Udemy Reports Third Quarter 2023 Results and Raises Full-Year Outlook


Increased Udemy Business revenue 30% year-over-year

Delivered second consecutive quarter of positive adjusted EBITDA

Committed to first full year of positive adjusted EBITDA ahead of plan in 2023

Achieved milestone of more than 100,000 paid Personal Plan subscribers

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 02, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Udemy (Nasdaq: UDMY), a company dedicated to transforming lives through learning, today reported results for the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023.

“Udemy delivered strong results that exceeded our expectations for top-line growth, and we delivered our second consecutive quarter of positive adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow,” said Greg Brown, Udemy’s President and CEO. “More than 15,000 customers around the world partner with Udemy to upskill and reskill their workforce to keep up with the rapid pace of change, which we believe will be a top priority for the foreseeable future. We will continue to invest in innovation that leverages generative AI to provide more personalized skills-development experiences, help enterprise customers achieve business outcomes and supercharge instructors’ ability to create highly effective content. Going forward, we are focused on delivering value for all stakeholders, while making high-growth investments, managing our cost structure efficiently and progressing toward our long-term profitability targets.”

Third quarter 2023 financial performance highlights include:

  • Total revenue increased 17% year-over-year to $184.7 million and exceeded the high end of the guidance range for the quarter by $4.7 million. Revenue growth includes a negative impact of 1 percentage point from changes in foreign exchange (FX) rates year-over-year.
  • Enterprise segment, or Udemy Business, revenue increased 30% year-over-year, including the negative impact of 2 percentage points from changes in FX rates year-over-year, to $109.1 million.
  • Udemy Business Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) increased 26% year-over-year to $443.1 million.
  • Consumer segment revenue increased 1%year-over-year, including the negative impact of 0.5 percentage points from changes in FX rates year-over-year, to $75.6 million.
  • Ended the quarter with $483.0 million in cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and marketable securities.

Third Quarter 2023 Financial Results and Key Operating Data Summary
(in millions, except customers, percentages and basis points)

  Three Months Ended September 30, % Change Nine Months Ended September 30, % Change
  2023 2022 YoY 2023 2022 YoY
Revenue $184.7   $158.4   17 % $539.4   $463.8   16 %
Gross Profit $107.5   $89.4   20 % $309.5   $262.4   18 %
Gross Margin  58 %  56 % 200 bps  57 %  57 %  bps
Non-GAAP Gross Profit $110.0   $91.7   20 % $316.8   $268.1   18 %
Non-GAAP Gross Margin  60 %  58 % 200 bps  59 %  58 % 100 bps
Net Loss $(16.8)  $(46.7)  (64)% $(87.0)  $(101.7)  (14)%
Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss) $7.7   $(20.7)  (137)% $(1.9)  $(45.5)  (96)%
Adjusted EBITDA $8.2   $(12.9)  (164)% $3.8   $(28.4)  (113)%
Adjusted EBITDA Margin  4 %  (8)% 1,200 bps  1 %  (6)% 700 bps
                       
Enterprise Segment                      
Total Customers  15,378    13,437   14 %           
Annual Recurring Revenue $443.1   $350.4   26 %           
Net Dollar Retention  106 %  117 % (1,100)bps           
UB Large Customer Net Dollar Retention  114 %  123 % (900)bps           
Segment Revenue $109.1   $83.9   30 % $306.0   $223.4   37 %
Segment Gross Profit $74.3   $56.4   32 % $204.4   $149.1   37 %
Segment Gross Margin  68 %  67 % 100 bps  67 %  67 %  bps
                       
Consumer Segment                      
Monthly Average Buyers  1.41    1.32   7 %  1.38    1.33   4 %
Segment Revenue $75.6   $74.6   1 % $233.4   $240.4   (3)%
Segment Gross Profit $40.3   $38.7   4 % $125.4   $128.5   (2)%
Segment Gross Margin  53 %  52 % 100 bps  54 %  53 % 100 bps
                             

Business and Operational Highlights

  • Added new, or expanded existing, relationships with Udemy Business customers globally, including Assurant, Inc. (U.S.), Bosch Global Software Technologies (India), Compasso Tecnologia LTD (Brazil), Deutsche Telekom (Slovakia), DHL Express (Belgium), Elektrobit Automotive GmbH (Germany), Shell (UK), Sanofi (France), Sun Life Assurance Company (Canada), Schlumberger Limited (U.S.) and Vimeo, Inc. (U.S.).
  • Continued Udemy Business’s expansion in the Asia-Pacific region with new customer wins and expansions through strategic reseller partnerships, including The Bank of Yokohama, Ltd. (Japan), Daiwa Securities Group Inc. (Japan), Samsung Human Resource Development Center (S. Korea), and Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (Japan).
  • Surpassed 100,000 paid monthly and annual subscribers for Udemy’s consumer subscription, Personal Plan.
  • Announced a new partnership with Docker that provides active Docker developers with access to dedicated learning paths and more than 350 real-time Docker training modules on emerging technologies.
  • Curated generative AI learning paths for Udemy Business customers to address four common use cases, consisting of more than 300 hours of learning content.
  • Revamped the instructors’ AI-powered Coding Exercise Practice Insights dashboard to include learner engagement insights. Also, expanded the AI-assisted coding exercise creation functionality for instructors to include new ChatGPT integrations for Spanish courses and Javascript.
  • Released functionality to allow learners to import verified Open Badges onto the Udemy Business platform to showcase their success, and providing useful insights for organizations to analyze the skills present in their organizations.
  • Launched a Badging Certification Tracker to motivate Udemy Business learners as they track their progress toward certifications in a goal-oriented preparation experience.
  • Enhanced the Udemy Business Leadership Academy learner transcript feature giving admins a simpler, more efficient way to view and download an individual learner’s performance.
  • For the third year in a row, Sustainalytics ranked Udemy in the first percentile for ESG risk ratings in the Internet Software and Services sub-industry as of September 2023.
  • Received recognition as a Fall 2023 Leader by software review company G2 in its Fall Grid Report for Learning Experience Platforms, based on receiving a high customer satisfaction score and having a large market presence.

Business Update
Udemy announced plans to adjust the content payment structure for its Udemy Business and consumer subscription offerings. Under the current payment structure, instructor partners earn 25% of subscription revenue, which is allocated to instructors pro rata based on consumption of their content. Udemy plans to reduce the instructor share from 25% today to 15% by 2026, with the first adjustment to 20% effective as of January 1, 2024. The adjustment is expected to improve future gross margin, which will allow the Company to make greater investments in brand initiatives and product innovation to accelerate growth in the business.

Financial Outlook
Udemy provides guidance based on current market conditions and expectations. Actual results may differ materially. Please refer to the comments below regarding forward-looking statements.

The following table reflects Udemy’s financial outlook for its fourth quarter and full year ending December 31, 2023.

 Three Months Ending
December 31, 2023
 Year Ending
December 31, 2023
Revenue$184 - $187 million $723 - $726 million
Adjusted EBITDA Margin*0.0% - 1.0% 0.5% - 1.0%
Weighted Average Share Count (Basic)154 million 150 million
Weighted Average Share Count (Diluted)161 million 157 million
*Udemy has not provided a quantitative reconciliation of forecasted Adjusted EBITDA to forecasted GAAP net income (loss) within this earnings release because the Company is unable, without making unreasonable efforts, to calculate certain reconciling items with confidence.
 

The revenue guidance range above assumes historical changes in foreign currency exchange rates will negatively impact total revenue year-over-year growth by approximately 2 percentage points in the fourth quarter and 3 percentage points for the full year 2023. Udemy's revenue guidance also assumes FX rates will remain constant for the remainder of the year.

Webcast Information
Udemy will host a conference call and webcast at 2:00 p.m. PT / 5:00 p.m. ET today, Thursday, November 2 to discuss its third quarter 2023 financial results and outlook. A link to the live webcast and recorded replay of the conference call will be available on the “Quarterly Results” section of Udemy’s Investor Relations website at https://investors.udemy.com/. The live call may also be accessed via telephone at (833) 630-1963 domestically and (412) 317-5702 internationally. The archived replay of the webcast will be available for approximately one year.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures 
To supplement the consolidated financial statements prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), this press release contains certain non-GAAP financial measures as defined below. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures, when taken together with the corresponding GAAP financial measures, provide useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results because our management team and board of directors use these non-GAAP financial measures for the purposes of assessing operating results and business planning. These non-GAAP financial measures also provide useful measures for period-to-period comparisons of our business by removing the effect of certain non-cash expenses and certain variable charges.

Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin 
We calculate Adjusted EBITDA as net loss determined in accordance with GAAP, excluding i) interest income; ii) interest expense; iii) provision for income taxes; iv) depreciation and amortization; v) other expense, net, including gains and losses from the remeasurement of foreign currency assets and liabilities into their functional currency vi) stock-based compensation expense, and vii) restructuring charges. We calculate Adjusted EBITDA Margin as Adjusted EBITDA divided by revenue for the same period. We have not reconciled our expectations for Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin to net loss and net loss margin, respectively, the most directly comparable GAAP measures, because certain items are out of our control or cannot be reasonably predicted and a reconciliation for the guidance for Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin is not available without unreasonable effort.

Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss) and Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss) Per Share, Basic and Diluted 
We define non-GAAP net income (loss) as net loss, adjusted to exclude stock-based compensation expense, amortization of acquired intangible assets, and restructuring charges.

We define non-GAAP net income (loss) per share, basic, as non-GAAP net income (loss) divided by weighted-average shares used to compute net loss per share, basic. We define non-GAAP net income (loss) per share, diluted, as non-GAAP net income (loss) divided by weighted-average shares used to compute net loss per share, diluted, which adjusts for the potentially dilutive effects of our employee equity incentive plans.

Non-GAAP Gross Profit and Non-GAAP Gross Margin 
We define non-GAAP gross profit as gross profit, adjusted to exclude stock-based compensation expense and the amortization of acquired intangible assets. We calculate non-GAAP gross margin as non-GAAP gross profit divided by revenue for the same period.

Udemy’s non-GAAP financial measures may be different from non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. The presentation of non-GAAP financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, financial measures determined in accordance with GAAP. Because of the limitations of non-GAAP financial measures, you should consider the non-GAAP financial measures presented herein in conjunction with Udemy’s financial statements and the related notes thereto. Please refer to the non-GAAP reconciliations in this press release for a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable financial measure prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Forward Looking Statements 
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Udemy’s expectations relating to future operating results and financial position, including the second quarter of 2023, the full year 2023, and future periods; anticipated future expenses and investments; our business strategy and plans; market growth; and our market position and potential market opportunities. The words “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “potential,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “could,” “would,” “project,” “plan,” “target,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on potentially inaccurate assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expected or implied by the forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from the results predicted and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance.

The potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from the results predicted include, among others, those risks and uncertainties included under the caption "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including, without limitation, our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2023, filed with the SEC on November 2, 2023. All information provided in this release is as of the date hereof, and we undertake no duty to update this information unless required by law.

Third Party Data

This press release contains information developed by Sustainalytics (www.sustainalytics.com). Such information and data are proprietary of Sustainalytics and/or its third party suppliers (Third Party Data) and are provided for informational purposes only. They do not constitute an endorsement of any product or project, nor an investment advice and are not warranted to be complete, timely, accurate or suitable for a particular purpose. Their use is subject to conditions available at https://www.sustainalytics.com/legal-disclaimers

About Udemy

Udemy (Nasdaq: UDMY) transforms lives through learning by providing flexible, effective skill development to empower organizations and individuals. The Udemy marketplace platform, with thousands of up-to-date courses in dozens of languages, offers the tools learners, instructors and enterprises need to achieve their goals and reach their full potential. Millions of people learn on the Udemy platform from real-world experts in topics ranging from programming and data science to leadership and team building. Udemy Business enables employers to offer on-demand learning for all employees, immersive learning for tech teams and cohort learning for leaders. Udemy Business customers include FenderⓇ, Glassdoor, On24, The World Bank and Volkswagen. Udemy is headquartered in San Francisco with hubs in Ankara and Istanbul, Türkiye; Austin, Texas; Denver, Colorado; Dublin, Ireland; Melbourne, Australia; and New Delhi, India.


Udemy, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(in thousands, except share and per share amounts)
(unaudited)

  Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30,
   2023   2022   2023   2022 
Revenue $184,722  $158,432  $539,392  $463,767 
Cost of revenue (1) (2)  77,264   69,080   229,903   201,330 
Gross profit  107,458   89,352   309,489   262,437 
Operating expenses (1)(2)        
Sales and marketing  76,492   77,490   233,520   212,789 
Research and development  30,307   28,062   90,829   74,595 
General and administrative  22,155   27,051   71,112   72,147 
Restructuring charges        10,263    
Total operating expenses  128,954   132,603   405,724   359,531 
Loss from operations  (21,496)  (43,251)  (96,235)  (97,094)
Other income (expense)        
Interest income  5,542   1,610   14,758   1,857 
Interest expense  (124)  (1,018)  (464)  (895)
Other income (expense), net  122   (3,523)  (2,181)  (4,439)
Total other income (expense), net  5,540   (2,931)  12,113   (3,477)
Net loss before taxes  (15,956)  (46,182)  (84,122)  (100,571)
Income tax provision  (811)  (511)  (2,924)  (1,151)
Net loss $(16,767) $(46,693) $(87,046) $(101,722)
Net loss per share        
Basic and diluted $(0.11) $(0.33) $(0.59) $(0.73)
Weighted-average shares used in computing net loss per share        
Basic and diluted  151,307,963   140,951,605   148,392,636   140,116,156 
 

(1) Includes stock-based compensation expense as follows (in thousands):

  Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30,
  2023 2022 2023 2022
Cost of revenue $1,788 $1,611 $5,130 $3,440
Sales and marketing  7,646  9,372  23,022  18,516
Research and development  7,045  6,258  19,762  13,303
General and administrative  7,005  7,728  23,806  17,784
Restructuring charges      1,208  
Total stock-based compensation expense $23,484 $24,969 $72,928 $53,043
 

(2) Includes amortization of intangible assets as follows (in thousands):

  Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30,
  2023 2022 2023 2022
Cost of revenue $725 $725 $2,175 $2,175
Sales and marketing  296  342  979  1,025
Total amortization of intangible assets $1,021 $1,067 $3,154 $3,200
 

Udemy, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(in thousands)
(unaudited)

  September 30, December 31,
   2023   2022 
Assets    
Current assets:    
Cash and cash equivalents $327,974  $313,685 
Marketable securities  151,466   151,687 
Restricted cash, current  100    
Accounts receivable, net  82,857   104,530 
Prepaid expenses and other current assets  18,364   14,878 
Deferred contract costs, current  40,953   30,234 
Total current assets  621,714   615,014 
Property and equipment, net  4,984   7,012 
Capitalized software, net  30,924   27,412 
Operating lease right-of-use assets  7,164   11,377 
Restricted cash, non-current  3,429   3,629 
Deferred contract costs, non-current  35,415   35,411 
Strategic investments  10,311   12,104 
Intangible assets, net  6,177   9,331 
Goodwill  12,646   12,646 
Other assets  3,730   3,632 
Total assets $736,494  $737,568 
Liabilities and stockholders' equity    
Current liabilities:    
Accounts payable $5,663  $14,529 
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities  31,040   31,247 
Content costs payable  37,816   37,310 
Accrued compensation and benefits  25,313   22,882 
Operating lease liabilities, current  6,974   7,002 
Deferred revenue, current  279,646   273,937 
Total current liabilities  386,452   386,907 
Operating lease liabilities, non-current  1,657   6,545 
Deferred revenue, non-current  2,520   4,342 
Other liabilities, non-current  26   464 
Total liabilities  390,655   398,258 
     
Stockholders' equity:    
Preferred stock      
Common stock  2   1 
Additional paid-in capital  1,045,349   951,946 
Accumulated other comprehensive loss  (62)  (233)
Accumulated deficit  (699,450)  (612,404)
     Total stockholders’ equity  345,839   339,310 
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $736,494  $737,568 
 

Udemy, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(in thousands)
(unaudited)

  Nine Months Ended September 30,
   2023   2022 
Cash flows from operating activities:    
Net loss $(87,046) $(101,722)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:    
Depreciation and amortization  18,069   15,616 
Amortization of deferred sales contract costs  34,482   22,558 
Stock-based compensation  72,928   53,043 
Allowance for credit losses  1,309   467 
Accretion of marketable securities  (5,323)  (138)
Non-cash operating lease expense  4,468   4,643 
Unrealized loss on strategic investments  1,793   2,896 
Other  931   460 
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:    
     Accounts receivable  20,363   1,132 
     Prepaid expenses and other assets  (3,628)  1,375 
     Deferred contract costs  (45,205)  (40,203)
     Accounts payable, accrued expenses and other liabilities  (7,102)  (14,257)
     Content costs payable  505   (1,525)
     Operating lease liabilities  (5,168)  (5,012)
     Deferred revenue  3,887   30,395 
          Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities  5,263   (30,272)
Cash flows from investing activities:    
Purchases of marketable securities  (225,536)  (66,128)
Proceeds from maturities of marketable securities  231,300    
Purchases of property and equipment  (435)  (1,397)
Capitalized software costs  (9,321)  (10,652)
Purchases of strategic investments     (5,000)
Payments related to business combinations     (1,500)
          Net cash used in investing activities  (3,992)  (84,677)
Cash flows from financing activities:    
Net proceeds from exercise of stock options  8,277   5,785 
Proceeds from share purchases under employee stock purchase plan  4,757   5,563 
Payment of deferred offering costs     (1,586)
          Net cash provided by financing activities  13,034   9,762 
     
Effect of foreign exchange rates on cash flows  (116)  (38)
     
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash  14,189   (105,225)
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash—Beginning of period  317,314   536,768 
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash—End of period $331,503  $431,543 
     

Udemy, Inc.
Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures
(in thousands, except percentages, share and per share amounts)
(unaudited)

  Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30,
   2023   2022   2023   2022 
Gross profit $107,458  $89,352  $309,489  $262,437 
Stock-based compensation expense  1,788   1,611   5,130   3,440 
Intangible asset amortization  725   725   2,175   2,175 
Non-GAAP gross profit $109,971  $91,688  $316,794  $268,052 
Gross margin (1)  58%  56%  57%  57%
Non-GAAP gross margin (2)  60%  58%  59%  58%

(1) We calculate gross margin as gross profit divided by revenue for the same period.
(2) We calculate non-GAAP gross margin as non-GAAP gross profit divided by revenue for the same period.

 
  Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30,
   2023   2022   2023   2022 
Net loss $(16,767) $(46,693) $(87,046) $(101,722)
Stock-based compensation expense  23,484   24,969   71,720   53,043 
Intangible asset amortization  1,021   1,067   3,154   3,200 
Restructuring charges        10,263    
Non-GAAP net income (loss) $7,738  $(20,657) $(1,909) $(45,479)
         
Weighted-average shares used in computing net loss per share, basic  151,307,963   140,951,605   148,392,636   140,116,156 
Effect of dilutive securities (3)  6,095,804          
Weighted-average shares used in computing non-GAAP net income (loss) per share, diluted  157,403,767   140,951,605   148,392,636   140,116,156 
         
Net loss per share, basic and diluted $(0.11) $(0.33) $(0.59) $(0.73)
Non-GAAP net income (loss) per share, basic $0.05  $(0.15) $(0.01) $(0.32)
Non-GAAP net income (loss) per share, diluted $0.05  $(0.15) $(0.01) $(0.32)

(3) For periods presented with a non-GAAP net loss, we have excluded the effect of potentially dilutive securities as their inclusion would be anti-dilutive.

 
  Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30,
   2023   2022   2023   2022 
Net loss $(16,767) $(46,693) $(87,046) $(101,722)
Adjusted to exclude the following:        
Interest income  (5,542)  (1,610)  (14,758)  (1,857)
Interest expense  124   1,018   464   895 
Income tax provision  811   511   2,924   1,151 
Depreciation and amortization  6,183   5,416   18,069   15,616 
Stock-based compensation expense  23,484   24,969   71,720   53,043 
Other income (expense), net  (122)  3,523   2,181   4,439 
Restructuring charges        10,263    
Adjusted EBITDA $8,171  $(12,866) $3,817  $(28,435)
Net loss margin (4)  (9)%  (29)%  (16)%  (22)%
Adjusted EBITDA margin (5)  4%  (8)%  1%  (6)%

(4) We calculate net loss margin as net loss divided by revenue for the same period.
(5) We calculate adjusted EBITDA margin as adjusted EBITDA divided by revenue for the same period.

Investor Contact
Dennis Walsh
Vice President, Investor Relations
dennis.walsh@udemy.com

Media Contact
Abby Welch
Senior Director, Corporate Communications
abby.welch@udemy.com