Coursera Inc is an online learning platform that connects learners, educators, and institutions with the goal of providing educational content that is affordable, accessible, and relevant... Show more
Coursera's Third Quarter 2026 results mark its first full period since completing its business combination with Udemy in May 2026, making this report a key checkpoint on how the integration is reshaping the company's growth and profitability. The 94% jump in revenue reflects the inclusion of Udemy's results, but the quarter also tested investor confidence in the deal's synergy story. With enterprise revenue surging 214% and management advancing "Project Helix," an AI-native skills platform, the report offers a window into whether Coursera can convert its expanded scale into durable, profitable growth. The weaker fourth-quarter guidance, however, tempered the headline beat and refocused attention on near-term execution.
Coursera posted third-quarter revenue of $376.7 million, up 94% from $194.2 million a year earlier and about 2.2% above the $368.5 million consensus. Adjusted EPS was $0.21, roughly 16.9% above the $0.18 estimate, while adjusted EBITDA of $61.5 million beat the $54.99 million consensus by about 11.8%.
Enterprise revenue climbed to $200.9 million (up 214% year over year), while Consumer revenue reached $175.8 million (up 35%). GAAP gross margin improved to 58.4% from 54.6%. On a GAAP basis, however, the net loss widened to $25.6 million, or $0.10 per share, from $8.6 million a year earlier, partly due to merger, integration, and restructuring costs.
The outlook disappointed. Coursera guided fourth-quarter revenue to a range of $358 million to $366 million (about $362 million at the midpoint), below the $372 million consensus, and narrowed its full-year 2026 revenue outlook to approximately $1.23 billion to $1.24 billion. Free cash flow was $4.6 million, down 83% from $26.6 million a year ago, while paid subscribers grew 30% to 1.687 million.
Tickeron's AI Screener is an AI-powered stock and exchange-traded fund (ETF) discovery tool that helps traders and investors filter the market based on technical patterns, fundamentals, trends, volatility, and AI-driven signals. Users can scan thousands of stocks and ETFs using customizable filters such as industry, market capitalization, technical indicators, price patterns, and performance metrics. The screener is designed to help identify trade ideas, trending stocks, breakout candidates, and market opportunities more efficiently than manual screening. Explore the AI Screener to streamline your market research.
Despite the top-and-bottom-line beat, Coursera shares fell roughly 8% to about $4.27 immediately after the report, as investors focused on the softer fourth-quarter revenue and EBITDA guidance. The reaction underscores how heavily the market is weighing forward visibility over past performance for the newly combined company. The guidance miss, centered on a midpoint below consensus, signaled that Udemy-driven growth may not fully offset near-term pressures, particularly softer one-time purchases and transactional offerings in the Consumer segment. While the strong enterprise momentum and improving gross margin were positives, cautious sentiment prevailed heading into year-end.
Investors will be watching several factors in the quarters ahead. First is the pace of Udemy integration and the realization of announced cost and revenue synergies, which management has tied to its full-year outlook. Any updates on run-rate synergies will be closely scrutinized against the weaker fourth-quarter guidance.
Second is the rollout of Project Helix, the company's AI-native skills platform, which Coursera expects to make broadly available to enterprise customers in the first half of 2027. Its commercial adoption will be a key test of whether Coursera can capitalize on rising enterprise demand for AI-related workforce training.
Third, investors should monitor margin trends and free cash flow, which declined sharply year over year amid merger-related costs. The durability of the gross-margin expansion will matter as the company balances growth investments with a path toward sustained profitability. Finally, Consumer segment dynamics, including one-time purchases and funnel indicators, remain an area to track, given that subscriptions now represent nearly 90% of revenue.
The information on this webpage is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell any security, or an offer or solicitation related to investments. It does not consider your personal financial situation, goals, or risk profile, and all investing carries inherent risks, including the possibility of losing your entire investment. For more details, please review our full disclaimer.
Industry OtherConsumerSpecialties