Shares of Coursera Inc. tumbled nearly 30% in after-hours trading Wednesday after the company, which operates a platform for online courses, delivered a lower-than-expected revenue forecast for the year.
The company logged a second-quarter net loss of $49.3 million, or 34 cents a share, whereas it posted a net loss of $46.4 million, or 35 cents a share, in the year-prior quarter. The FactSet consensus was for a 29-cent GAAP loss per share.
Coursera
COUR,
also reported a $15.6 million loss on the basis of adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda), compared with a $2.9 billion loss on that metric a year before, and in line with the FactSet consensus.
Revenue rose to $124.8 million from $102.1 million, while analysts had been looking for $130.4 million.
The latest numbers reflected “strong demand” for Coursera’s entry-level professional certificates as well as continued revenue growth in the enterprise business, Chief Financial Officer Ken Hahn said in a release.
Executives acknowledged some pressures in the company’s consumer business, with Chief Executive Jeff Maggioncalda saying on the earnings call that Coursera had seen lower-than-expected student enrollments in mature U.S. and European degree programs.
“Search volume for online courses of online degrees, and this is not just on Coursera but just general, search volume is down,” he said, according to a FactSet transcript. “I think there is sort of a bit of the economy reopening and people, you know, doing things outside of their house.”
For the third quarter, Coursera’s management team anticipates $126 million to $130 million in revenue along with a $10.5 million to $13.5 million loss on the basis of adjusted Ebitda. Analysts were calling for $142.3 million in revenue and a $9.8 million adjusted Ebitda loss.
Looking to the full year, Coursera executives are modeling revenue of $509 million to $515 million, whereas analysts were looking for $542.3 million. The company’s adjusted Ebitda forecast called for a loss of $42.5 million to $48.5 million on the metric, while analysts were expecting $48.4 million.
Coursera’s downbeat revenue forecast comes as the latest negative signal for the online-education market, as Chegg Inc.
CHGG,
executives indicated last quarter that students were taking fewer classes and prioritizing “earning over learning.”
See more: Chegg’s ‘déjà vu’ outlook prompts several onetime bulls to jump ship
Chegg shares have lost 32% so far this year as Coursera’s stock has dropped 33% and as the S&P 500
SPX,
has fallen 16%.
