Coursera (NYSE:COUR) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.03 EPS

Key Points

• Coursera beat quarterly expectations: EPS came in at $0.21 versus the $0.18 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $376.7 million, above expectations of $368.5 million. Adjusted EBITDA margin improved to 16.3%.
• Udemy integration is progressing ahead of schedule: Coursera expects more than $150 million in annualized gross cost savings by year-end and remains on track for its $115 million net synergy target.
• Underlying growth remains pressured: Normalized revenue declined about 3%, with consumer revenue down 9% and enterprise growth limited to 2%. Management expects further consumer weakness and is relying on its AI-focused Project Helix initiative for longer-term growth.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.03, FiscalAI reports. Coursera had a negative net margin of 15.39% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. The company had revenue of $376.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $368.52 million.

Here are the key takeaways from Coursera's conference call:

• Integration is progressing ahead of schedule: Coursera expects more than $150 million in annualized gross cost savings by year-end and remains on track to deliver its $115 million net synergy target within eight months of closing the Udemy transaction.
• Q3 reported revenue rose 94% year over year to $377 million, while adjusted EBITDA nearly doubled its margin to 16.3%. The company also repurchased more than $100 million of shares during the quarter, bringing cumulative buybacks under its authorization above $215 million.
• Underlying growth remains weak: Normalized revenue declined about 3% in Q3, with enterprise up only 2% and consumer down 9%. Management expects Q4 enterprise growth to be approximately flat and consumer revenue to decelerate further.
• Consumer subscriptions and paid subscribers continued to grow, but that momentum was more than offset by declines in individual certificate subscriptions, transactional offerings, softer funnel indicators, SEO and discovery changes, and pressured discretionary spending. Management’s preliminary 2027 baseline assumes a low-double-digit consumer revenue decline.
• Project Helix is the central growth initiative: The AI-native platform will combine adaptive learning, applied practice, and verified skills, with broad enterprise availability targeted for the first half of 2027. However, management is not assuming material Helix revenue in 2027 and will phase investment based on customer adoption and performance evidence.

Coursera Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of Coursera stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Thursday, hitting $4.64. The stock had a trading volume of 7,191,201 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,004,646. The firm has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.24. Coursera has a 12 month low of $4.53 and a 12 month high of $8.89. The business's 50-day moving average is $5.34 and its 200 day moving average is $5.73.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COUR has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Coursera from $8.00 to $6.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Coursera from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $5.50 to $6.50 in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised Coursera from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 19th. Zacks Research cut Coursera from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Coursera from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $7.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coursera news, major shareholder Pale Fire Capital Se acquired 1,000,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $4.61 per share, with a total value of $4,610,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 28,806,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $132,797,573.15. This represents a 3.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gregory Hart sold 10,308 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.11, for a total value of $52,673.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,539,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,864,305.33. The trade was a 0.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 16.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Coursera

Coursera, Inc is an online learning platform that provides access to courses, professional certificates, guided projects, and degree programs. The company works with universities, colleges, and industry partners to offer content in areas such as business, technology, data science, computer science, and personal development.

Coursera serves individual learners, businesses, governments, and academic institutions in countries around the world. Its enterprise and government offerings support employee training, workforce development, and large-scale education initiatives, while its consumer platform allows learners to enroll in individual courses or broader credential and degree programs.

Coursera was founded in 2012 by computer-science professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller.

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