<div id="readability-page-1"><div> <h2>Key Points</h2><ul><li>Duolingo stock has fallen 80% from its May 2025 peak, creating a potential buying opportunity.</li><li>AI translation tools still can't replace actual language learning for serious real-world use.</li><li>The stock trades at just 12.5 times earnings despite 35% revenue growth and a 40% profit margin.</li><li>10 stocks we like better than Duolingo ›</li></ul>Language-learning pioneer Duolingo (NASDAQ: DUOL) was a hot ticket a year ago. On May 14, 2025, the stock had tripled in 52 weeks. The green owl could do no wrong.But that turned out to be Duolingo's all-time peak, followed by a grueling downturn. Amid the rise of so-called vibe coding and the DeepSeek large language model (LLM), Duolingo investors saw new AI-powered threats. At the same time, Duolingo's management said it would prioritize user growth over profits for a while. That sounded scary to many profit-craving investors.Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an &#34;Indispensable Monopoly&#34; providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue »As of April 22, 2026, the stock has lost 80% of its May 2025 value. And if you're a long-term investor, it just might be the best bargain on the market today.<h2>The Babelfish is still fiction, folks</h2>First and foremost, I don't think AI tools will replace language learning anytime soon.I'm a natural-born Swede who learned English as a second language. Key helpers along the way included The Lord of the Rings, Bruce Springsteen's lyrics, and Swedish subtitles on American TV shows. Still, the English language has been my day job for the last 20 years, and I do translation as a side gig.So I've done the heavy lifting to become bilingual, and I get paid to deliver natural-sounding language where today's best AI models can't. Sure, Google Translate or DeepL can provide a starting point for human revision, but no doctor, patent lawyer, or serious business would leave its mission-critical translations to AI tools. LLMs like ChatGPT and Claude are even worse. The next time you run across nonsensical instructions in a Temu gadget's manual, you can assume that an AI translation system did most of the damage.And I sure wouldn't be where I am today if I had to run every thought through Google Translate. The helpful Babelfish of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is pure fiction in 2026.<h2>The green owl has AI tricks of its own</h2>In other words, there's still a place for language-learning tools, even if AI platforms are getting better all the time. Moreover, Duolingo is expanding its digital instruction platform to other fields, already including subjects such as math, music, and chess. The recently launched chess course has more than 7 million daily users, even though Duolingo doesn't even show up when you search the mobile app stores for &#34;chess.&#34;At the same time, Duolingo uses AI to explain your mistakes and drive simple conversations in the super-premium Max subscription. Wall Street thinks AI is killing the company, but Duolingo actually benefits from AI systems.<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://g.foolcdn.com/image//query-dXJsPWh0dHBzOi8vZy5mb29sY2RuLmNvbS9lZGl0b3JpYWwvaW1hZ2VzLzg2NjU3Ny9vd2wtcGVla2luZy11cC5qcGcmdz03MDA?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="700" height="439" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://g.foolcdn.com/image//query-dXJsPWh0dHBzOi8vZy5mb29sY2RuLmNvbS9lZGl0b3JpYWwvaW1hZ2VzLzg2NjU3Ny9vd2wtcGVla2luZy11cC5qcGcmdz03MDA"/>Image source: Getty Images. <h2>Bargain-bin prices for a 40% profit margin? Yes, please.</h2>That hasn't stopped Wall Street from overreacting to the perceived AI threat. You already saw the deep stock price dip. These days, Duolingo trades at just 12.5 times trailing earnings and 13.4 times free cash flows.Those are bargain-bin ratios, usually reserved for slow-growing and mature business giants or companies on the brink of bankruptcy. Duolingo is neither of those things, sporting a 40% net profit margin while growing revenue by 35% year over year in Q4 2025.I don't mind picking up Duolingo shares on the cheap while many investors lose sleep over the AI threat.<h2>Should you buy stock in Duolingo right now?</h2> Before you buy stock in Duolingo, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Duolingo wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $498,522!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,276,807!* Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 983% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 200% for the S&amp;P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of April 26, 2026. Anders Bylund has positions in Alphabet and Duolingo. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet and Duolingo. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. </div></div>

DUOL

Duolingo's stock has plummeted 80% since its peak in May 2025, presenting a potential buying opportunity. Despite the rise of AI translation tools, the company maintains a strong position in language learning, with a 40% profit margin and 35% revenue growth. Currently trading at low earnings multiples, Duolingo is viewed as undervalued. However, analysts recommend considering other stocks over Duolingo, which was not included in the top 10 investment picks. The company is expanding its offerings beyond language learning, indicating resilience in a competitive market.

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This Once-Loved Growth Stock Is Down Hard From Its Highs -- Is Duolingo the Best Bargain of 2026?