, Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
About SPX Technologies (Get Free Report)
SPX Technologies, Inc. supplies infrastructure equipment serving the heating, ventilation, and cooling (HVAC); and detection and measurement markets worldwide. The company operates in two segments, HVAC and Detection and Measurement. The HVAC segment engineers, designs, manufactures, installs, and services package and process cooling products and engineered air movement solutions for the HVAC industrial and power generation markets, as well as boilers, heating, and ventilation products for the residential and commercial markets. It offers its products under the Marley, Recold, SGS, Cincinnati Fan, TAMCO, Ingénia, Berko, Qmark, Fahrenheat, Leading Edge, Patterson-Kelley, Weil-McLain, Williamson-Thermoflo, INDEECO, Heatrex, AccuTherm, Brasch, Spectrum, BannerDay PipeHeating, and Solar Products brands. The Detection and Measurement segment offers underground pipe and cable locators, inspection and rehabilitation equipment, and robotic systems under the Radiodetection, Pearpoint, Schonstedt, Dielectric, Riser Bond, Cues, ULC Robotics, and Sensors & Software brands; transportation systems under the Genfare brand; communication technologies products under the TCI and ECS brands; and obstruction lighting products under the Flash Technology, ITL, Sabik Marine, Sealite, and Avlite brands. The company markets its products through independent manufacturing representatives, third-party distributors, and retailers, as well as direct to customers. The company was formerly known as SPX Corporation and changed its name to SPX Technologies, Inc. in August 2022. SPX Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.
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NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)---- $CXM #CX--Sprinklr (NYSE: CXM), the definitive, AI-native platform for Unified Customer Experience Management (Unified-CXM), today announced that the company's first quarter financial results will be released before market open on June 3, 2026. The company's earnings press release will be made available on the Sprinklr Investor Relations website at investors.sprinklr.com. Sprinklr will host a conference call to discuss its results at 8:30am ET the same day. Interested parties m.
IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- #alorica--Alorica named a Leader in Everest Group's 2026 Healthcare CXM PEAK Matrix®, reinforcing its position as the #1 CX provider in healthcare.
On May 15, 2026, Sea Cliff Partners Management, LP, fully exited its position in Sprinklr (CXM 2.60%), selling 1,334,112 shares in an estimated $8.28 million trade based on average quarterly pricing.
What happenedAccording to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing dated May 15, 2026, Sea Cliff Partners Management sold its entire holding of 1,334,112 shares of Sprinklr. The estimated transaction value was $8.28 million, calculated using the average closing price from January 1 to March 31, 2026. The net position change for the quarter, including both trading activity and price fluctuation, was a decrease of $10.38 million.
Sea Cliff Partners sold out of Sprinklr, reducing its exposure from 4.4% of 13F AUM in the prior quarter to zero after the trade.Top holdings after the filing:NASDAQ: BTSG: $33.43 million (17.3% of AUM)NYSE: WCC: $23.59 million (12.2% of AUM)NYSE: LTH: $17.70 million (9.1% of AUM)NASDAQ: OKTA: $17.32 million (8.9% of AUM)NYSE: ITGR: $16.57 million (8.6% of AUM)As of May 14, 2026, Sprinklr shares were priced at $4.94, down roughly 40% over the past year and vastly underperforming the S&P 500, which is instead up about 25%.Company OverviewMetricValueRevenue (TTM)$857.20 millionNet Income (TTM)$22.91 millionPrice (as of market close 2026-05-14)$4.941-Year Price Change-40%Company SnapshotSprinklr offers a unified customer experience management platform, including solutions for research, care, marketing, advertising, and social engagement across digital and traditional channels.The firm generates revenue primarily through subscriptions to its cloud-based software and related professional services for enterprise clients.It serves large global brands and enterprises seeking to manage customer interactions and insights across multiple communication platforms.Sprinklr, Inc. is a technology company specializing in enterprise cloud software for customer experience management at scale. The company leverages a comprehensive platform that integrates analytics, marketing, care, and engagement capabilities for large organizations.
What this transaction means for investorsSprinklr has spent the past year talking up operational improvements, AI positioning, and margin expansion, but investors have continued treating the company like a slower-growth software name stuck in transition.
To Sprinklr’s credit, the latest earnings report showed progress beneath the surface. Fourth-quarter revenue rose 9% year over year to $220.6 million, while non-GAAP operating income jumped to $37.7 million from $26.3 million a year earlier. The company also generated $141.9 million in annual free cash flow and ended the year with more than $500 million in cash and marketable securities. Management even authorized a new $200 million stock repurchase program, signaling confidence in the balance sheet and long-term outlook.
Still, growth remains relatively muted by software standards. Subscription revenue increased just 5% for the full year, and remaining performance obligations were essentially flat. It remains unclear how Sprinklr will evolve into a durable AI-enabled enterprise platform with reaccelerating growth. And until then, some investors may still remain skeptical.
Jonathan Ponciano has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Okta and Wesco International. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Looking for a stock that has been consistently beating earnings estimates and might be well positioned to keep the streak alive in its next quarterly report? Sprinklr (CXM - Free Report) , which belongs to the Zacks Technology Services industry, could be a great candidate to consider.
This customer experience software developer has an established record of topping earnings estimates, especially when looking at the previous two reports. The company boasts an average surprise for the past two quarters of 31.67%.
For the last reported quarter, Sprinklr came out with earnings of $0.13 per share versus the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.1 per share, representing a surprise of 30.00%. For the previous quarter, the company was expected to post earnings of $0.09 per share and it actually produced earnings of $0.12 per share, delivering a surprise of 33.33%.
Price and EPS Surprise
For Sprinklr, estimates have been trending higher, thanks in part to this earnings surprise history. And when you look at the stock's positive Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction), it's a great indicator of a future earnings beat, especially when combined with its solid Zacks Rank.
Our research shows that stocks with the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time. In other words, if you have 10 stocks with this combination, the number of stocks that beat the consensus estimate could be as high as seven.
The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a version of the Zacks Consensus whose definition is related to change. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier.
Sprinklr currently has an Earnings ESP of +3.45%, which suggests that analysts have recently become bullish on the company's earnings prospects. This positive Earnings ESP when combined with the stock's Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) indicates that another beat is possibly around the corner. We expect the company's next earnings report to be released on June 3, 2026.
When the Earnings ESP comes up negative, investors should note that this will reduce the predictive power of the metric. But, a negative value is not indicative of a stock's earnings miss.
Many companies end up beating the consensus EPS estimate, but that may not be the sole basis for their stocks moving higher. On the other hand, some stocks may hold their ground even if they end up missing the consensus estimate.
Because of this, it's really important to check a company's Earnings ESP ahead of its quarterly release to increase the odds of success. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)---- $CXM #CX--Sprinklr (NYSE: CXM), the definitive, AI-native platform for Unified Customer Experience Management (Unified-CXM), today released the Sprinklr Social Index report, a new benchmark revealing a stark reality: most brands are visible but unloved. Based on more than 1 million interactions across 1,160 brands over 11 months, the Index shows a consistent gap between activity and impact: most brands fail to generate meaningful engagement or positive sentiment. Unlike traditi.
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)---- $CXM #CX--Sprinklr announced the acquisition of ViralMoment, an AI-powered social video intelligence and analytics solution.
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Wall Street analysts expect Sprinklr (CXM - Free Report) to post quarterly earnings of $0.10 per share in its upcoming report, which indicates a year-over-year decline of 16.7%. Revenues are expected to be $215.96 million, up 5.1% from the year-ago quarter.
The current level reflects no revision in the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter over the past 30 days. This demonstrates how the analysts covering the stock have collectively reappraised their initial projections over this period.
Before a company announces its earnings, it is essential to take into account any changes made to earnings estimates. This is a valuable factor in predicting the potential reactions of investors toward the stock. Empirical research has consistently shown a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and the short-term price performance of a stock.
While investors typically use consensus earnings and revenue estimates as indicators of quarterly business performance, exploring analysts' projections for specific key metrics can offer valuable insights.
Given this perspective, it's time to examine the average forecasts of specific Sprinklr metrics that are routinely monitored and predicted by Wall Street analysts.
According to the collective judgment of analysts, 'Revenue- Subscription' should come in at $193.51 million. The estimate indicates a year-over-year change of +5.1%.
The consensus among analysts is that 'Revenue- Professional services' will reach $22.40 million. The estimate suggests a change of +4.8% year over year.
Analysts predict that the 'Gross Margin - Subscription' will reach 74.7%. The estimate compares to the year-ago value of 77.0%.
View all Key Company Metrics for Sprinklr here>>>
Over the past month, shares of Sprinklr have returned +8.9% versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +6% change. Currently, CXM carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), suggesting that its performance may align with the overall market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>> .
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GuruFocus.com is not operated by a broker or a dealer. Under no circumstances does any information posted on GuruFocus.com represent a recommendation to buy or sell a security. The information on this site, and in its related newsletters, is not intended to be, nor does it constitute investment advice or recommendations. The individuals or entities selected as "gurus" may buy and sell securities before and after any particular article and report and information herein is published, with respect to the securities discussed in any article and report posted herein. Gurus may be added or dropped from the GuruFocus site at any time. In no event shall GuruFocus.com be liable to any member, guest or third party for any damages of any kind arising out of the use of any content or other material published or available on GuruFocus.com, or relating to the use of, or inability to use, GuruFocus.com or any content, including, without limitation, any investment losses, lost profits, lost opportunity, special, incidental, indirect, consequential or punitive damages. Past performance is a poor indicator of future performance. The information on this site, and in its related newsletters, is not intended to be, nor does it constitute investment advice or recommendations. The information on this site is in no way guaranteed for completeness, accuracy or in any other way. The gurus listed in this website are not affiliated with GuruFocus.com, LLC. Stock quotes are provided by QuoteMedia, Inc. (CSI). Company fundamental data is provided by Morningstar. Analyst estimates data is sourced from both Refinitiv and Morningstar, with priority given to Refinitiv data. Data is updated daily.
Sprinklr (CXM - Free Report) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.11 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.1 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.12 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.
This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +13.75%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this customer experience software developer would post earnings of $0.1 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.13, delivering a surprise of +30%.
Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times.
Sprinklr, which belongs to the Zacks Technology Services industry, posted revenues of $219.48 million for the quarter ended April 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.63%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $205.5 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates four times over the last four quarters.
The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.
Sprinklr shares have lost about 27.8% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 11.2%.
What's Next for Sprinklr?While Sprinklr has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?
There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.
Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.
Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Sprinklr was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $0.13 on $216.5 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $0.48 on $870.26 million in revenues for the current fiscal year.
Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Technology Services is currently in the bottom 35% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
Society Pass Incorporated (SOPAQ - Free Report) , another stock in the same industry, has yet to report results for the quarter ended March 2026.
This company is expected to post quarterly loss of $0.11 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +75%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days.
Society Pass Incorporated's revenues are expected to be $2.61 million, up 77.6% from the year-ago quarter.
Sprinklr: Has the smoke cleared to buy back in? Sprinklr NYSE: CXM reported first-quarter fiscal 2027 results that topped management’s expectations, with executives pointing to improving renewal trends, stronger enterprise engagement and growing demand for the company’s AI-native customer experience platform.
President and Chief Executive Officer Rory Read said total revenue rose 7% year over year to $219.5 million, while subscription revenue increased 6% to $194.8 million. Non-GAAP operating income was $31.7 million, representing a 14% non-GAAP operating margin.
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3 customer engagement stocks you need to watch“We are making meaningful progress in building a stronger, more customer-centric company,” Read said, adding that actions taken since his arrival are beginning to translate into “meaningful and tangible momentum.”
Renewals Improve as Transformation Continues Read said Sprinklr remains in the second phase of its multi-year transformation, which the company calls “transition and execution.” That phase is expected to continue through fiscal 2027, with the company aiming to enter an “acceleration” phase as it heads into fiscal 2028.
Sprinklr Gets Targets Raised By Analysts, Here's Why Management said renewal rates improved in the quarter, with Read noting that Sprinklr achieved its best renewal rates since fiscal 2024. Chief Financial Officer Anthony Coletta said the company’s first-quarter renewal rate was its highest in more than two years, and that a majority of renewal dollars came from multi-year deals.
Coletta said subscription revenue-based net dollar expansion was 104% in the quarter, marking the second consecutive quarter of steady improvement after a period of stabilization. He also said the net dollar expansion rate for Sprinklr’s $1 million customer cohort was 115% in the quarter, though the company will no longer disclose the $1 million customer count metric because it is not a focus internally or tied to sales incentives.
Sprinklr’s total remaining performance obligation crossed $1 billion for the first time, reaching $1.04 billion at the end of the quarter, up 10% year over year and 5% sequentially. Current RPO was $627.1 million, up 5% year over year and 1% sequentially.
AI Products and Enterprise Deals Drive Momentum Read highlighted the largest software deal in Sprinklr’s history, a multi-year platform agreement with a leading global consumer electronics company. In the question-and-answer session, he said the customer had initially used Sprinklr for social capabilities before expanding into service and ultimately taking the platform across 42 divisions globally.
The company also pointed to momentum in customer feedback management, where Read said the market is moving beyond surveys toward unified views across surveys, social channels, contact centers and reviews. He cited a recent seven-figure displacement win that closed in four weeks.
Sprinklr said its AI-native products are gaining traction, with more than 180 AI projects underway. Coletta said annual recurring revenue for AI-native SKUs grew 47% year over year, with outsized growth in agentic contact center intelligence and Copilot products.
Read said one large customer is achieving a 90% containment rate with Sprinklr AI agents, while customers with more than six months of full Copilot deployment are seeing an average 55% reduction in handling times. Another customer automated more than 85% of pre-sales conversations across 11 markets while improving customer satisfaction, according to Read.
The company also announced the acquisition of the team and assets of ViralMoment, an AI-native video analytics company. Read said the deal strengthens Sprinklr’s platform as short-form video becomes a more important channel for brand engagement and discovery.
Middle East Disruption Delays Some Deals Executives said demand remains broadly healthy, though the company experienced pressure in the Middle East during the quarter. In response to an analyst question, Read said approximately $3 million to $4 million of deals slipped in the region.
Read said Sprinklr had to move 54 customers out of a damaged cloud infrastructure environment in the Middle East to Ireland “on the fly.” He praised the company’s teams and customers in the region for operating in a difficult environment and said the pipeline there remains healthy.
“Good news is the environment’s improving, so we’re encouraged and we’re hopeful,” Read said, while cautioning that the situation is not fully resolved.
Guidance Reflects Services Normalization and AI Investment For the second quarter, Sprinklr expects total revenue of $214 million to $215 million, representing 1% year-over-year growth at the midpoint. Subscription revenue is expected to be $193.5 million to $194.5 million, representing 3% growth at the midpoint.
Professional services revenue is expected to decline to approximately $20.5 million in the second quarter, down 13% year over year. Coletta said the services line has been trending lower as the company completes large global projects and progresses with previously challenged accounts.
Sprinklr expects second-quarter non-GAAP operating income of $29.5 million to $30.5 million and non-GAAP net income of approximately $0.10 per diluted share.
For the full fiscal year, the company raised its subscription revenue outlook to $779.5 million to $781.5 million, representing 3% growth at the midpoint. Total revenue is expected to be $866.5 million to $868.5 million, representing 1% growth at the midpoint. Full-year non-GAAP operating income is expected to be $139 million to $141 million, or a 16% non-GAAP operating margin.
Coletta said the operating income outlook reflects lower services revenue, incremental AI investment and the impact of ViralMoment. He said the company expects operating income to improve gradually in the second half as efficiency gains take hold.
Management Points to Fiscal 2028 Acceleration Read said Sprinklr is seeing stronger customer engagement from its “Project Bear Hug” initiative, which focuses on improving relationships with larger customers. He said the company has seen double-digit improvements in renewal rates in cohorts where the initiative has been applied and is now extending similar efforts to smaller accounts through a program called “Cornerstone.”
Looking ahead, Read said the company is focused on paying down technical debt, improving enterprise-grade execution and expanding AI adoption. He framed fiscal 2027 as a transition year, with the goal of entering a stronger growth phase by the end of the year or the start of fiscal 2028.
“These things take time,” Read said. “I think we’re making good progress, and we’re really on track to where I expect to be at this point.”
About Sprinklr NYSE: CXMSprinklr, Inc NYSE: CXM is a leading enterprise software firm specializing in customer experience management. The company offers a unified, AI-driven platform designed to help organizations engage customers across multiple digital and social channels. By consolidating marketing, advertising, research, care and engagement functions into a single SaaS solution, Sprinklr enables brands to deliver consistent and personalized experiences at scale.
Sprinklr's platform includes modules for social media management, customer service automation, social advertising and market research, supplemented by AI and machine learning capabilities.
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
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Sprinklr is identified as a value trap amid deteriorating fundamentals and sharply slowing revenue growth. CXM has underperformed the S&P 500, declining ~25% since January while the broader market reached new highs. Though cheap at
For the quarter ended April 2026, Sprinklr (CXM - Free Report) reported revenue of $219.48 million, up 6.8% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $0.11, compared to $0.12 in the year-ago quarter.
The reported revenue represents a surprise of +1.63% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $215.96 million. With the consensus EPS estimate being $0.10, the EPS surprise was +13.75%.
While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health.
As these metrics influence top- and bottom-line performance, comparing them to the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated helps investors project a stock's price performance more accurately.
Here is how Sprinklr performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:
Gross Margin - Subscription: 74% versus the two-analyst average estimate of 74.7%.Revenue- Subscription: $194.79 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $193.51 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +5.8%.Revenue- Professional services: $24.69 million versus $22.4 million estimated by two analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +15.5% change.View all Key Company Metrics for Sprinklr here>>>
Shares of Sprinklr have returned +3.8% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +4.6% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term.
Shares of Sprinklr (CXM - Free Report) have gained 0.9% over the past four weeks to close the last trading session at $5.38, but there could still be a solid upside left in the stock if short-term price targets of Wall Street analysts are any indication. Going by the price targets, the mean estimate of $7.88 indicates a potential upside of 46.5%.
The mean estimate comprises eight short-term price targets with a standard deviation of $2.4. While the lowest estimate of $6.00 indicates an 11.5% increase from the current price level, the most optimistic analyst expects the stock to surge 123.1% to reach $12.00. It's very important to note the standard deviation here, as it helps understand the variability of the estimates. The smaller the standard deviation, the greater the agreement among analysts.
While the consensus price target is a much-coveted metric for investors, solely banking on this metric to make an investment decision may not be wise at all. That's because the ability and unbiasedness of analysts in setting price targets have long been questionable.
But, for CXM, an impressive average price target is not the only indicator of a potential upside. Strong agreement among analysts about the company's ability to report better earnings than they predicted earlier strengthens this view. While a positive trend in earnings estimate revisions doesn't gauge how much a stock could gain, it has proven to be powerful in predicting an upside.
Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Here's What You Should Know About Analysts' Price TargetsAccording to researchers at several universities across the globe, a price target is one of many pieces of information about a stock that misleads investors far more often than it guides. In fact, empirical research shows that price targets set by several analysts, irrespective of the extent of agreement, rarely indicate where the price of a stock could actually be heading.
While Wall Street analysts have deep knowledge of a company's fundamentals and the sensitivity of its business to economic and industry issues, many of them tend to set overly optimistic price targets. Are you wondering why?
They usually do that to drum up interest in shares of companies that their firms either have existing business relationships with or are looking to be associated with. In other words, business incentives of firms covering a stock often result in inflated price targets set by analysts.
However, a tight clustering of price targets, which is represented by a low standard deviation, indicates that analysts have a high degree of agreement about the direction and magnitude of a stock's price movement. While that doesn't necessarily mean the stock will hit the average price target, it could be a good starting point for further research aimed at identifying the potential fundamental driving forces.
That said, while investors should not entirely ignore price targets, making an investment decision solely based on them could lead to disappointing ROI. So, price targets should always be treated with a high degree of skepticism.
Why CXM Could Witness a Solid UpsideThere has been increasing optimism among analysts lately about the company's earnings prospects, as indicated by strong agreement among them in revising EPS estimates higher. And that could be a legitimate reason to expect an upside in the stock. After all, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.
For the current year, one estimate has moved higher over the last 30 days compared to no negative revision. As a result, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased 1.5%.
Moreover, CXM currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), which means it is in the top 20% of more than 4,000 stocks that we rank based on four factors related to earnings estimates. Given an impressive externally-audited track record, this is a more conclusive indication of the stock's potential upside in the near term. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>> .
Therefore, while the consensus price target may not be a reliable indicator of how much CXM could gain, the direction of price movement it implies does appear to be a good guide.
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)---- $CXM #CX--Sprinklr announced LLM Insights, a new offering to help brands understand and shape how they are represented in AI and LLM search results.
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Duolingo (DUOL 3.72%) stock is trading as if its business is in deep trouble. The sell-off has pushed it to a multi-year low, hitting levels it hasn't reached since early 2023. It wasn't all that long ago, however, that the stock was looking much more promising, with its 52-week high being a shade under $545. These days, however, it's unclear whether it will even stay above $100, as it's now down around 80% from its high.
What's going on with the company, and is it in serious trouble, or is the tech stock trading so low that it's effectively become a no-brainer buy?
Image source: Getty Images.
The company's recent financials looked solid Duolingo recently reported its first-quarter results, which covered the first three months of 2026, and there weren't any glaring problems. Revenue rose by 27% to $292 million, and net income was up by 24%. Its profit margin remained healthy at around 15% of the top line. Impressively, its free cash flow also rose by 43% to $147.8 million.
The business is looking good, despite concerns of artificial intelligence (AI) potentially disrupting its growth potential. What may be a little worrisome is a slowdown in its growth rate; for the current quarter, the company anticipates that its revenue will grow at a rate of just 17%. It believes, however, that it's still on track to hit its full-year guidance of around 15-18% in top-line growth. Duolingo's growth may be slowing down, but those are still solid numbers overall.
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Is Duolingo's stock too cheap to pass up? Due to its steep sell-off, you can buy Duolingo stock at a considerable bargain right now. It trades at 12 times its trailing earnings and a multiple of 14 based on analyst projections of future profits. By comparison, the average S&P 500 stock trades at 26 times trailing earnings and a forward-earnings multiple of 22. Duolingo trades at a steep discount.
Its current valuation may be appropriate for a no-growth stock, but Duolingo's business is still expanding. While its growth rate may be slowing down, management said that would happen as it is focusing primarily on growing its user base over monetization. It's a strategy that could pay off over the long term.
While I wouldn't call Duolingo stock a no-brainer buy simply because there are some risks due to AI, I think there's a strong contrarian case to be made as to why it can generate strong returns for investors who buy right now. If you're willing to be patient and buy and hold, Duolingo stock may be worth adding to your portfolio today.
Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn said there's some work AI cannot replace. Bloomberg/Getty Images Duolingo's CEO said AI still can't match the work of his company's artists and designers.
On Tuesday's episode of the "Rapid Response" podcast, CEO Luis von Ahn said that his team is trying to use AI as much as possible, but "we really don't want to decrease quality."
"For some things, AI is quite ready to do high-quality work. For some things, it's just not," he said. "We're not going to decrease quality just for the sake of using AI."
When podcast host Bob Safian asked where AI still falls short, von Ahn pointed to design.
"For example, we hire a lot of artists and designers, and our app is very high-craft when it comes to design," he said. "We're just not seeing AI get to the level of creativity or the level of polish that our top people have, by any means."
Duolingo has publicly embraced AI.
Last April, the company said it would evaluate employee performance partly based on AI usage. The company later walked that back, with von Ahn saying that this rule prompted employees to use AI in areas where it was unnecessary.
"I don't think that was right," he said on the Rapid Response episode about the evaluation criteria. He said that while most employees benefit from using AI, there were projects or roles where it might not help.
"So, making a blanket statement that we were going to evaluate employees on their usage of AI was not needed," he added. "We've removed that."
AI tools have spread across creative industries, with companies increasingly using them for everything from marketing assets to product design.
Some companies, like Kate Spade and Coach parent Tapestry, have said that AI is already part of their designers' workflows.
Read next
Aditi Bharade You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email.
Buying stocks that are down and facing challenges can be difficult simply because you don't know if or when a turnaround may take place. It may require a great deal of patience to invest in a stock that many investors are betting against or that the market is expecting will struggle; that uncertainty inevitably gets priced into the stock's valuation.
But buying these types of contrarian stocks can also result in more significant gains later on, if the businesses are able to prove the market wrong. There are three stocks that I believe may be good ones to buy today, despite their current headwinds: Duolingo (DUOL 3.72%), Pfizer (PFE +0.69%), and Robinhood Markets (HOOD 0.81%).
Image source: Getty Images.
Duolingo Shares of Duolingo have taken a beating over the past 12 months, losing close to 80% of their value. Heightened fears about artificial intelligence (AI) stealing business and the company focusing on user growth over monetization are key reasons why the stock has plummeted as badly as it has.
But if you look at its financials, you'll see that the business is still doing well. Its growth rate has been slowing down. However, beyond that, the company isn't necessarily in dire shape. Over the trailing 12 months, it has generated $1.1 billion in sales, with net income totaling $422 million, for an impressive margin of 38%.
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AI may be both a threat and an opportunity for Duolingo, as it can help create lessons faster and offer a more customizable learning experience. At 12 times earnings, it's a fairly cheap stock to own right now, and it's one that I think the market has been overly punitive on; it could have a lot of room to rise higher.
Pfizer Pfizer's stock has been picking up steam over the past 12 months, rising by 16%. But it still has a long way to go in recovering from its freefall in recent years. Since 2022, its share price has crashed by about 56%. And based on analyst estimates, it's trading at just nine times its expected future earnings.
The healthcare stock remains heavily discounted due to the uncertainty around its future growth, with the company facing patent cliffs on multiple key drugs. That means its revenue could decline if it doesn't develop or acquire new products to make up for the shortfalls. The good news is that Pfizer has a massive pipeline of drugs. As of May 5, its pipeline stood at 96 potential drug candidates, as the company has been working feverishly (and acquiring companies) to create more opportunities to bolster its growth prospects.
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There's some risk with the stock, as is evident with its modest valuation, but if it's able to get one or two promising drugs approved, that could drastically change the outlook for the business. There's, of course, no guarantee that things will turn out in Pfizer's favor, but investing in the stock could be a calculated risk worth taking.
Robinhood Markets Shares of Robinhood are down nearly 30% this year, and a big part of that is due to a weak crypto market, with Bitcoin falling in value this year. Robinhood's trading app has seen fewer cryptocurrency transactions, and thus, that's impacted its growth rate. At 15% growth for the most recent quarter (which ended on March 31), it was a decent rate, but for a stock that's been trading at more than 40 times earnings, expectations will inevitably be high.
Robinhood has some terrific long-term growth opportunities in prediction markets, which can strengthen and diversify its already robust trading platform. Its popularity with young retail investors is another reason I believe the business may continue to grow and do well, as they can be among the most active traders, whether it's in crypto, stocks, or prediction markets.
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Although the stock may still be a bit expensive, given the growth opportunities it may offer, I think a strong case can be made for buying Robinhood stock right now. It's down nearly 50% from its 52-week high of $153.86. Even if it doesn't get back to that level, the stock may still have room to generate excellent returns for investors from here on out.
*Stock prices used were the afternoon prices of May 11, 2026. The video was published on May 13, 2026.
Parkev Tatevosian, CFA has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Duolingo. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Parkev Tatevosian is an affiliate of The Motley Fool and may be compensated for promoting its services. If you choose to subscribe through his link, he will earn some extra money that supports his channel. His opinions remain his own and are unaffected by The Motley Fool.
Duolingo faces bearish sentiment after growth slowdown, management's AI focus, and concerns over user metrics transparency. Q1 FY26 showed DAU growth dropping to 21% and MAU to 6%, with management shifting focus from monetization to user acquisition. AI integration has accelerated content creation and engagement, raising DAU/MAU to 41%, but monetization remains uncertain, especially outside the US.
Ann Berry is joined by Gillian Munson, CFO of Duolingo to discuss the company's transformation as it pursues user growth over short-term revenue. They dive into Duolingo's expansion beyond language learning, growth opportunities across Asia, and how AI is accelerating content production.
I have followed Duolingo (DUOL 3.72%) stock since it went public in 2021, but I didn't actually buy it until March of this year. It was down by more than 79% from its June 2025 record high when I decided to dive in at a time when most investors were fretting over two potential headwinds for its business.
Duolingo operates the world's largest digital language education platform. Management recently announced a plan to focus on user growth for the next couple of years, which has already caused a slowdown in the company's revenue and earnings growth. At the same time, there have been concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) could disrupt the platform's success.
Personally, I think Duolingo's renewed focus on user acquisition will yield significant long-term rewards for shareholders, and I also believe AI will be a tailwind, not a threat, to its business. The stock has already jumped 25% from my initial purchase price of around $90, and while it's way too early to declare victory, here's why I think significantly more upside could be ahead.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
AI is enhancing the learning experience Duolingo's success stems from its mobile-first approach, which puts language education at the fingertips of practically anyone with a smartphone. Plus, its gamified and highly interactive lessons keep learners engaged, which is the key to monetizing them over the long term.
Duolingo had 56.5 million daily active users at the conclusion of the first quarter of 2026 (ended March 31), which was up 21% compared to the year-ago period. The majority of them were free users who Duolingo monetizes through advertising, but 12.5 million of them were paying a subscription fee to unlock additional features to accelerate their learning.
While some investors believe new AI-powered translation tools will make Duolingo's platform obsolete, the company is proving it can use this new technology to its advantage.
In 2024, it launched a new feature called Video Call, which is only available to users who pay for a Super Duolingo or Duolingo Max subscription. It uses an AI-powered digital avatar to help users practice their foreign language speaking skills, and during the first quarter, the average number of spoken words per user who engaged with the feature more than doubled compared to the year-ago period. In other words, Video Call is already a massive tailwind for engagement.
But Duolingo is also using AI behind the scenes. The company published 20,500 course units during the first quarter, up significantly from an average of 7,100 per quarter in 2025, thanks to AI-powered automation. This means lessons are added and updated more frequently to keep users coming back, and it also reduces costs because fewer human workers are required to draft content.
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Faster user growth could be great for shareholders Duolingo generated $292 million in revenue during the first quarter, which was up 27% year over year. While that was a solid growth rate, it marked a deceleration from the 38% growth the company delivered in the same quarter of 2025.
That is one of the drawbacks of management's decision to prioritize user acquisition over monetization. As part of this new strategy, Duolingo is offering more speaking-based lessons to free users in order to appeal to a wider audience. However, this diminishes the value of subscription-only features like Video Call, hence the slower revenue growth.
Revenue and earnings tend to drive stock prices, which explains why Duolingo shed so much value over the past year. However, management believes the platform's daily active user base will almost double to 100 million over the next two years as a result of this strategy shift.
In theory, a larger user base will make Duolingo harder to disrupt, thus making its business more defensible against competitive threats. Plus, the company will have more prospects to monetize in the future, leading to more revenue and profit.
If Duolingo turns its attention back to monetization in 2028 and converts free users into subscribers at the same rate as it did in 2025, then we can assume its paying user base and annualized revenue would roughly double from current levels. In other words, once the company has fortified its user base, I think its revenue growth could reaccelerate.
Duolingo's valuation leaves room for more upside Duolingo stock is trading at a price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of just 5 as I write this, which is a steep discount to its average of 15.8 since going public in 2021. It's also trading at a forward P/S ratio of 3.8, based on Wall Street's $1.37 billion revenue estimate for 2027 (supplied by Yahoo! Finance). In other words, the stock looks like a bargain relative to its historical valuation.
Data by YCharts.
The stock also looks cheap by another widely used valuation method. Based on the company's trailing-12-month generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) earnings of $8.74 per share, its stock is trading at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of just 13.1, which is half the P/E ratio of the S&P 500 index. So, Duolingo is much cheaper than the broader market right now.
Moreover, Wall Street doesn't expect management's strategy shift to have a major impact on the company's bottom line, because the stock trades at a forward P/E ratio of 14.1 based on 2027 earnings estimates.
Data by YCharts.
In summary, Duolingo stock still looks cheap despite its 25% bounce since my purchase in March. That gives me confidence that more upside might be ahead -- but I plan to hold until at least 2028, because I think that's when investors will yield the biggest rewards.
Duolingo, Inc. (DUOL - Free Report) has been one of the most searched-for stocks on Zacks.com lately. So, you might want to look at some of the facts that could shape the stock's performance in the near term.
Over the past month, shares of this company have returned +5.3%, compared to the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +5.5% change. During this period, the Zacks Technology Services industry, which Duolingo falls in, has gained 0.6%. The key question now is: What could be the stock's future direction?
Although media reports or rumors about a significant change in a company's business prospects usually cause its stock to trend and lead to an immediate price change, there are always certain fundamental factors that ultimately drive the buy-and-hold decision.
Revisions to Earnings EstimatesHere at Zacks, we prioritize appraising the change in the projection of a company's future earnings over anything else. That's because we believe the present value of its future stream of earnings is what determines the fair value for its stock.
Our analysis is essentially based on how sell-side analysts covering the stock are revising their earnings estimates to take the latest business trends into account. When earnings estimates for a company go up, the fair value for its stock goes up as well. And when a stock's fair value is higher than its current market price, investors tend to buy the stock, resulting in its price moving upward. Because of this, empirical studies indicate a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and short-term stock price movements.
Duolingo is expected to post earnings of $0.62 per share for the current quarter, representing a year-over-year change of -31.9%. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed -1.9%.
For the current fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $2.84 points to a change of -66.9% from the prior year. Over the last 30 days, this estimate has changed -11.1%.
For the next fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $3.13 indicates a change of +10.5% from what Duolingo is expected to report a year ago. Over the past month, the estimate has changed -13.9%.
Having a strong externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool, the Zacks Rank, offers a more conclusive picture of a stock's price direction in the near term, since it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions. Due to the size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, Duolingo is rated Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
The chart below shows the evolution of the company's forward 12-month consensus EPS estimate:
12 Month EPS
Projected Revenue GrowthWhile earnings growth is arguably the most superior indicator of a company's financial health, nothing happens as such if a business isn't able to grow its revenues. After all, it's nearly impossible for a company to increase its earnings for an extended period without increasing its revenues. So, it's important to know a company's potential revenue growth.
In the case of Duolingo, the consensus sales estimate of $295.63 million for the current quarter points to a year-over-year change of +17.2%. The $1.21 billion and $1.36 billion estimates for the current and next fiscal years indicate changes of +16.3% and +13%, respectively.
Last Reported Results and Surprise HistoryDuolingo reported revenues of $291.97 million in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +26.5%. EPS of $0.89 for the same period compares with $0.72 a year ago.
Compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $288.54 million, the reported revenues represent a surprise of +1.19%. The EPS surprise was +12.66%.
The company beat consensus EPS estimates in each of the trailing four quarters. The company topped consensus revenue estimates each time over this period.
ValuationWithout considering a stock's valuation, no investment decision can be efficient. In predicting a stock's future price performance, it's crucial to determine whether its current price correctly reflects the intrinsic value of the underlying business and the company's growth prospects.
While comparing the current values of a company's valuation multiples, such as price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S), and price-to-cash flow (P/CF), with its own historical values helps determine whether its stock is fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued, comparing the company relative to its peers on these parameters gives a good sense of the reasonability of the stock's price.
As part of the Zacks Style Scores system, the Zacks Value Style Score (which evaluates both traditional and unconventional valuation metrics) organizes stocks into five groups ranging from A to F (A is better than B; B is better than C; and so on), making it helpful in identifying whether a stock is overvalued, rightly valued, or temporarily undervalued.
Duolingo is graded B on this front, indicating that it is trading at a discount to its peers. Click here to see the values of some of the valuation metrics that have driven this grade.
Bottom LineThe facts discussed here and much other information on Zacks.com might help determine whether or not it's worthwhile paying attention to the market buzz about Duolingo. However, its Zacks Rank #3 does suggest that it may perform in line with the broader market in the near term.
While there's ample discussion among investors about artificial intelligence (AI) stocks, much of it centers around chipmakers, cloud companies, and large language model (LLM) developers. There's a different type of company that rarely appears in those conversations: Duolingo (DUOL 3.72%), maker of the most popular language-learning app.
Duolingo's AI push initially drew significant criticism. In June 2025, CEO Luis von Ahn made a controversial announcement that Duolingo would be an AI-first company. He later clarified that he doesn't see AI replacing what Duolingo employees do. Despite the initial backlash, the focus on leveraging AI has made a positive impact on Duolingo's business.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Scaling up course production via AI One area where AI has made a difference for Duolingo is course content. Using generative AI, the company has drastically scaled up production. In April 2025, von Ahn announced that the company had developed 148 new language courses in a year. Its first 100 courses took 12 years to develop.
This production growth is accelerating, according to metrics from its first-quarter shareholder letter. In Q1, Duolingo published 20,500 course units, up from an average of 7,100 per quarter in 2025 and 1,800 per quarter in 2024.
Every additional course and language combination expands Duolingo's market, and the increase in courses has corresponded to an increase in users. Daily active users hit 56.5 million in the first quarter, up 21% year over year. Paid subscribers at the end of the quarter also increased by 21% to 12.5 million, indicating that the app is continuing to convert users into paying customers at the same rate.
Duolingo's financials are following suit While Duolingo management is prioritizing user growth, earnings are also moving in the right direction. Revenue in Q1 increased 27% year over year to $292 million, and net income increased 24% to $43.5 million.
Duolingo has an efficient business with high margins (gross margin was 73% in the first quarter), and that means it has excellent cash flow. Free cash flow (FCF) for the quarter was $147.8 million, putting the company in a strong financial position.
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Duolingo stock trades at a reasonable 13 times trailing earnings. It's worth noting that the share price has plummeted nearly 80% since May 2025, when it peaked at $541, which is why it's so affordable now. Several factors contributed to the decline, including the AI backlash, a focus on user growth over monetization, and worries about AI's impact on software stocks.
The AI backlash seems overblown at this point, given how many other tech companies have announced layoffs amid AI pivots. Even with the focus on user growth, Duolingo is still growing financially. The biggest concern is AI acting as a headwind to software companies like Duolingo. Still, I think it's more likely that Duolingo and many other software businesses will use AI to their advantage.
Duolingo is different from most AI stocks, and that's what makes it interesting as an investment. The company isn't selling chips or spending hundreds of billions of dollars on data centers. It's using AI to improve what it already does. At Duolingo's current valuation, AI-focused investors may want to consider picking up some shares.
Duolingo just released one of its most requested features ever—but it’ll only be available for a single month.
The feature gives anyone who had previously built a streak of more than 30 days, but then lost that streak by missing too many lessons, the chance to earn it back. That means anyone who skipped their French instruction for their wedding, for an international vacation, or while in labor will finally be able to stop lamenting their lost language-learning glory to their friends. The event will run from June 1 to June 30.
While Duolingo does give users “streak freezes,” which allow habitual streak-havers to pause their lessons for a short period of time, this is the first time that the company has allowed users to revive a permanently lost streak. According to a press release, in the past year alone, tens of thousands of learners asked Duolingo for their streak back across social media in more than 80 countries.
The streak-revival campaign comes as Duolingo is actively prioritizing user growth in 2026. While announcing the company’s Q4 2025 results, CEO Luis von Ahn told investors that Duolingo’s goal is to achieve 100 million daily active users in the medium-term, essentially doubling its existing monthly active users. To achieve that, the company is focusing on giving subscribers of some of its lower-cost subscription plans access to AI tools that would otherwise be limited to higher-cost, premium paid plans.
So far, investors seem to be less than thrilled with the company’s direction in 2026: Share prices are currently down 77% year over year (a decline that was kick-started by the company’s infamous “AI-first” memo in April 2025).
Nevertheless, Duolingo is moving forward with its goal of expanding its user base—and giving learners the rare opportunity to restore their streak is one lever it’s pulling to drive that growth.
Here’s how to restore your own dead Duolingo streak:
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Duolingo, Inc. (DUOL - Free Report) is one of the stocks most watched by Zacks.com visitors lately. So, it might be a good idea to review some of the factors that might affect the near-term performance of the stock.
Shares of this company have returned +5.7% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +5.4% change. The Zacks Technology Services industry, to which Duolingo belongs, has gained 11.3% over this period. Now the key question is: Where could the stock be headed in the near term?
While media releases or rumors about a substantial change in a company's business prospects usually make its stock 'trending' and lead to an immediate price change, there are always some fundamental facts that eventually dominate the buy-and-hold decision-making.
Earnings Estimate RevisionsHere at Zacks, we prioritize appraising the change in the projection of a company's future earnings over anything else. That's because we believe the present value of its future stream of earnings is what determines the fair value for its stock.
Our analysis is essentially based on how sell-side analysts covering the stock are revising their earnings estimates to take the latest business trends into account. When earnings estimates for a company go up, the fair value for its stock goes up as well. And when a stock's fair value is higher than its current market price, investors tend to buy the stock, resulting in its price moving upward. Because of this, empirical studies indicate a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and short-term stock price movements.
For the current quarter, Duolingo is expected to post earnings of $0.62 per share, indicating a change of -31.9% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed -4.3% over the last 30 days.
For the current fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $2.84 points to a change of -66.9% from the prior year. Over the last 30 days, this estimate has changed -8.2%.
For the next fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $3.13 indicates a change of +10.5% from what Duolingo is expected to report a year ago. Over the past month, the estimate has changed -6.5%.
With an impressive externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool -- the Zacks Rank -- is a more conclusive indicator of a stock's near-term price performance, as it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions. The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) for Duolingo.
The chart below shows the evolution of the company's forward 12-month consensus EPS estimate:
12 Month EPS
Revenue Growth ForecastWhile earnings growth is arguably the most superior indicator of a company's financial health, nothing happens as such if a business isn't able to grow its revenues. After all, it's nearly impossible for a company to increase its earnings for an extended period without increasing its revenues. So, it's important to know a company's potential revenue growth.
In the case of Duolingo, the consensus sales estimate of $295.63 million for the current quarter points to a year-over-year change of +17.2%. The $1.21 billion and $1.36 billion estimates for the current and next fiscal years indicate changes of +16.3% and +13%, respectively.
Last Reported Results and Surprise HistoryDuolingo reported revenues of $291.97 million in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +26.5%. EPS of $0.89 for the same period compares with $0.72 a year ago.
Compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $288.54 million, the reported revenues represent a surprise of +1.19%. The EPS surprise was +12.66%.
The company beat consensus EPS estimates in each of the trailing four quarters. The company topped consensus revenue estimates each time over this period.
ValuationNo investment decision can be efficient without considering a stock's valuation. Whether a stock's current price rightly reflects the intrinsic value of the underlying business and the company's growth prospects is an essential determinant of its future price performance.
While comparing the current values of a company's valuation multiples, such as price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S), and price-to-cash flow (P/CF), with its own historical values helps determine whether its stock is fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued, comparing the company relative to its peers on these parameters gives a good sense of the reasonability of the stock's price.
The Zacks Value Style Score (part of the Zacks Style Scores system), which pays close attention to both traditional and unconventional valuation metrics to grade stocks from A to F (an A is better than a B; a B is better than a C; and so on), is pretty helpful in identifying whether a stock is overvalued, rightly valued, or temporarily undervalued.
Duolingo is graded B on this front, indicating that it is trading at a discount to its peers. Click here to see the values of some of the valuation metrics that have driven this grade.
Bottom LineThe facts discussed here and much other information on Zacks.com might help determine whether or not it's worthwhile paying attention to the market buzz about Duolingo. However, its Zacks Rank #4 does suggest that it may underperform the broader market in the near term.
It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Duolingo, Inc. (DUOL - Free Report) . Shares have added about 5.7% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.
Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Duolingo due for a pullback? Well, first let's take a quick look at the latest earnings report in order to get a better handle on the recent drivers for Duolingo, Inc. before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late.
Duolingo’s Q1 Earnings Beat EstimatesDuolingo, Inc. delivered first-quarter 2026 earnings of 89 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 79 cents by 12.7%. Revenues rose 27.0% year over year to $292.0 million and topped the consensus call of $288.5 million by 1.2%.
The quarter showed continued engagement strength, with daily active users increasing 21% year over year to 56.5 million, as management leaned further into product improvements designed to deepen learning outcomes.
DUOL’s Subscriber Growth Supports the Core ModelA growing paid base remained an important support for results. Paid subscribers reached 12.5 million at period end, up 21% from the year-ago quarter, pointing to steady conversion alongside a larger active community. Monthly active users also increased to 137.8 million, reinforcing the scale of the platform.
Management reiterated that it is still early in its 2026 strategic shift, but the company continues to prioritize teaching better while growing its audience. The medium-term goal remains reaching 100 million daily active users in 2028, with product quality positioned as a key lever for retention and word-of-mouth expansion.
Duolingo Deepens Speaking as a Daily HabitDuolingo put particular emphasis on making speaking a more central part of the learning experience. The company introduced “spoken tokens,” enabling learners to speak answers instead of tapping words, and launched flashcards that push faster recall by having users say words and phrases aloud.
The company also began rolling out “Speaking Adventures,” built around real-world tasks that require learners to speak with Duolingo characters. For paid users, Video Call continued to improve, and management said the feature has helped more than double the average number of words spoken per user over the past year.
DUOL Uses AI to Accelerate Content CreationContent scaling was another highlight of the quarter. DUOL said it published 20,500 course units in the first quarter alone, reflecting the impact of AI tools that are speeding production and enabling broader updates across many language courses at once.
The company also pointed to expanding depth in its most important offerings. It has launched content up to Duolingo Score 129 (CEFR B2) across courses teaching its nine most-learned languages, positioning the platform as a path to more advanced proficiency. Alongside that expansion, Duolingo said it is improving Chinese, Japanese and Korean courses by simplifying early lessons and easing the learning curve for character systems.
Duolingo’s Bookings Show Monetization ResilienceBookings growth suggested that monetization held up as the company continues to refine its approach. Total bookings increased 14% year over year to $308.5 million, driven by continued subscriber growth and favorable advertising trends. Subscription bookings rose 15% to $268.1 million.
Revenue composition continued to skew heavily toward subscriptions. Subscription revenue grew 31% year over year to $250.9 million. Advertising revenue increased 15% to $20.6 million, while Duolingo English Test revenues declined 6% to $11.3 million, and in-app purchases decreased 11% to $8.4 million.
DUOL Expands Gross Margin as Costs ImproveProfitability improved as gross margin expanded 190 basis points year over year to 73.0%, which management attributed primarily to continued reductions in per-unit AI costs. Gross profit increased to $213.1 million, up from $164.1 million a year ago.
Operating expenses rose as the company continued investing in long-term growth. Research and development expense increased to $83.0 million, sales and marketing climbed to $39.2 million, and general and administrative expense rose to $46.3 million. Even with higher spending, adjusted EBITDA grew to $83.4 million, representing a 28.6% margin.
Duolingo Updates 2026 Targets and Capital ReturnsDuolingo’s cash generation remained strong in the quarter. Net cash provided by operating activities was $150.8 million, and free cash flow totaled $147.8 million, equating to a 50.6% free-cash-flow margin. The company ended the quarter with $1.1 billion in cash and cash equivalents, supporting flexibility for both investment and shareholder returns.
Guidance reinforced management’s view of 2026 as a strategic investment year. For the second quarter of 2026, the company guided revenues of $295.5 million and bookings of $283.5 million, with adjusted EBITDA of $71.0 million (24.0% margin). For full-year 2026, Duolingo expects revenues of $1.205 billion and bookings of $1.28 billion, with adjusted EBITDA of $310 million (25.7% margin). Management also expects gross margin to trend down through the year as AI feature use expands, with a target of roughly 69% by the fourth quarter.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?Since the earnings release, investors have witnessed a downward trend in estimates review.
VGM ScoresCurrently, Duolingo has a nice Growth Score of B, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with an F. However, the stock has a grade of B on the value side, putting it in the top 40% for value investors.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of B. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
OutlookEstimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. It's no surprise Duolingo has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). We expect a below average return from the stock in the next few months.
Performance of an Industry PlayerDuolingo is part of the Zacks Technology Services industry. Over the past month, SLB (SLB - Free Report) , a stock from the same industry, has gained 1%. The company reported its results for the quarter ended March 2026 more than a month ago.
SLB reported revenues of $8.72 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +2.7%. EPS of $0.52 for the same period compares with $0.72 a year ago.
SLB is expected to post earnings of $0.53 per share for the current quarter, representing a year-over-year change of -28.4%. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed -0.8%.
SLB has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) based on the overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions. Additionally, the stock has a VGM Score of B.
Duolingo (DUOL 3.72%) is proof that a business can have solid fundamentals but a waning stock price. The green bird hasn't fared well with its 38% year-to-date decline, but the edtech company presents a compelling opportunity.
All of the right numbers continue to trend upward, and that should eventually reflect on the stock price, which trades at a 15.7 forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio.
Image source: Getty Images.
Duolingo continues to attract new users and boost its revenue High revenue growth is one of the hallmarks of a successful growth stock, and Duolingo checks that box. Revenue increased by 27% year over year as the app reached 56.5 million daily active users, which is up by 21% year over year. The edtech company also reached 12.5 million paid subscribers, a 21% year-over-year improvement.
High user growth and revenue gains, combined with a rising net income, are signs of a healthy company. It comes as Duolingo makes changes to its app in an effort to drive "long-term engagement and loyalty."
Duolingo recently changed its app to incorporate more speaking practice, instead of users just clicking on the correct answer. The company said in its first-quarter presentation that this change is "critical for developing conversational skills" in a target language. Better results can boost retention and prompt Duolingo customers to learn additional languages on the app.
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The AI software apocalypse is substantially overdone Duolingo was one of many victims of the "AI SaaS Apocalypse," which took place earlier this year. Anthropic's Claude Cowork plug-ins could perform advanced workflows autonomously, and some people thought it would be the end of many software companies. As a result, Duolingo stock took a massive hit. Although the narrative has recently revolved around the possibility of artificial intelligence making Duolingo irrelevant, the fundamentals present a different picture.
This mismatch will become clearer in the months ahead, and Duolingo's Q1 shareholder letter further pointed out this disconnect. The edtech company told investors it was using AI tools to "fundamentally change how quickly [they] can create content." This omission indicates that AI is a catalyst for Duolingo instead of a threat. It's even translating into better fundamentals.
"We can now push changes across many courses at once and improve quality more quickly and consistently. This is already improving engagement among new users," Duolingo said in its shareholder letter.
While investors can argue that Duolingo was overvalued when it traded near $600 per share, it's harder to make that same case now that Duolingo barely trades above $100 per share. One year ago, Duolingo had a forward P/E ratio well above 100, but its current 15.7 forward P/E ratio suggests that it is due for a comeback.
Duolingo stock is showing exceptional strength. Why is DUOL stock up today? What Is Driving Duolingo’s Stock Momentum?Today's push looks like a momentum-driven continuation of the stock's recent recovery phase, with price pressing into a nearby pivot area around $119 after reclaiming key short-term trend levels. With the broader tape green and tech in the lead, DUOL is getting an extra tailwind as traders rotate back toward higher-beta software-style setups.
Market breadth is still mixed (4 sectors advancing, 7 declining, with a 0.6 advance/decline ratio), which can keep rallies choppy even when the major indexes are higher.
DUOL’s Key Moving Averages And Price LevelsDUOL is now trading 9.1% above its 20-day SMA ($108.98) and 14.3% above its 50-day SMA ($104.02), which tells you the near-term trend has flipped back to "buyers in control" after the April low. At the same time, it remains 34.3% below its 200-day SMA ($181.00), so the longer-term chart is still in repair mode rather than a fully restored uptrend.
RSI is the cleaner momentum read right now, sitting at 51.27—neutral, but no longer "washed out" like it was when RSI dipped into oversold territory in March. In plain English, RSI helps gauge whether a move is getting stretched; a neutral reading suggests the stock has room to trend without immediately flashing an overbought warning.
The moving-average structure is sending mixed signals: the 20-day SMA is above the 50-day SMA (bullish), but the stock is still living under the longer-term "death cross" that formed in August 2025 (50-day below 200-day). That combination often produces sharp rallies that can still fail at overhead resistance until the 200-day trend starts flattening and turning up.
Key Resistance: $119.00 — a nearby pivot/round-number area where rebounds can stall, especially with price pressing into it after today's surge Key Support: $98.50 — a prior buyer-defense zone that sits above the 52-week low area ($87.89), making it a key "line in the sand" if momentum fades Duolingo’s Benzinga Edge Scorecard BreakdownBelow is the Benzinga Edge scorecard for Duolingo, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses compared to the broader market:
The Verdict: Duolingo’s Benzinga Edge signal reveals a growth-heavy profile with neutral value characteristics but a still-weak momentum score. For longer-term bulls, the setup improves if price can build above nearby resistance and start working back toward the 200-day trend, while risk management tends to center on whether support zones hold during pullbacks.
Current Price Action For DUOL StockDUOL Stock Price Activity: Duolingo shares were up 9.32% at $119.19 at the time of publication on Monday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Image: Shutterstock
This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
Shares of Duolingo (DUOL 3.72%) have jumped 10% in trading on Monday as the company benefits from investors looking for value in growing software stocks. But the company may have long-term tailwinds that will last more than today and this is a great opportunity.
In this video, I highlight the improving metrics behind the business and why Duolingo's stock could be a great long-term buy.
*Stock prices used were end-of-day prices of June 8, 2026. The video was published on June 8 2026.
Travis Hoium has positions in Duolingo. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Duolingo. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Travis Hoium is an affiliate of The Motley Fool and may be compensated for promoting its services. If you choose to subscribe through their link they will earn some extra money that supports their channel. Their opinions remain their own and are unaffected by The Motley Fool.
Shares of Duolingo DUOL moved higher on Monday as investors returned to growth-oriented technology stocks.
Improving sentiment across the broader market also helped lift software names that have suffered steep declines over the past year.
The language-learning platform gained more than 8.8% during the session, outperforming a Nasdaq rally of about 2.2%.
The move extended a recent recovery for the stock, even though shares remain well below their highs from the past year.
The latest rebound comes as investors weigh Duolingo's strong operating performance against concerns that advances in artificial intelligence could disrupt software companies across the education technology sector.
User growth and revenue remain strongDespite a challenging period for the stock price, Duolingo's underlying business metrics have continued to improve.
The company reported first-quarter revenue growth of 27% from a year earlier, while daily active users climbed 21% to 56.5 million.
Paid subscribers also increased 21% year over year to 12.5 million.
The combination of rising revenue, expanding user engagement, and improving profitability has reinforced the view among some investors that the company's fundamentals remain intact despite recent market volatility.
Duolingo has also been updating its platform to encourage deeper user engagement.
The company recently introduced additional speaking exercises, shifting away from a model that relied primarily on selecting correct answers.
In its first-quarter shareholder presentation, Duolingo said the change is "critical for developing conversational skills" in a target language.
The company believes stronger learning outcomes could improve user retention and encourage subscribers to study additional languages through the platform.
Duolingo was among the companies caught up in what some investors referred to as the "AI SaaS Apocalypse" earlier this year, when concerns grew that increasingly capable artificial intelligence systems could automate many software functions.
The launch of advanced AI workflow tools, including Anthropic's Claude Cowork plug-ins, fueled speculation that some software businesses could face significant disruption.
However, Duolingo has argued that AI is becoming an advantage rather than a competitive threat.
In its shareholder letter, the company said it was using artificial intelligence tools to "fundamentally change how quickly [they] can create content."
"We can now push changes across many courses at once and improve quality more quickly and consistently. This is already improving engagement among new users," Duolingo said in its shareholder letter.
Some investors also point to the company's sharply lower valuation.
While Duolingo once traded at a forward price-to-earnings multiple above 100, the stock now trades at roughly 15.7 times forward earnings.
Monday's rally also reflected improving momentum across technology stocks.
According to market data, DUOL was trading about 9.1% above its 20-day simple moving average and 14.3% above its 50-day moving average, suggesting that near-term sentiment has turned more constructive following the April lows.
At the same time, the stock remains approximately 34.3% below its 200-day moving average, indicating that the longer-term recovery is still developing.
The stock's relative strength index stood at 51.27, a neutral reading that suggests momentum has improved without reaching overbought conditions.
Analysts noted that the current technical setup remains mixed, with short-term indicators turning positive while longer-term resistance levels continue to cap the recovery.
Key resistance is centered around the $119 level, while support remains near $98.50, an area that has previously attracted buyers if momentum weakens.
Duolingo is now rated Buy after a 76% sell-off, which appears overdone relative to its fundamentals. Despite a 55% stock decline in 7 months, DUOL continues to deliver double-digit top and bottom-line growth. DUOL's robust earnings and only one bottom-line miss since 2024 suggest no structural business issues.
Duolingo remains a compelling buy as product strategy resets and expectations are already low. Despite a 30% YTD decline, DUOL sustains double-digit growth in MAUs, DAUs, and paid users at scale. Product stickiness and rising DAU/MAU ratios reinforce DUOL's strong monetization foundation.
Duolingo, Inc. (DUOL - Free Report) ended the recent trading session at $123.97, demonstrating a +1.68% change from the preceding day's closing price. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.75%. At the same time, the Dow added 1.86%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 2.54%.
The stock of company has risen by 16.14% in the past month, leading the Business Services sector's loss of 1.26% and the S&P 500's loss of 1.63%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Duolingo, Inc. in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $0.62, signifying a 31.87% drop compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $296.19 million, indicating a 17.42% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $2.84 per share and a revenue of $1.21 billion, signifying shifts of -66.86% and +16.36%, respectively, from the last year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Duolingo, Inc. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. Duolingo, Inc. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
In terms of valuation, Duolingo, Inc. is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 43.01. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 16.08, so one might conclude that Duolingo, Inc. is trading at a premium comparatively.
Meanwhile, DUOL's PEG ratio is currently 0.92. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. DUOL's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.32 as of yesterday's close.
The Technology Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 156, putting it in the bottom 37% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.
For new and old investors, taking full advantage of the stock market and investing with confidence are common goals. Zacks Premium provides lots of different ways to do both.
Featuring daily updates of the Zacks Rank and Zacks Industry Rank, full access to the Zacks #1 Rank List, Equity Research reports, and Premium stock screens, the research service can help you become a smarter, more self-assured investor.
Zacks Premium also includes the Zacks Style Scores.
What are the Zacks Style Scores? The Zacks Style Scores is a unique set of guidelines that rates stocks based on three popular investing types, and were developed as complementary indicators for the Zacks Rank. This combination helps investors choose securities with the highest chances of beating the market over the next 30 days.
Each stock is assigned a rating of A, B, C, D, or F based on their value, growth, and momentum characteristics. Just like in school, an A is better than a B, a B is better than a C, and so on -- that means the better the score, the better chance the stock will outperform.
The Style Scores are broken down into four categories:
Value ScoreFinding good stocks at good prices, and discovering which companies are trading under their true value, are what value investors like to focus on. So, the Value Style Score takes into account ratios like P/E, PEG, Price/Sales, Price/Cash Flow, and a host of other multiples to highlight the most attractive and discounted stocks.
Growth ScoreGrowth investors, on the other hand, are more concerned with a company's financial strength and health, and its future outlook. The Growth Style Score examines things like projected and historic earnings, sales, and cash flow to find stocks that will experience sustainable growth over time.
Momentum ScoreMomentum investors, who live by the saying "the trend is your friend," are most interested in taking advantage of upward or downward trends in a stock's price or earnings outlook. Utilizing one-week price change and the monthly percentage change in earnings estimates, among other factors, the Momentum Style Score can help determine favorable times to buy high-momentum stocks.
VGM ScoreIf you want a combination of all three Style Scores, then the VGM Score will be your friend. It rates each stock on their combined weighted styles, helping you find the companies with the most attractive value, best growth forecast, and most promising momentum. It's also one of the best indicators to use with the Zacks Rank.
How Style Scores Work with the Zacks Rank The Zacks Rank is a proprietary stock-rating model that harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions, or changes to a company's earnings expectations, to help investors build a successful portfolio.
It's highly successful, with #1 (Strong Buy) stocks producing an unmatched +23.7% average annual return since 1988. That's more than double the S&P 500. But because of the large number of stocks we rate, there are over 200 companies with a Strong Buy rank, plus another 600 with a #2 (Buy) rank, on any given day.
But it can feel overwhelming to pick the right stocks for you and your investing goals with over 800 top-rated stocks to choose from.
That's where the Style Scores come in.
You want to make sure you're buying stocks with the highest likelihood of success, and to do that, you'll need to pick stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 that also have Style Scores of A or B. If you like a stock that only has a #3 (Hold) rank, it should also have Scores of A or B to guarantee as much upside potential as possible.
As mentioned above, the Scores are designed to work with the Zacks Rank, so any change to a company's earnings outlook should be a deciding factor when picking which stocks to buy.
Here's an example: a stock with a #4 (Sell) or #5 (Strong Sell) rating, even one with Style Scores of A and B, still has a downward-trending earnings outlook, and a bigger chance its share price will decrease too.
Thus, the more stocks you own with a #1 or #2 Rank and Scores of A or B, the better.
Stock to Watch: Oneok Inc. (OKE - Free Report) Tulsa, OK-based ONEOK Inc. was founded in 1906. The company is an energy company engaged in natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) businesses. On Jun 30, 2017, ONEOK acquired all the shares of ONEOK Partners. In September 2023, ONEOK completed its acquisition of Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P. for $18.8 billion. The agreement opened up Magellan's primarily fee-based refined products and crude oil transportation business to ONEOK.
OKE is a #3 (Hold) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of B.
Momentum investors should take note of this Oils-Energy stock. OKE has a Momentum Style Score of A, and shares are up 4.2% over the past four weeks.
Three analysts revised their earnings estimate upwards in the last 60 days for fiscal 2026. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.00 to $5.58 per share. OKE boasts an average earnings surprise of +2.5%.
With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Momentum and VGM Style Scores, OKE should be on investors' short list.
ONEOK offers a compelling income and value proposition amid surging AI-related energy demand and robust infrastructure growth. OKE delivered strong Q1 2026 results, with 13% YoY adjusted EBITDA growth and rising NGL and refined product volumes. OKE benefits from AI-driven power demand, LNG export expansion, and Permian/Delaware Basin growth, supporting long-term tailwinds.
ONEOK, Inc. delivered a 30% total return since I rated it a strong buy in December. Energy prices have soared, and the company is posting strong results, leading it to upgrade its 2026 guidance. I detail why I recently exited my position despite the strong momentum.
There are several different paths to retiring on dividends. However, they all have major drawbacks. I share an approach that I have honed over time that seeks to bring out the best of each strategy and minimize its deficiencies.
ONEOK has outperformed peers YTD, up 24%, and offers a 4.6% dividend yield with further upside potential. OKE's diversified asset base, post-Magellan acquisition, drives mid-teens revenue growth and supports guidance raises for both revenue and adjusted EBITDA. Valuation remains attractive at 11.1x EV/EBITDA, with a price target of $109, implying 19% upside, and a competitive yield versus peers.
ONEOK leverages a vast pipeline network, critical to the U.S. economy, and is well-positioned to benefit from surging data center demand. OKE's Q1 revenue rose 19.6% year-over-year, with adjusted EBITDA up 12.5%, driven by volume growth, acquisitions, and favorable price differentials. OKE targets a 3.5x leverage ratio by end-2026, supporting its BBB credit rating, with capex winding down by mid-2027 to enable dividend growth and buybacks.
Most income investors default to broad dividend exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for steady payout exposure. The Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF (NYSEARCA: SCHD) ended 2025 with $71.6 billion in net assets and a 0.06% expense ratio, but its yield, like that of many of its peers, is in the low-single-digit range. With the 10-year Treasury at 4.57%, many traditional dividend baskets barely clear the risk-free line.
Natural gas equities offer a different story. Though the upstream side is volatile, the midstream operators and select producers consistently outyield the dividend ETFs. Here is how the five payers rank, counted down to the highest sustainable yield.
Yield Benchmark Ticker Type Yield EQT Gas Producer 1.1% WMB Midstream 2.7% KMI Midstream 3.5% OKE Midstream 4.6% ET Midstream (MLP) 6.7% 5. EQT EQT (NYSE: EQT | EQT Price Prediction) is the largest U.S. natural gas producer, with a $36.2 billion market cap and shares at $57.92. The yield is modest at 1.1%, but EQT raised the quarterly payout to $0.165 in November 2025 and generated $1.83 billion of free cash flow in Q1, repaying $1.73 billion in debt. With a PE of 11, EQT is a deleveraging growth story more than an income vehicle.
4. Williams Companies Williams Companies (NYSE: WMB) yields 2.7%, light compared to peers but anchored by 52 consecutive years of dividend payments. The board raised the annualized payout 5% to $2.10. FY26 adjusted EBITDA guidance of $8.05 billion to $8.35 billion and a 40.3% one-year return reflect Transco’s data-center pull. Williams trades at 34x earnings, the richest multiple in the group, so income buyers pay for that durability.
3. Kinder Morgan Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI) yields 3.51% at $33.79 per share, with the quarterly payout lifted to $0.2975 in May. The $10 billion project backlog is roughly 90% natural gas, and 70% of future data center power demand lies within Kinder Morgan’s footprint. Net debt to adjusted EBITDA of 3.8x and the S&P upgrade to BBB+ support coverage, even as the stock has run 22.9% year to date.
2. ONEOK ONEOK (NYSE: OKE) pays a 4.6% yield after a 4% raise to $1.07 per share quarterly. The model is roughly 90% fee-based, insulating cash flow from commodity swings. FY26 guidance calls for adjusted EBITDA of $8.0 billion to $8.5 billion and diluted EPS of $5.06 to $5.99. ONEOK extinguished $3.1 billion of long-term debt in 2025, and at 17x earnings the payout looks well covered.
1. Energy Transfer Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET) tops the yield table at 6.7%, the only name here paying multiples of what the major dividend ETFs offer. The distribution has climbed $0.0025 per quarter for four consecutive quarters, reaching $0.3375 in May 2026. FY26 adjusted EBITDA guidance was raised to between $18.2 billion and $18.6 billion, and the Oracle data center supply contract of roughly 900 million cubic feet per day adds visibility. Forward P/E of 13x is the cheapest in the group.
The trade-off matters: Energy Transfer’s Q4 earnings of $0.25 per unit missed estimates by 31.9% on impairments and interest expense, the master limited partnership (MLP) structure issues a K-1, and the partnership previously cut its distribution in 2020. The income still beats a Treasury or any major dividend ETF by a wide margin, but the structure is not bond-equivalent.
What Income Buyers Should Watch These five natural gas names deliver yields that most diversified dividend ETFs cannot replicate. Henry Hub spot prices spiked to $30.72 per million Btu in late January 2026 before normalizing near $3, a reminder that yield premiums compensate for commodity, leverage, and concentration risk. For investors comfortable with that profile, the natural gas value chain currently pays better than the broad dividend indexes. More yield, however, is not the same as better total return, and Williams’ run already shows how quickly multiples can stretch when the income story gets crowded.
TULSA, Okla., May 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE: OKE) will participate in an investor conference this week and in a fireside chat session at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time (1:30 p.m. Central Time) on Wednesday, May 27.
The session will be webcast live on ONEOK’s website at www.oneok.com. The webcast will also be available for replay. ONEOK’s latest investor materials are available at www.oneok.com.
At ONEOK (NYSE: OKE), we deliver energy products and services vital to an advancing world. We are a leading midstream operator that provides gathering, processing, fractionation, transportation, storage and marine export services. Through our approximately 60,000-mile pipeline network, we transport the natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), refined products and crude oil that help meet domestic and international energy demand, contribute to energy security and provide safe, reliable and responsible energy solutions needed today and into the future. As one of the largest integrated energy infrastructure companies in North America, ONEOK is delivering energy that makes a difference in the lives of people in the U.S. and around the world.
ONEOK is an S&P 500 company headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
For information about ONEOK, visit the website: www.oneok.com. For the latest news about ONEOK, find us on LinkedIn, Facebook, X and Instagram.
