Executive Summary

Coursera delivered a solid Q1 2025: revenue $179.3M (+6% YoY), GAAP gross margin 55%, Adjusted EBITDA $18.7M (10.4% margin), and Free Cash Flow $25.3M .
Results beat Wall Street consensus: revenue $179.3M vs $175.4M*, EPS $0.12 vs $0.079*; prior two quarters were also modest beats on revenue and EPS* (see Estimates Context). Values retrieved from S&P Global.*
Full-year 2025 revenue guidance raised/initiated to $720–$730M; Q2 2025 guided to revenue $179–$183M and Adjusted EBITDA $11–$15M .
Operating model simplified: Degrees incorporated into Consumer; management expects Consumer and Enterprise to grow single digits (weighted to Consumer), while Degrees declines as resources shift to higher-impact opportunities .
Key catalysts: improving consumer conversion (Coursera Plus, localized promos), content economics driving margin expansion, and product/AI innovations (Coach, AI dubbing, career-based discovery) balanced by caution on enterprise budgets .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

Record learner additions and stable consumer trends: 7.1M new registered learners (Q1 record), strong Coursera Plus uptake, localized promotions boosted paid conversion .
Margin expansion from content economics: non-GAAP gross margin 56% (GAAP 55%); consumer segment margin up 190–220 bps YoY driven by newer content with more favorable revenue shares .
Cash generation and balance sheet strength: Free Cash Flow $25.3M (+40% YoY), unrestricted cash ~$748M, no debt, creating optionality to invest in product/content/go-to-market .

Management quote: “We delivered first quarter revenue of $179 million… generated over $25 million of free cash flow… and our growth expectations for the full year have improved” — CEO Greg Hart .

What Went Wrong

Enterprise caution: while Q1 Enterprise grew 7% YoY, management flagged macro-driven uncertainty in corporate spend and guided lower growth pacing vs Consumer .
Net retention pressure: paid enterprise NRR was 91%, down from 94% YoY (though up sequentially vs Q4 2024’s 87%) .
Degrees to decline: Degrees incorporated into Consumer and expected to drop as near-term investments prioritize broader learner/customer impact, which may concern investors tracking degree growth .

Financial Results

Headline P&L and Margins (GAAP and Non-GAAP)

Metric	Q3 2024	Q4 2024	Q1 2025
Revenue ($USD Millions)	$176.1	$179.2	$179.3
GAAP Gross Margin %	55%	53%	55%
Non-GAAP Gross Margin %	56%	54%	56%
Adjusted EBITDA ($USD Millions)	$13.3	$9.5	$18.7
Adjusted EBITDA Margin %	7.6%	5.3%	10.4%
GAAP EPS ($)	$(0.09)	$(0.14)	$(0.05)
Non-GAAP EPS ($)	$0.10	$0.08	$0.12
Net Loss Margin % (GAAP)	(7.8)%	(12.1)%	(4.4)%

Notes: GAAP gross margin and non-GAAP gross margin are separately disclosed in Coursera materials.

Segment Breakdown (Historical segment reporting for comparability)

Metric	Q3 2024	Q4 2024	Q1 2025
Consumer Revenue ($M)	$102.3	$101.7	$102.1
Consumer Gross Profit Margin %	54%	54%	55.7%
Enterprise Revenue ($M)	$60.4	$62.3	$61.7
Enterprise Gross Profit Margin %	70%	68%	70%
Degrees Revenue ($M)	$13.4	$15.2	$15.5
Degrees Gross Profit Margin %	100%	100%	100%

New segment reporting (Consumer now includes Degrees) for Q1 2025: Consumer revenue $117.6M and segment gross margin 61.6%; Enterprise revenue $61.7M and segment gross margin 70.0% .

KPIs

KPI	Q3 2024	Q4 2024	Q1 2025
Total Registered Learners (Millions)	162.0	168.0	175.3
Paid Enterprise Customers	1,564	1,612	1,651
Net Retention Rate (Paid Enterprise Customers)	89%	87%	91%
New Registered Learners (Millions)	N/A	6.0	7.1

Guidance Changes

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance	Change
Revenue ($M)	Q1 2025	$173–$177	Actual: $179.3	Beat vs guide
Revenue ($M)	Q2 2025	N/A	$179–$183	Initiated
Adjusted EBITDA ($M)	Q2 2025	N/A	$11–$15	Initiated
Revenue ($M)	FY 2025	“Positive growth” (no range)	$720–$730	Raised/initiated numeric range
Adjusted EBITDA Margin (%)	FY 2025	“Improvement” (unspecified)	7.0% (↑100 bps YoY)	Clarified target
Segment Outlook	FY 2025	N/A	Consumer & Enterprise single-digit growth (weighted to Consumer); Degrees declines	New disclosure

Rationale: Management cited stabilization in consumer performance and macro caution on corporate spend for Enterprise, while reallocating near-term resources away from Degrees to broader-impact initiatives .

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

Topic	Previous Mentions (Q-2 and Q-1)	Current Period (Q1 2025)	Trend
AI/Technology initiatives (Coach, AI translations/dubbing)	Coursera Coach launched for interactive instruction; AI translations expanded to 24 languages	100+ AI-dubbed courses launched; Coach Dialogues generally available; early engagement uplifts; 12 enrollments/minute in GenAI content year-to-date	Accelerating product/AI innovation
Career-based discovery	Initial launch in Q4 with role pages and localized salary/job data	~60 role pages live; early conversion gains; expansion planned globally	Scaling, positive conversion impact
Content engine and economics	Growth in industry micro-credentials; margin benefits from content arrangements	Catalog ~9,800 courses (+37% YoY); content under favorable revenue shares driving margin expansion	Broader catalog and better economics
Segment reporting simplification	Traditional 3 segments reported	Degrees folded into Consumer; reclassification provided; future reporting simplified	Simplified structure; potential investor scrutiny on Degrees
Enterprise/macros	NRR down; macro caution noted	Q1 Enterprise +7% YoY; monitoring budget trends; caution embedded in guidance	Growth continues, but cautious outlook
Degrees	Growth in recent programs, 100% margin, student counts reported	Degrees product expected to decline; student counts no longer disclosed	Strategic deprioritization near-term

Management Commentary

Product and operating focus: “My top priority is unlocking the next phase of innovation-led growth… implement thoughtful changes to our operating model… accelerate product development cycles… leverage advanced AI and data-driven insights” — CEO Greg Hart .
Consumer momentum and conversion: “We saw some real success on the marketing front… Coursera Plus annual subscriptions… [promos] drove a lot of nice free cash flow as well as future revenue” — CEO Greg Hart and CFO Ken Hahn .
Content economics: “Consumer expansion was driven by… learners engage with… credentials created under new production arrangements with more favorable revenue share economics” — CFO Ken Hahn .
Balance sheet optionality: “~$748M of unrestricted cash… no debt… flexibility to invest in expanding our content engine capabilities” — CFO Ken Hahn .

Q&A Highlights

Growth investments vs margins: Management targets 100 bps annual Adjusted EBITDA margin improvement to 7% while reserving dry powder for growth; expect near-term payback from go-to-market and some product/content initiatives .
Enterprise outlook: Expect lower growth than Consumer due to macro uncertainty, with Coursera for Campus a relative bright spot; NRR improved sequentially .
Degrees reporting rationale: Degrees is viewed as another consumer product; transparency provided in transition; decline expected in 2025 .
Career discovery monetization: Early days; building authoritative role/skill graph; positive conversion signs; future monetization optionality .

Estimates Context

Metric	Q3 2024 Consensus*	Q3 2024 Actual	Q4 2024 Consensus*	Q4 2024 Actual	Q1 2025 Consensus*	Q1 2025 Actual
Revenue ($USD Millions)	$174.0*	$176.1	$176.5*	$179.2	$175.4*	$179.3
EPS (Primary, $)	$0.021*	$0.10 (Non-GAAP)	$0.046*	$0.08 (Non-GAAP)	$0.079*	$0.12 (Non-GAAP)

Values retrieved from S&P Global.*
Context: Coursera beat consensus revenue and EPS in Q3, Q4, and Q1, with the Q1 beat supported by stronger consumer conversion, content economics, and disciplined OpEx .

Key Takeaways for Investors

Coursera posted a clean top-line and EPS beat with double-digit Adjusted EBITDA margin and strong FCF, signaling improving operating leverage .
Consumer momentum is the near-term driver (Coursera Plus, localized marketing), with margin tailwinds from favorable content revenue shares .
Product/AI initiatives (Coach Dialogues, AI dubbing, career discovery) show promising engagement and conversion signals that can compound over 2025 .
Enterprise remains solid but prudently guided given macro uncertainty; Campus is a relative bright spot; watch NRR trajectory .
Structural change: Degrees folded into Consumer and expected to decline, reducing a potential drag while simplifying the model .
Guidance implies steady Q2 revenue with disciplined investment pacing; full-year revenue range $720–$730M and 7% Adjusted EBITDA margin target provide a clearer bar to underwrite .
Trading lens: Beat/raise setup, improving consumer conversion/margins, and AI/product cadence are positive; enterprise budget caution and Degrees decline are key overhangs to monitor near-term .

Coursera, Inc. (COUR)·Q1 2025 Earnings Summary