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DUOL
Duolingo, Inc. · Technology - EdTech / Language Learning
$125.56
+10.04% this month
VERSUS
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COMPARE
STNE
StoneCo Ltd. · Technology - Financial Technology / Payments
$10.59
+2.92% this month
Scoreboard verdict
Across AI score, momentum, valuation, upside, operating margin
DUOL
0
STNE
4
Comparison scoreboard
STNE LEADS 4/5AI Score
DUOL 23.1
STNE ✓23.4
1Y Return
DUOL -73.77%
STNE ✓-13.73%
Fwd P/E
DUOL 16.01
STNE ✓0.84
Target Up.
DUOL -15.33%
STNE ✓+62.67%
Op. Margin
DUOL N/A
STNE N/A
Metrics last refreshed: 6/20/2026
Quick take
DUOL vs STNE Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
DUOL (Duolingo) is the world's largest language learning app with gamified engagement and AI-enhanced premium tiers, while STNE (StoneCo) is a Brazilian fintech providing payment processing and merchant banking to Brazil's SMB market. These companies operate in completely different sectors and geographies, making direct comparison useful primarily as a growth technology screen analysis.
DUOL vs STNE contrasts two high-growth technology businesses — Duolingo's global consumer edtech platform versus StoneCo's Brazilian merchant fintech platform, each with dominant positions in their respective markets.
Live analysis · updated 6/20/2026
STNE holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. STNE leads on both 1-year return (-13.73%) and forward P/E (0.84x vs 16.01x for DUOL), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for STNE (+62.67%) than for DUOL (-15.33%).
Normalized 1Y performance
DUOL
STNE
Recent returns
DUOL
STNE
Analyst price targets & sentiment
DUOL · 17 analysts
STRONG BUYHOLDSTRONG SELL
Hold (2.8/5.0)
Price target range
analyst low$81.00
analyst high$145.00
analyst mean$106.31
current price$125.56
-15.3% upside to analyst mean
STNE · 16 analysts
Price target range
analyst low$8.76
analyst high$23.60
analyst mean$17.23
current price$10.59
+62.7% upside to analyst mean
Who should consider this stock?
DUOL may suit investors who:
- →Want the world's largest language learning platform with strong brand, engagement metrics, and AI monetization upside
- →Value Duolingo's massive free user base as a funnel for paid subscription conversion and advertising revenue
- →See AI conversation practice (Duolingo Max) as expanding what Duolingo can offer and justifying premium subscription pricing
STNE may suit investors who:
- →Want Brazilian fintech exposure through a market leader in SMB payment processing and merchant banking
- →Believe Brazil's digital payments and financial services growth runway justifies long-term investment despite currency and credit risk
- →See StoneCo's integrated payment-plus-banking platform as a sustainable competitive advantage over single-product competitors
Performance & AI score
| Metric | DUOL | STNE |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 23.1 | 23.4 |
| AI rank | #3762 | #3586 |
| Latest close | $125.56 | $10.59 |
| 1M return | +10.04% | +2.92% |
| 6M return | -31.74% | -10.98% |
| 1Y return | -73.77% | -13.73% |
$10,000 invested — hypothetical growth (dividends reinvested)
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | DUOL | STNE |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $2.62K (-73.8%) started 2025-06-18 | $10.41K (+4.1%) started 2025-06-18 |
| 5Y ago | $9.35K (-6.5%) started 2021-07-28 | $2.27K (-77.3%) started 2021-06-18 |
| 10Y ago | $9.35K (-6.5%) started 2021-07-28 | $4.94K (-50.6%) started 2018-10-25 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
Valuation & upside potential
| Metric | DUOL | STNE |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $5.85B | $2.58B |
| Trailing P/E | 14.38 | 3.86 |
| Forward P/E | 16.01 | 0.84 |
| Price/Sales | 5.32 | 0.19 |
| EV/Revenue | 4.38 | 0.66 |
| Analyst target | $106.31 | $17.23 |
| Target upside | -15.33% | +62.67% |
Growth, profitability & risk
| Metric | DUOL | STNE |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 26.50% | 4.30% |
| Earnings growth | 23.60% | 273.80% |
| EPS growth | +23.60% | +273.80% |
| FCF margin | +28.44% | +17.08% |
| Operating margin | N/A | N/A |
| Profit margin | 38.44% | 25.95% |
| ROIC proxy | 36.96% | 30.70% |
| Return on equity | 36.96% | 30.70% |
| Dividend yield | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Beta | 0.89 | 1.59 |
| Debt/equity | 6.60 | 133.64 |
| Current ratio | 2.62 | 1.33 |
| Quick ratio | 2.41 | 1.23 |
Drawdown & downside risk
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
1Y risk snapshot
DUOL max drawdown81.19%
STNE max drawdown40.22%
DUOL max wkly drop28.24%
STNE max wkly drop19.61%
5Y risk snapshot
DUOL max drawdown83.35%
STNE max drawdown89.72%
DUOL max wkly drop31.98%
STNE max wkly drop45.67%
10Y risk snapshot
DUOL max drawdown83.35%
STNE max drawdown92.31%
DUOL max wkly drop31.98%
STNE max wkly drop45.67%
Performance metrics by period
| Period | Metric | DUOL | STNE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | -73.77% | -13.73% |
| CAGR | -73.80% | -13.74% | |
| Sharpe ratio | -1.87 | -0.12 | |
| Max drawdown | 81.19% | 40.22% | |
| Max daily drop | 25.49% | 19.38% | |
| Max wkly drop | 28.24% | 19.61% | |
| 5Y | Growth | -6.48% | -81.23% |
| CAGR | -1.36% | -28.44% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.24 | -0.26 | |
| Max drawdown | 83.35% | 89.72% | |
| Max daily drop | 25.49% | 34.62% | |
| Max wkly drop | 31.98% | 45.67% | |
| 10Y | Growth | -6.48% | -59.11% |
| CAGR | -1.36% | -11.04% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.24 | 0.10 | |
| Max drawdown | 83.35% | 92.31% | |
| Max daily drop | 25.49% | 34.62% | |
| Max wkly drop | 31.98% | 45.67% |
Business comparison
| Category | DUOL | STNE |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Duolingo, Inc. | StoneCo Ltd. |
| Sector | Technology - EdTech / Language Learning | Technology - Financial Technology / Payments |
| Industry | N/A | N/A |
| Core business | Duolingo is the world's most downloaded educational app, offering gamified language learning lessons in 40+ languages through a freemium model with a premium Duolingo Plus subscription removing ads and adding features, monetizing a community of hundreds of millions of learners. | StoneCo is a leading Brazilian financial technology company providing payment processing, banking services (lending, prepaid cards), and business management software to small and medium-sized merchants in Brazil. |
| Investor focus | Investors track Duolingo's daily active users (DAUs), subscriber conversion rate and paid subscriber count, ARPU growth, and AI-driven product development (Duolingo Max) as the premium tier adding conversation practice with AI. | Investors track StoneCo's active payment client growth, revenue per client, credit portfolio quality (particularly after 2021 credit losses), and the integration of its banking and software services as it builds a comprehensive merchant financial services platform. |
DUOL strengths
- →World's largest language learning platform with extraordinary brand recognition — Duolingo's owl mascot has become a pop culture icon driving organic user growth
- →Highly engaging gamified learning creates habitual daily use that generates advertising and subscription revenue
- →AI and LLMs (Duolingo Max) enable conversational practice at scale without human tutors, dramatically expanding what Duolingo can offer premium subscribers
STNE strengths
- →Strong market position in Brazilian payment processing serving the massive SMB segment that larger financial institutions historically underserved
- →Banking services (working capital loans, deposit accounts) expand the revenue opportunity per merchant customer significantly beyond payment processing fees
- →Brazil's large, underpenetrated financial services market provides significant growth runway as digital payments and merchant banking expand
Risks to watch — DUOL
- →The core freemium model provides language awareness but not fluency — Duolingo is best for beginners and casual learners, with limitations for serious language acquisition goals
- →Competition from AI conversation tools (ChatGPT voice mode, AI tutors) that provide more sophisticated conversation practice than app-based learning
- →Monetizing a large base of free users through advertising faces challenges given learner sessions are often short
Risks to watch — STNE
- →StoneCo experienced significant credit losses in 2021 from its SMB lending book as COVID-era economic stress hurt merchant clients — managing credit quality is an ongoing priority
- →Competition from Cielo, PagSeguro (PagBank), and banks expanding digital merchant services in Brazil
- →Brazilian economic and currency volatility affects both merchant activity levels and StoneCo's financial performance when reported in USD
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