DUOL (Duolingo) Beneish M-Score: -1.71 (As of Aug. 07, 2026)

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DUOL Duolingo Inc DUOL
72 GF Score
Price $130.90
GF Value $397.42
Valuation Significantly Undervalued
! 5 Warning Signs
View Full Analysis

What is Duolingo Beneish M-Score?

Duolingo DUOL +6.79% 72 Beneish M-Score is -1.71 as of Aug. 07, 2026. GuruFocus rates DUOL with a GF Score™ of 72/100 and a GF Value™ of $397.42 (Significantly Undervalued). The stock has 5 warning signs investors should review. Among 2,628 Software companies, Duolingo ranks worse than 82.99% on this metric.

The zones of discrimination for M-Score is as such:

An M-Score of equal or less than -1.78 suggests that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.
An M-Score of greater than -1.78 signals that the company is likely to be a manipulator.

Warning Sign:

Beneish M-Score -1.71 higher than -1.78, which implies that the company might have manipulated its financial results.

The historical rank and industry rank for Duolingo's Beneish M-Score or its related term are showing as below:

DUOL' s Beneish M-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: -3.7   Med: -2.21   Max: -1.25
Current: -1.71

During the past 7 years, the highest Beneish M-Score of Duolingo was -1.25. The lowest was -3.70. And the median was -2.21.


Duolingo Beneish M-Score Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for Duolingo's Beneish M-Score can be seen below:

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

Duolingo Beneish M-Score Chart

Duolingo Annual Data
Trend Dec19 Dec20 Dec21 Dec22 Dec23 Dec24 Dec25
Beneish M-Score
Get a 7-Day Free Trial -2.76 -2.36 -2.37 -1.61 -1.53

Duolingo Quarterly Data
Sep21 Dec21 Mar22 Jun22 Sep22 Dec22 Mar23 Jun23 Sep23 Dec23 Mar24 Jun24 Sep24 Dec24 Mar25 Jun25 Sep25 Dec25 Mar26 Jun26
Beneish M-Score Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only -2.00 -1.25 -1.53 -1.63 -1.71

DUOL vs APPF, CVLT, NAVN: Beneish M-Score Comparison

For the Software - Application subindustry, Duolingo's Beneish M-Score, along with its competitors' market caps and Beneish M-Score data, can be viewed below:

* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.


Duolingo Beneish M-Score vs Software Industry

For the Software industry and Technology sector, Duolingo's Beneish M-Score distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where Duolingo's Beneish M-Score falls into.


DUOL
72GF Score
Duolingo Inc DUOL
Beneish M-Score is just one metric. See GF Score™, valuation, warning signs, and more.
View Full Analysis

Duolingo Beneish M-Score Calculation

The M-score was created by Professor Messod Beneish. Instead of measuring the bankruptcy risk (Altman Z-Score) or business trend (Piotroski F-Score), M-score can be used to detect the risk of earnings manipulation. This is the original research paper on M-score.

The M-Score Variables:

The M-score of Duolingo for today is based on a combination of the following eight different indices:

M=-4.84+0.92 * DSRI+0.528 * GMI+0.404 * AQI+0.892 * SGI+0.115 * DEPI
=-4.84+0.92 * 0.9152+0.528 * 0.9908+0.404 * 2.4313+0.892 * 1.2936+0.115 * 1.0016
-0.172 * SGAI+4.679 * TATA-0.327 * LVGI
-0.172 * 0.9336+4.679 * -0.008454-0.327 * 0.8737
=-1.71

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

This Year (Jun26) TTM:Last Year (Jun25) TTM:
Total Receivables was $134 Mil.
Revenue was 298.454 + 291.967 + 282.868 + 271.713 = $1,145 Mil.
Gross Profit was 216.74 + 213.096 + 205.869 + 196.911 = $833 Mil.
Total Current Assets was $1,571 Mil.
Total Assets was $2,074 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was $117 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was $16 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was $338 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was $578 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was $86 Mil.
Net Income was 33.158 + 43.46 + 41.954 + 292.195 = $411 Mil.
Non Operating Income was -0.41 + -0.786 + -0.549 + -0.503 = $-2 Mil.
Cash Flow from Operations was 88.26 + 150.771 + 107.278 + 84.239 = $431 Mil.
Total Receivables was $113 Mil.
Revenue was 252.265 + 230.743 + 209.55 + 192.594 = $885 Mil.
Gross Profit was 182.581 + 164.096 + 150.625 + 140.414 = $638 Mil.
Total Current Assets was $1,324 Mil.
Total Assets was $1,543 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was $101 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was $14 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was $280 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was $471 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was $94 Mil.




1. DSRI = Days Sales in Receivables Index

Measured as the ratio of Revenue in Total Receivables in year t to year t-1.

A large increase in DSR could be indicative of revenue inflation.

DSRI=(Receivables_t / Revenue_t) / (Receivables_t-1 / Revenue_t-1)
=(133.686 / 1145.002) / (112.919 / 885.152)
=0.116756 / 0.12757
=0.9152

2. GMI = Gross Margin Index

Measured as the ratio of gross margin in year t-1 to gross margin in year t.

Gross margin has deteriorated when this index is above 1. A firm with poorer prospects is more likely to manipulate earnings.

GMI=GrossMargin_t-1 / GrossMargin_t
=(GrossProfit_t-1 / Revenue_t-1) / (GrossProfit_t / Revenue_t)
=(637.716 / 885.152) / (832.616 / 1145.002)
=0.720459 / 0.727174
=0.9908

3. AQI = Asset Quality Index

AQI is the ratio of asset quality in year t to year t-1.

Asset quality is measured as the ratio of non-current assets other than Property, Plant and Equipment to Total Assets.

AQI=(1 - (CurrentAssets_t + PPE_t) / TotalAssets_t) / (1 - (CurrentAssets_t-1 + PPE_t-1) / TotalAssets_t-1)
=(1 - (1571.114 + 117.449) / 2073.953) / (1 - (1323.99 + 100.672) / 1542.559)
=0.185824 / 0.076429
=2.4313

4. SGI = Sales Growth Index

Ratio of Revenue in year t to sales in year t-1.

Sales growth is not itself a measure of manipulation. However, growth companies are likely to find themselves under pressure to manipulate in order to keep up appearances.

SGI=Sales_t / Sales_t-1
=Revenue_t / Revenue_t-1
=1145.002 / 885.152
=1.2936

5. DEPI = Depreciation Index

Measured as the ratio of the rate of Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization in year t-1 to the corresponding rate in year t.

DEPI greater than 1 indicates that assets are being depreciated at a slower rate. This suggests that the firm might be revising useful asset life assumptions upwards, or adopting a new method that is income friendly.

DEPI=(Depreciation_t-1 / (Depreciaton_t-1 + PPE_t-1)) / (Depreciation_t / (Depreciaton_t + PPE_t))
=(13.567 / (13.567 + 100.672)) / (15.799 / (15.799 + 117.449))
=0.11876 / 0.118568
=1.0016

Note: If the Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization data is not available, we assume that the depreciation rate is constant and set the Depreciation Index to 1.

6. SGAI = Sales, General and Administrative expenses Index

The ratio of Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) to Sales in year t relative to year t-1.

SGA expenses index > 1 means that the company is becoming less efficient in generate sales.

SGAI=(SGA_t / Sales_t) / (SGA_t-1 /Sales_t-1)
=(338.099 / 1145.002) / (279.97 / 885.152)
=0.295282 / 0.316296
=0.9336

7. LVGI = Leverage Index

The ratio of total debt to Total Assets in year t relative to yeat t-1.

An LVGI > 1 indicates an increase in leverage

LVGI=((LTD_t + CurrentLiabilities_t) / TotalAssets_t) / ((LTD_t-1 + CurrentLiabilities_t-1) / TotalAssets_t-1)
=((86.136 + 577.833) / 2073.953) / ((93.843 + 471.383) / 1542.559)
=0.320147 / 0.366421
=0.8737

8. TATA = Total Accruals to Total Assets

Total accruals calculated as the change in working capital accounts other than cash less depreciation.

TATA=(IncomefromContinuingOperations_t - CashFlowsfromOperations_t) / TotalAssets_t
=(NetIncome_t - NonOperatingIncome_t - CashFlowsfromOperations_t) / TotalAssets_t
=(410.767 - -2.248 - 430.548) / 2073.953
=-0.008454

An M-Score of equal or less than -1.78 suggests that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator. An M-Score of greater than -1.78 signals that the company is likely to be a manipulator.

Duolingo has a M-score of -1.71 signals that the company is likely to be a manipulator.

Frequently Asked Questions Learn more about Beneish M-Score →
What does a Beneish M-Score of -1.71 mean?
Duolingo (DUOL) has a Beneish M-Score of -1.71 as of Aug. 07, 2026. The Beneish M-score measures the likelihood of earnings manipulation. View historical data on Duolingo and its competitors. According to the industry distribution chart, Duolingo ranks #2181 out of 2628 companies in the Software industry, placing it in the top 83%.
Is Duolingo's Beneish M-Score too high?
Duolingo's current Beneish M-Score is -1.71. Based on the distribution chart, Duolingo ranks #2181 out of 2628 companies in the Software industry, which is in the bottom quartile relative to peers. Overall, Duolingo has a GF Score™ of 72/100 and is considered Significantly Undervalued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Duolingo's Beneish M-Score compare to APPF and CVLT?
According to the Software industry distribution chart, Duolingo ranks #2181 out of 2628 companies for Beneish M-Score. This places Duolingo in the lower half of its industry. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Beneish M-Score for a Software company?
A good Beneish M-Score depends on the Software industry context. However, Beneish M-Score should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Beneish M-Score mean?
A high Beneish M-Score can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. The Beneish M-score measures the likelihood of earnings manipulation. View historical data on Duolingo and its competitors. Duolingo's current Beneish M-Score is -1.71. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Duolingo stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Duolingo (DUOL) is currently considered Significantly Undervalued. The stock's GF Value™ is $397.42, compared to a current price of $130.90 — trading 67.1% below its estimated fair value. The current Beneish M-Score is -1.71. Duolingo's overall GF Score™ is 72/100 with 5 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Beneish M-Score calculated?
Beneish M-Score is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Duolingo (DUOL), the current Beneish M-Score is -1.71 as of Aug. 07, 2026. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.

Is Duolingo (DUOL) Overvalued in 2026?

Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Duolingo stock appears to be undervalued. The current stock price of $130.90 is trading 67.1% below its estimated GF Value™ of $397.42. GuruFocus considers Duolingo to be Significantly Undervalued.

Key valuation signals for DUOL:

  • Beneish M-Score: -1.71
  • GF Value™: $397.42 vs. price of $130.90 (67.1% below fair value)
  • GF Score™: 72/100 with 5 warning signs

No single metric tells the full story. See the DUOL stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.


Duolingo Business Description

Other Exchanges DUOL:MexicoDUOL34:Brazil
Address 5900 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, USA, 15206
Duolingo Inc is a technology company that develops a mobile learning platform to learn languages. Its products are powered by sophisticated data analytics and artificial intelligence and delivered with class art, animation, and design to make it easier for learners to stay motivated, master new material, and achieve their learning goals. Its solutions include the Duolingo Language Learning App, Super Duolingo, Duolingo English Test: AI-Driven Language Assessment, Duolingo For Schools, Duolingo ABC, and Duolingo Math. It has four predominant sources of revenue: time-based subscriptions, in-app advertising placement by third parties, the Duolingo English Test, and In-App purchases. Geographically, the company generates revenue from its customers in the United States and other markets.
72GF Score

Get the complete analysis for DUOL

Beneish M-Score is just one metric. See GF Value™, 30-year financials, guru trades, warning signs, and more.

$130.90
Price
$397.42
GF Value