Coursera is the global leading platform for learners and content providers. Coursera offers learners a variety of courses, including University courses to get diplomas upon completion. Universities partner with Coursera to develop and deliver online degree programs and pay Coursera a percentage fee based on student tuition. Coursera sees potential to expand in emerging markets, including Egypt and Nigeria in addition to its presence in South America and Asia.
Coursera is a US-based online course provider founded in 2012. Coursera operates three segments: Consumer offering individuals single courses or subscriptions, Enterprise offering annual seat license subscriptions, and Degrees jointly with Universities. The company reported 142mn registered learners in 4Q23, 325 educator partners, including Universities and Industry leaders, and 1369 paid enterprise customers.
The higher education industry is a $2 trillion market. Higher education has seen relatively little innovation until recently. The process of transformation of the educational sector accelerated after the pandemic changed the jobs market, forcing more companies to launch a digital transformation. The technology provided more flexibility to both educators and learners, making education and re-skilling more affordable for learners. It is expected that 1.3 billion people to reach working age in the next 10 years, including 43mn in the US, 241mn in India, 170mn in China, 29mn in Brazil, and 22mn in Mexico. Low-skill jobs may disappear due to automation further increasing the demand for re-skilling.
- Coursera operates one of the largest educational platform with over 100mn registered learners
- Coursera offers recognised diplomas and certificates with Univercity partners
- Coursera supports a global scale of operations, including presence in rapidly developing emerging markets of India, Africa and South America
- Coursera provides a platform for enterprises and individual learners
- Industry leaders collaborate with Coursera to create certificates, develop and attract new talents
- Increasing competition in the online learning sector
- Coursera has a history of losses from operating activity
- High inflation affects the affordability of education for learners
- Coursera reported a rather flat trendsin degree learners in 2023
- Consumer engagement has changed in the post-COVID macro environment which may also affect the dynamics of new customer acquisition
- High concentration of revenues in a few master's degrees programs (US and EU Universities)
- Weak macro with high inflation affects the affordability of courses for learners and may affect the revenue and cost site of Coursera's business
- Post-COVID changes in consumer preferences and time availability may result in lower engagement on the platform
- Risk of higher competition from online learning platforms and Universities launching their own online platforms
- High concentration of revenue generated from a few master's degrees
| Company | RIC | Market Capitalization, $mn | Last reporting year | P/E Fwd 1Y | P/E Fwd 2Y | EV/EBITDA 1Y fwd | EV/EBITDA 2Y fwd | EV/Revenues 1y fwd | EV/Revenues 2y fwd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coursera Inc | COUR.N | 2,200 | 2023-12-31 | 75.9 | 46.2 | 49.4 | 26.0 | 2.0 | 1.7 |
| Chegg Inc | CHGG.N | 779 | 2023-12-31 | 6.7 | 6.4 | 5.6 | 5.3 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Coupa Software Inc | COUP.OQ^C23 | 6,117 | 2022-01-31 | ||||||
| Instructure Holdings Inc | INST.N | 3,105 | 2023-12-31 | 28.5 | 23.2 | 12.1 | 10.9 | 4.9 | 4.5 |
| Zoominfo Technologies Inc | ZI.OQ | 6,087 | 2023-12-31 | 16.1 | 14.9 | 12.9 | 11.4 | 5.3 | 4.9 |
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 184 | 294 | 415 | 524 | 636 | 736 | 848 | 983 |
| Growth | 59% | 41% | 26% | 21% | 16% | 15% | 16% | |
| EBITDA | -27 | -40 | -36 | -37 | -10 | 30 | 55 | 89 |
| EBITDA margin | -14.6% | -13.6% | -8.6% | -7.1% | -1.6% | 4.1% | 6.5% | 9.1% |
| Net income | -47 | -67 | -52 | -53 | 2 | 28 | 52 | 53 |
| Net margin | -25.3% | -22.8% | -12.6% | -10.2% | 0.3% | 3.8% | 6.1% | 5.4% |
| Net debt | -173 | -80 | -581 | -822 | -822 | -822 | -822 | -822 |
| MktCap | 3,184 | 1,826 | 1,826 | 1,826 | 1,826 | 1,826 |
Historical Multiples
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EV/Revenue | 6.3 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.0 |
| EV/EBITDA | -72.7 | -27.2 | -100.5 | 33.5 | 18.3 | 11.3 |
| P/E | -60.8 | -34.2 | 1014.7 | 65.2 | 35.1 | 34.5 |
