Coursera, Inc. (COUR)

Price$5.13Cached quoteAs of 2026-09-18 16:21 UTC

AI: Undervalued

Price checkThe market values the operating business cheaply, even after allowing for uncertain merger execution.

Using the June share count of 274.5 million, the observed quote implies about $1.43 billion of equity value. June cash and short-term investments totaled $982.2 million. After known July buybacks and treating the LearnVector stake as worthless, liquid resources would be roughly $822 million. With no conventional debt reported, that values operations near $610 million—about 0.5 times guided 2026 revenue and 3.5 times roughly $173 million of adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Although that measure excludes stock awards and merger costs, the discount supports an Undervalued verdict.

Big pictureCash generation improved before the merger, but reported profits remain dependent on adjustments.

Standalone 2025 revenue rose 9% to $757.5 million, while cash generated from operations increased to $108.7 million. However, the $51 million net loss and $95.1 million of stock compensation show that cash generation did not translate cleanly into value per share. The combined company lost $80.4 million and used $19.8 million of operating cash in Q2 2026, but $57.2 million of merger, integration and severance payments depressed cash flow. Adding those payments back suggests, but does not prove, underlying operating cash generation near $37 million.

Business strengthSubscriptions soften downturns, while weakening customer retention shows the combined platform still faces pressure.

More than 85% of combined revenue now comes from subscriptions, which repeat automatically and can cushion swings in one-off course purchases. Paid subscribers rose 44% year over year to 1.655 million, and Q2 gross profit reached 58.1% of revenue. Yet comparable combined revenue fell 1%, as subscription growth was offset by weaker one-off purchases. Existing enterprise customers retained only 91% of prior-year spending, down from 95%, while customer count fell 2%. The mix is steadier, but employer training budgets and optional course buying still expose revenue to economic cycles.

What could change the storySynergy delivery and disciplined use of cash must offset dilution and slow underlying growth.

The bull case strengthens if Coursera reaches $1.220-$1.245 billion of 2026 revenue, a 14% adjusted margin and at least $85 million of yearly cost savings by year-end without further retention slippage. The bear case is failed integration: management allows for up to $50 million of additional 2027 revenue loss from customer overlap. The merger lifted shares from 167.9 million to 274.5 million, although 27.1 million were repurchased through July. Stock awards were $39.6 million in Q2, and the related-party LearnVector investment used $100 million, making per-share cash and earnings the decisive tests.

AI: News

Q2 outlook improvesCoursera beat quarterly expectations and raised cost-saving targets, but underlying revenue still slipped.

On July 29, Q2 revenue was $298.6 million and profit excluding selected costs was $0.17 per share, above FactSet estimates of $296.9 million and $0.14. Coursera lifted its 2026 revenue range to $1.220-$1.245 billion and its year-end annual savings target to at least $85 million. However, combined revenue including Udemy for the full comparison period declined 1%, and enterprise retention fell to 91%. Shares were reported more than 7% lower before the next day’s open; the timing suggests concern but does not identify which disclosure drove the move.

LearnVector investmentCoursera invested heavily in a founder-led artificial-intelligence venture, trading cash safety for potential product gains.

On July 28, Coursera invested $100 million for 33.33% of LearnVector, a newly formed company led by co-founder and board chair Andrew Ng. The stake could provide access to personalized tutoring technology and help protect Coursera from artificial-intelligence substitutes. It also committed more than 10% of June liquidity to an unproven private company. Because Ng is connected to both companies, Coursera used an independent special committee, but the related-party structure and uncertain commercial arrangements make prospective returns difficult to value.

Udemy merger closesUdemy’s merger greatly expanded Coursera’s scale, while issuing many shares and creating integration risk.

The all-stock merger closed May 11, exchanging each Udemy share for 0.8 Coursera shares. The announcement described platforms collectively reaching more than 290 million learners and 95,000 content creators. Coursera issued 117.6 million shares as consideration, helping increase outstanding shares from 167.9 million at year-end to 274.5 million by June, before subsequent buybacks. Greater scale may reduce duplicate costs and broaden content, but per-share value improves only if savings outweigh customer overlap, platform disruption and the much larger share count.

Large buyback beginsCoursera began an unusually large repurchase, directly countering merger dilution while reducing its cash cushion.

The board authorized a $500 million repurchase on May 15. Coursera then bought 16.5 million shares for $90.3 million during Q2 and another 10.6 million for $60.1 million in July. At the observed quotation, the remaining authorization could theoretically retire roughly one-quarter of the June share count, although completion is not guaranteed. Repurchasing discounted shares can raise each remaining owner’s claim on future earnings, but funding purchases from cash reduces the balance-sheet protection available during integration.

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Revenue

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2025

Net income

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Free cash flow

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Total cash / debt

CashTotal debt

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Financial statements

	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019
Revenue	$757.5M	$694.7M	$635.8M	$523.8M	$415.3M	$293.5M	$184.4M
Gross profit	$413.4M	$371.4M	$329.8M	$331.5M	$249.5M	$154.7M	$94.8M
Gross margin	54.57%	53.46%	51.87%	63.29%	60.07%	52.69%	51.42%
Research & development	$121.6M	$132.1M	$160.1M	$165.1M	$135.4M	$76.8M	$56.4M
Operating expenses	$490.8M	$484.6M	$475.4M	$508.9M	$392.5M	$221.2M	$143.2M
Operating income	−$77.4M	−$113.2M	−$145.6M	−$177.4M	−$143.1M	−$66.6M	−$48.4M
Operating margin	−10.22%	−16.29%	−22.90%	−33.87%	−34.45%	−22.69%	−26.24%
EBITDA	−$48.6M	−$88.1M	−$123.3M	−$158.9M	−$128.3M	−$57.0M	−$43.1M
EBITDA margin	−6.42%	−12.68%	−19.39%	−30.33%	−30.90%	−19.42%	−23.38%
Net income	−$51.0M	−$79.5M	−$116.6M	−$175.4M	−$145.2M	−$66.8M	−$46.7M
Net profit margin	−6.73%	−11.44%	−18.34%	−33.48%	−34.97%	−22.76%	−25.33%
Basic EPSper basic share	-$0.31	-$0.51	-$0.77	-$1.21	-$1.28	-$1.80	-$1.45
Diluted EPSper diluted share	-$0.31	-$0.51	-$0.77	-$1.21	-$1.28	-$1.80	-$1.45

Review official source filings ↗

Owners

Reported shareholders

Reference date Jun 30, 2026

7.51%of listed shares

BlackRock, Inc.20.61M shares · Jun 30, 2026

View holders

Top 20 reported holders of COUR
Holder	% owned
BlackRock, Inc.	7.51%20.61M shares
Pale Fire Capital SE	7.44%20.43M shares
Caledonia (Private) Investments Pty Ltd	7.42%20.38M shares
BAILLIE GIFFORD & CO	5.61%15.41M shares
SANDELL SCOTT D	≈4.73%12.97M shares
NEA Management Company, LLC	4.69%12.87M shares
VANGUARD PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT LLC	4.30%11.8M shares
AMERIPRISE FINANCIAL INC	4.14%11.35M shares
VANGUARD CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC	4.00%10.98M shares
Insight Holdings Group, LLC	3.26%8.94M shares
Ng Andrew Y.	≈2.65%7.28M shares
WESTERLY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC	2.22%6.09M shares
GEODE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC	2.03%5.58M shares
STATE STREET CORP	1.87%5.13M shares
CYPRESS POINT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LP	1.66%4.55M shares
Creative Planning	1.56%4.27M shares
DIMENSIONAL FUND ADVISORS LP	1.51%4.13M shares
READYSTATE ASSET MANAGEMENT LP	1.47%4.03M shares
JPMORGAN CHASE & CO	1.34%3.68M shares
Quaker Capital Investments, LLC	1.25%3.43M shares

Percentages use 274.5M shares of this listed class outstanding on Jun 30, 2026. ≈ compares the latest reported holding with a share total from a different date; it is not a confirmed current stake.

Gray completes the 100% scale. Reported positions may overlap; holders have different reporting dates.

Source: SEC Form 13F ↗Updated Sep 29, 2026 · Quarterly data

Insider buys & sells

Jul 1, 2024–Jun 30, 2026

Buys0$0.00 disclosed value

Sells (SEC code S)38$14.35M disclosed value

Transaction	Insider	Type	Shares	Price	Value	Owned after
May 20, 2026Form 4	Insight Holdings Group, LLC +9TenPercentOwner	SellCommon Stock · indirect	38.1K	$5.24	$199.5K	738.0K
May 20, 2026Form 4	Insight Holdings Group, LLC +9TenPercentOwner	SellCommon Stock · indirect	411.9K	$5.24	$2.16M	7.98M
May 20, 2026Form 4	Insight Holdings Group, LLC +9TenPercentOwner	SellCommon Stock · indirect	59.2K	$5.24	$310.1K	1.15M
May 20, 2026Form 4	Insight Holdings Group, LLC +9TenPercentOwner	SellCommon Stock · indirect	21.7K	$5.24	$113.5K	419.8K
May 20, 2026Form 4	Insight Holdings Group, LLC +9TenPercentOwner	SellCommon Stock · indirect	935.6K	$5.24	$4.90M	18.14M