Unpacking Q1 Earnings: Coursera (NYSE:COUR) In The Context Of Other Consumer Subscription Stocks
As the Q1 earnings season wraps, let's dig into this quarter's best and worst performers in the consumer subscription industry, including Coursera (NYSE:COUR) and its peers.
Consumers today expect goods and services to be hyper-personalized and on demand. Whether it be what music they listen to, what movie they watch, or even finding a date, online consumer businesses are expected to delight their customers with simple user interfaces that magically fulfill demand. Subscription models have further increased usage and stickiness of many online consumer services.
The 8 consumer subscription stocks we track reported a weaker Q1; on average, revenues beat analyst consensus estimates by 0.9%. while next quarter's revenue guidance was 2.8% below consensus. Valuation multiples for many growth stocks have not yet reverted to their early 2021 highs, but the market was optimistic at the end of 2023 due to cooling inflation. The start of 2024 has been a different story as mixed signals have led to market volatility, and consumer subscription stocks have had a rough stretch, with share prices down 16.7% on average since the previous earnings results.
Coursera (NYSE:COUR)
Founded by two Stanford University computer science professors, Coursera (NYSE:COUR) is an online learning platform that offers courses, specializations, and degrees from top universities and organizations around the world.
Coursera reported revenues of $169.1 million, up 14.5% year on year, in line with analysts' expectations. Overall, it was a weak quarter for the company with underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter and slow revenue growth.
“We are in the very early stages of helping our learners, educators, and customers understand how emerging AI technologies will transform the way we teach, learn, and work,” said Coursera CEO Jeff Maggioncalda.
Coursera delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates and weakest full-year guidance update of the whole group. The company reported 148 million users, up 19.4% year on year. The stock is down 40% since reporting and currently trades at $7.13.
Read our full report on Coursera here, it's free.
Best Q1: Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU)
Spun out from Netflix, Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU) makes hardware players that offer access to various online streaming TV services.
Roku reported revenues of $881.5 million, up 19% year on year, outperforming analysts' expectations by 3.7%. It was a decent quarter for the company with strong growth in its users but slow revenue growth.
Roku delivered the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The company reported 81.6 million monthly active users, up 14% year on year. Although it had a great quarter compared its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 2.2% since reporting. It currently trades at $61.44.
Is now the time to buy Roku? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.
Weakest Q1: Chegg (NYSE:CHGG)
Started as a physical textbook rental service, Chegg (NYSE:CHGG) is now a digital platform addressing student pain points by providing study and academic assistance.
Chegg reported revenues of $174.4 million, down 7.1% year on year, in line with analysts' expectations. It was a weak quarter for the company with a decline in its users and slow revenue growth.
Chegg posted the slowest revenue growth in the group. The company reported 4.7 million users, down 7.8% year on year. As expected, the stock is down 58.5% since the results and currently trades at $2.98.
Read our full analysis of Chegg's results here.
Udemy (NASDAQ:UDMY)
With courses ranging from investing to cooking to computer programming, Udemy (NASDAQ:UDMY) is an online learning platform that connects learners with expert instructors who specialize in a wide range of topics.
Udemy reported revenues of $196.8 million, up 11.6% year on year, in line with analysts' expectations. Zooming out, it was a weak quarter for the company with slow revenue growth and full-year revenue guidance missing analysts' expectations.
The company reported 1.44 million active buyers, up 3.6% year on year. The stock is down 14.5% since reporting and currently trades at $8.46.
Read our full, actionable report on Udemy here, it's free.
Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX)
Launched by Reed Hastings as a DVD mail rental company until its famous pivot to streaming in 2007, Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) is a pioneering streaming content platform.
Netflix reported revenues of $9.37 billion, up 14.8% year on year, in line with analysts' expectations. More broadly, it was a mixed quarter for the company with strong growth in its users but underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter.
The company reported 269.6 million users, up 16% year on year. The stock is up 6.1% since reporting and currently trades at $648.20.
Read our full, actionable report on Netflix here, it's free.
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