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SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2024
Accounting Policies [Abstract] |
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES | SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES Accounting Principles—The Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes are prepared in accordance with GAAP. Use of Estimates—The preparation of Consolidated Financial Statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes. Significant estimates and assumptions reflected in the Consolidated Financial Statements include, but are not limited to, useful lives of property and equipment, valuation of deferred tax assets and liabilities, stock-based compensation, operating lease right-of-use assets and liabilities, capitalization of internally developed software and associated useful lives and contingent liabilities, fair value of investments and valuation of goodwill and intangible assets from acquisitions. Actual results may differ materially from such estimates. Management believes that the estimates, and judgments upon which they rely, are reasonable based upon information available to them at the time that these estimates and judgments are made. To the extent that there are material differences between these estimates and actual results, the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements will be affected. Revenue Recognition—The Company has four predominant sources of revenue; time-based subscriptions, in-app advertising placement by third parties, the Duolingo English Test, and In-App Purchases. See Note 5, Revenue, for further discussion. Deferred Revenues—Revenue is recognized over the life of the subscription, or in the case of Duolingo English Test, revenue is recognized when the test is proctored. The Company classifies deferred revenue as a short-term liability on the consolidated balance sheets as the longest subscription plan is for twelve months, and Duolingo English Test purchases must be taken within 21 days. Cost of Revenues—Cost of revenue predominantly consists of third-party payment processing fees charged by various distribution channel and hosting fees. To a much lesser extent, includes wages and stock-based compensation for certain employees in the capacity of customer support, amortization of revenue generating capitalized software, and depreciation of certain property and equipment. Deferred Cost of Revenues—Deferred cost of revenue includes third-party payment processing fees amortized over the subscription terms in proportion to the revenue recognized. In situations where fees are charged for subscriptions that exceed one month, costs are deferred and recognized over the life of the subscription and are classified as a current asset. The Company classifies deferred cost of revenue as a short-term asset on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets as the longest subscription plan is for twelve months. Cash and Cash Equivalents—Cash consists primarily of cash on hand and bank deposits. Cash equivalents consist primarily of money market accounts with maturities of three months or less at the date of acquisition and are stated at cost, which approximates fair value. The Company maintains cash deposits with financial institutions that may exceed federally insured limits at times. Investments —Investments consist primarily of corporate debt securities, U.S. Treasury securities, certificates of deposit, and commercial paper. Management determines the appropriate classification of investments at the time of purchase based upon management’s intent with regard to such investments. The Company’s investments are classified as held-to-maturity at the time of purchase, and such classifications are reevaluated as of each balance sheet date. All highly liquid investments with an original maturity of 90 days or less when purchased are considered to be cash equivalents. Investments with remaining contractual maturities of one year or less from the balance sheet date, which are not considered cash equivalents, are classified as short-term investments, and those with remaining contractual maturities greater than one year from the balance sheet date are classified as long-term investments. All investments are recorded at amortized cost. Realized gains and losses on sales and maturities of investments are determined based on the specific identification method and are recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss). We perform periodic evaluations to determine whether any declines in the fair value of investments below cost are other-than-temporary. The evaluation consists of qualitative and quantitative factors regarding the severity and duration of the unrealized loss, as well as the Company’s ability and intent to hold the investments until a forecasted recovery occurs. The impairments are considered to be other-than-temporary if they are related to deterioration in credit risk or if it is likely that the underlying securities will be sold or mature prior to a full recovery of their cost basis. Other-than-temporary fair value impairments, if any, are determined based on the specific identification method and are reported in Other (expense) income, net in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) Restricted Cash—Restricted cash consists of a collateralized letter of credit established in connection with a lease agreement for the Company’s Sub-Sublease in New York, which was signed in December 2023. Restricted cash is included in non-current assets for leases that expire in more than one year from the balance sheet date. Accounts Receivable—Accounts receivables are reported on the consolidated balance sheets at the outstanding principal amount adjusted for any allowance for credit losses and any charge offs. The Company provides an allowance for credit losses to reduce trade receivables to their estimated net realizable value equal to the amount that is expected to be collected. This allowance is estimated based on historical collection experience, the aging of receivables, specific current and expected future macro-economic and market conditions, and assessments of the current creditworthiness and economic status of customers. The Company considers a receivable delinquent if it is unpaid after the term of the related invoice has expired. Balances that are still outstanding after management has used reasonable collection efforts are written off. The Company reviews its allowance for credit losses on a quarterly basis. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company has not recorded a reserve given the Company’s lack of historical write offs. Property and Equipment—Property and equipment is stated at cost, less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is computed on the straight-line method.
Asset Class | Estimated Useful Life
Furniture, fixtures and equipment | 4 to 6 years
Leasehold improvements | 5 to 10 years
Leasehold improvements are amortized over the lesser of the life of the lease or the estimated useful life of the leasehold improvements. Costs related to maintenance and repairs that do not extend the assets’ useful life are expensed as incurred. Acquisitions—The Company uses the acquisition method of accounting for business combination transactions, and, accordingly, recognizes the fair values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed in the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements. The excess of the fair value of purchase consideration over the values of these identifiable assets and liabilities is recorded as goodwill. Transaction costs related to the acquisition of the acquired company are expensed as incurred. The allocation of fair values may be subject to adjustment after the initial allocation for up to a one-year period as more information becomes available relative to the fair values as of the acquisition date. The Consolidated Financial Statements include the results of operations of any acquired company since the acquisition date. Goodwill—The Company recognizes the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of identifiable net assets acquired at the acquisition date as goodwill. Goodwill is not amortized but is reviewed for impairment annually and more frequently if an event occurs or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying value. The Company will review goodwill for impairment annually on October 1st of each fiscal year or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that an impairment may exist. The Company will first perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying value. If the reporting unit does not pass the qualitative assessment, then the reporting unit’s carrying value is compared to its fair value. If the fair value of the reporting unit is greater than the reporting unit’s carrying value, then the carrying value of the reporting unit is deemed to be recoverable. If the carrying value of the reporting unit is greater than the reporting unit’s fair value, goodwill is impaired and written down to the reporting unit’s fair value. Intangible Assets—The majority of the Company’s intangible assets is capitalized software, with minimal acquired technology and other intangible assets during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023. The Company develops software for internal use and capitalizes the software development costs incurred during the application development stage. Costs incurred prior to and after the application development stage are charged to expense. When the software is ready for its intended use, capitalization ceases and such costs are amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated life, which is generally three years. Relatively minor upgrades, enhancements and maintenance to the platform are expensed as incurred. Income Taxes—The Company provides for income taxes in accordance with the asset and liability method. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for future tax consequences attributable to differences between the carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities for financial reporting and for income tax reporting. The deferred tax asset or liability represents the future tax return consequences of those difference, which will either be taxable or deductible when the assets and liabilities are recovered or settled. A valuation allowance is established for any deferred tax asset for which it is determined that it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The Company limits the deferred tax assets recognized related to certain officers’ compensation to amounts that it estimates will be deductible in future periods based upon Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) Section 162(m). The Company utilizes a two-step approach to recognizing and measuring uncertain tax positions accounted for in accordance with the asset and liability method. The first step is to evaluate the tax position for recognition by determining whether evidence indicates that it is more likely than not that a position will be sustained if examined by a taxing authority. The second step is to measure the tax benefit as the largest amount that is 50% likely of being realized upon settlement with a tax authority. There were no amounts recorded at December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 related to uncertain tax positions. Foreign Currency—The functional currency of the Company and its subsidiaries is the U.S. dollar. Transactions denominated in currencies other than the functional currency are translated into the functional currency at the exchange rates prevailing at the dates of the transaction. Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated using the exchange rate prevailing at the balance sheet date. Non-monetary assets and liabilities are translated using the historical rate on the date of the transaction. All exchange gains or losses arising from translation of these foreign currency transactions are included in net loss for the year. The Company has not, to the date of these Consolidated Financial Statements, entered into derivative instruments to offset the impact of foreign currency fluctuations. Fair Value of Financial Instruments—The Company accounts for certain assets and liabilities at fair value in accordance with the accounting guidance applicable to fair value measurements and disclosures. The carrying values of cash, cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and accrued expenses are deemed to be reasonable estimates of their fair values because of their short-term nature. Research and Development Costs—Research and development expenses are incurred as the Company maintains and enhances its software and evaluates and develops other potential applications. Such expenses include compensation of engineering, product design and testing personnel, including stock-based compensation, materials, travel and direct costs associated with the design and required testing of our platform and depreciation of certain property and equipment. Sales and Marketing—Sales and marketing expenses are expensed as incurred and consists primarily of new user acquisition, brand marketing, digital and social media content, and employee-related compensation, including stock-based compensation, for personnel engaged in sales and marketing functions, amortization of non-revenue generating capitalized software used to promote Duolingo and depreciation of certain property and equipment. Advertising costs were approximately $62,373, $52,969 and $48,111 for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively. General and Administrative—General and administrative expense primarily consists of employee-related compensation (including stock-based compensation) for management and administrative functions, including our finance and accounting, legal, and people teams. General and administrative expense also includes certain professional services fees, general corporate and director and officer insurance, facilities costs, and other general overhead costs that support our operations, and depreciation of certain property and equipment. Concentration of Credit Risk—The Company’s concentration of credit risk relates to financial institutions holding the Company’s cash and cash equivalents and platforms with significant accounts receivable balances and revenue transactions. The Company maintains cash deposits with financial institutions that may exceed federally insured limits at times. Management believes that the financial institutions that hold the Company’s deposits are financially credit worthy and, accordingly, minimal credit risk exists with respect to those balances. The majority of our revenue comes through our subscriptions and advertising streams and payments are made to Duolingo through service providers. The top two service providers, Apple and Google, accounted for 64.7% and 21.2% of total Accounts receivable as of December 31, 2024, respectively. The top three service providers, Apple, Google and Stripe, accounted for 65.2%, 20.7% and 10.7% of total Accounts receivable as of December 31, 2023, respectively. Stock-Based Compensation—The Company accounts for equity-based compensation using the fair value method as set forth in the ASC 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation, which requires the measurement and recognition of compensation expense for all stock-based payment awards based on estimated fair values. This method requires companies to estimate the fair value of stock-based compensation on the date of grant using an option pricing model. The Company estimates the fair value of each equity-based payment award on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes pricing model. The Black-Scholes model determines the fair value of equity-based payment awards based on the fair value of the underlying common stock on the date of grant and requires the use of estimates and assumptions, including the fair value of the Company’s common stock, exercise price of the stock option, expected volatility, expected life, risk-free interest rate and dividend rate. The Company estimates the expected volatility of its stock options by taking the average historical volatility of a group of comparable publicly traded companies over a period equal to the expected life of the options; it is not practical for the Company to estimate its own volatility due to the lack of historical prices. The expected term of the options is determined in accordance with existing equity agreements as the underlying options are assumed to be exercised upon the passage of time. The risk-free interest rate is the estimated average interest rate based on U.S. Treasury zero-coupon notes with terms consistent with the expected life of the awards. The expected dividend yield is zero as the Company does not anticipate paying any recurring cash dividends in the foreseeable future. The Company accounts for forfeitures as they occur. Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) The Company began to grant RSUs in November 2020. The fair value of RSUs is estimated based on the fair value of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant. Generally, the service-based vesting condition for the majority of these awards is satisfied over four years. Performance-based RSUs In June 2021, the Company granted 1,800 (one million eight-hundred thousand) performance-based RSUs to the Company’s founders (“Founder Awards”). The Founder Awards are divided into ten equal tranches with each tranche becoming eligible to vest upon achievement of the specified stock-price hurdles. The Founder Awards vest upon the satisfaction of both a service-based condition and a performance-based condition and generally are settled one year after vesting. The service-based condition is satisfied as to 25% of the Founder Awards on each anniversary of the completion of the IPO, subject to the continuous service of the founders through the applicable date. The fair value of the Founder Awards is determined using a Monte Carlo simulation model. The associated stock-based compensation is recorded over the derived service period, using the accelerated attribution method. If the stock-price hurdles are met sooner than the requisite service period, the stock-based compensation expense will be adjusted to prospectively recognize the remaining expense over the remaining derived service period. Provided that the founders continue to provide services to us, stock-based compensation expense is recognized over the derived service period, regardless of whether the stock-price hurdles are achieved. The first and second tranches were met during the year ended December 31, 2021. The third and fourth tranches were met during the year ended December 31, 2023. The fifth and sixth tranches were met during the year ended December 31, 2024. The Company recognized $19,799, $26,622 and $30,997 of stock-based compensation expense related to these awards, during the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively, which is included within General and administrative in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss). Contingencies—The Company records accruals for contingencies and legal proceedings expected to be incurred in connection with a loss contingency when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount can be reasonably estimated. If a loss contingency is not probable, but is reasonably possible, or is probable but cannot be estimated, the nature of the contingent liability, together with an estimate of the range of possible loss, would be disclosed. Segment—The Company operates as a single operating segment and derives revenues from customers through time-based subscriptions, in-app advertising placement by third parties, the Duolingo English Test, and In-App Purchases. The Chief Executive Officer, as the chief operating decision maker, evaluates the Company’s performance and allocates resources based on consolidated net income, as presented in the income statement, supplemented by disaggregated revenue details. Significant segment expenses are those that are presented on the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss). The measure of segment assets is reported on the balance sheet as total consolidated assets. Accordingly, the Company has determined that it has a single reportable segment and operating segment structure, and operates as one reporting unit. Leases—The Company accounts for leases in accordance with ASC 842, Leases, which requires virtually all leases, other than leases that meet the definition of a short-term lease, to be recorded on the balance sheet with a right-of-use (“ROU”) asset and corresponding lease liability. ROU assets are periodically reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances arise. During the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, the Company incurred no impairment charges on ROU assets. On the lease commencement date, each lease is classified as either finance or operating, depending on certain criteria. The Company determined that it only has operating leases as none of the criteria for finance lease classification were met. Operating lease expense is recognized on a straight-line basis on the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) in General and administrative expenses. On the Consolidated Statements of Changes in Cash Flows, payments for operating leases, are included in operating activities. As an accounting policy election, the Company has elected to not separate lease and non-lease components for all asset classes and made an accounting policy election for short-term leases which does not require the capitalization of leases with terms of 12 months or less at lease commencement. The discount rate utilized in calculating the lease liability is the rate implicit in the lease, if known; otherwise, the incremental borrowing rate (“IBR”) for the expected lease term is used. The Company’s IBR approximates the rate the Company would have to pay, on a collateralized basis, to borrow an amount equal to the lease payments under similar terms. Impairment of long-lived assets— The Company reviews its long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. If the sum of the estimated undiscounted future cash flows expected to result from the use and eventual disposition of an asset is less than the carrying amount of the asset, an impairment loss is recognized. Measurement of an impairment loss is based on the fair value of the asset. The Company recorded an impairment of capitalized software of $238 for the year ended December 31, 2024, and no impairment during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, which represents an impairment to write-off the capitalization of an internal-use software project prior to being launched to the user base. Allowance for Credit Losses—The Company evaluates its cash equivalents, accounts receivable and held-to-maturity marketable securities financial assets for expected credit losses. Expected credit losses represent the portion of the amortized cost basis of a financial asset that an entity does not expect to collect. An allowance for expected credit losses is meant to reflect a risk of loss even if remote, irrespective of the expectation of collection from a particular issuer or debt security. The Company has not historically experienced any credit losses on any of its financial assets. With respect to cash equivalents and accounts receivable, given consideration of their short maturity, lack of historical losses and the current environment, the Company concluded there is generally no expected credit losses for these financial assets. With respect to held-to-maturity marketable securities which are comprised of debt securities, the Company evaluates expected credit losses on a pooled basis based on issuer-type which have similar credit risk characteristics. The allowance for credit losses is immaterial for all periods presented. Recently Issued Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted There are no recently issued accounting pronouncements that the Company has not yet adopted that they believe are applicable or would have a material impact on the financial statements of the Company. In December 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740), which includes improvements to income tax disclosures. The standard is effective for public entities in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. Early adoption is permitted. The Company does not expect the adoption of the new guidance will have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and related disclosures. In November 2024, the FASB issued ASU 2024-03, Income Statement-Reporting Comprehensive Income-Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (Subtopic 220-40): Disaggregation of Income Statement Expenses. The amendment requires new financial statement disclosures to provide disaggregated information for certain types of expenses, including employee compensation, depreciation, and amortization in commonly presented expense captions such as cost of revenue, sales and marketing, and general and administrative expenses. The amendments in this ASU are effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2026, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2027. The Company is in the process of evaluating the effect that the adoption of these standards will have on its consolidated financial statements. Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280), which improves reportable segment disclosure requirements, primarily through enhanced disclosures about significant segment expenses. The standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. Early adoption is permitted. The Company adopted this guidance on January 1, 2024. Refer to our discussion above under “Segment” within this footnote.

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