Has "ChatGPT phobia" been overstated? Evercore supports Duolingo (DUOL.US): Over 60% of AI users remain loyal daily active users

According to Jinse Finance APP, on Tuesday, shares of education technology company Duolingo (DUOL.US) surged sharply after Evercore ISI upgraded its rating on the stock to "Outperform." The institution’s confidence in Duolingo is mainly based on its exclusive consumer survey results, in-depth analysis of current product improvements, and tracking of recent daily active user (DAU) trends.

The most noteworthy aspect of Evercore’s bullish stance is that the firm believes market concerns about the threat from ChatGPT may be significantly overestimated.

Analyst Mark Mahaney elaborated specifically on the ChatGPT factor: “The threat does exist—36% of language learners are using ChatGPT (making it the third most commonly used tool after Duolingo and YouTube). But the key lies in the following subtle yet important details: a) language learners using ChatGPT tend to favor scenarios related to leisure travel (scenarios with lower monetization potential); b) more than 50% of ChatGPT language learners also use Duolingo, and their engagement on Duolingo is highly consistent with core users—63% of ChatGPT users log into Duolingo daily, matching the usage frequency of Duolingo’s core user group. The data speaks for itself!”

Based on the above analysis, Evercore ISI raised its earnings per share (EPS) forecasts for Duolingo for 2027 and 2028 and set a new target price of $210.

As of press time, Duolingo’s share price is up 6%.