Coursera (NYSE:COUR) Issues Earnings Results

Coursera (NYSE:COUR) issued 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 positive return on equity of 3.47% and a negative net margin of 14.35%. The firm had revenue of $376.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $368.52 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 94.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

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 Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE COUR opened at $3.49 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $922.76 million, a PE ratio of -4.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.24. Coursera has a fifty-two week low of $3.45 and a fifty-two week high of $8.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $5.27 and a 200-day moving average of $5.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COUR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Coursera from $7.00 to $4.50 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Coursera from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Coursera from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Coursera from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Coursera from $8.00 to $6.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.36.

More Coursera News

Here are the key news stories impacting Coursera this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Coursera reported third-quarter revenue of approximately $377 million and adjusted earnings of $0.21 per share, exceeding consensus estimates. Revenue increased 94% year over year, while earnings more than doubled from $0.10 per share in the prior-year quarter. Coursera Q3 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management expects more than $150 million in gross cost savings by year-end as integration efforts progress, supporting the potential for margin expansion and operating efficiencies. Coursera Q4 Revenue and Cost Savings Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity saw traders purchase 5,405 call options, roughly 247% above average call volume, indicating heightened speculative interest and potential bullish positioning.

Insider Activity

In other Coursera news, CEO Gregory M. Hart sold 10,308 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.11, for a total value of $52,673.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,539,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,864,305.33. This trade represents a 0.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 9,139 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.71, for a total transaction of $52,183.69. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 236,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,348,913.27. This trade represents a 3.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 16.30% of the company’s stock.

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.