Sifting through countless of stocks in the Diversified Consumer Services industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Duolingo, Inc. or Pearson plc because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Duolingo, Inc. and Pearson plc compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Duolingo, Inc. and Pearson plc

Duolingo, Inc. operates as a mobile learning platform in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company offers courses in 40 different languages, including Spanish, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, and Chinese through its Duolingo app. It also provides a digital English language proficiency assessment exam. The company was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Pearson plc provides educational courseware, assessments, and services in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, the Asia Pacific, other European countries, and internationally. The company operates through five segments: Assessment & Qualifications, Virtual Learning, English Language Learning, Workforce Skills, and Higher Education. The Assessment & Qualifications segment offers Pearson VUE, US student assessment, clinical assessment, UK GCSE, and A levels and international academic qualifications and associated courseware. The Virtual Learning segment provides virtual schools and online program management services. The English Language Learning segment offers Pearson test of English, institutional courseware, and English online solutions. The Workforce Skills offers BTEC, GED, TalentLens, Faethm, Credly, Pearson college, and apprenticeships. The Higher Education segment engages in the US, Canadian, and international higher education courseware businesses. The company was founded in 1844 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

Latest Diversified Consumer Services and Duolingo, Inc., Pearson plc Stock News

As of February 18, 2026, Duolingo, Inc. had a $5.2 billion market capitalization, compared to the Diversified Consumer Services median of $183.6 million. Duolingo, Inc.’s stock is down 35.9% in 2026, down 6.8% in the previous five trading days and down 74.01% in the past year.

Currently, Duolingo, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 14.0. Duolingo, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $964.3 million with a 40.0% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 41.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $11.897 per share for the current fiscal year. Duolingo, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

As of February 18, 2026, Pearson plc had a $7.9 billion market cap, putting it in the 74th percentile of all stocks. Pearson plc’s stock is down 10.3% in 2026, up 2.1% in the previous five trading days and down 25.68% in the past year.

Currently, Pearson plc’s price-earnings ratio is 14.1. Pearson plc’s trailing 12-month revenue is $4.8 billion with a 12.5% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 6.4%. There are no analysts providing consensus earnings estimates for the current fiscal year. Pearson plc currently has a 1.7% dividend yield.

How We Compare Duolingo, Inc. and Pearson plc Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Duolingo, Inc. and Pearson plc’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Duolingo, Inc. and Pearson plc Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Duolingo, Inc.	DUOL	D
Pearson plc	PSO	C

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Duolingo, Inc. has a Value Score of 25, which is Expensive. Pearson plc has a Value Score of 53, which is Average.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Duolingo, Inc. or Pearson plc has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Duolingo, Inc. or Pearson plc is the better investment when it comes to value.

Duolingo, Inc. and Pearson plc Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Duolingo, Inc.	DUOL	B
Pearson plc	PSO	D

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Duolingo, Inc. has a Growth Score of 69, which is Strong. Pearson plc has a Growth Score of 26, which is Weak.

The Growth Grade Winner: Duolingo, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Duolingo, Inc. has a more attractive growth grade than Pearson plc. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, Duolingo, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Duolingo, Inc. and Pearson plc’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Duolingo, Inc.	DUOL	F
Pearson plc	PSO	D

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Duolingo, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 6, which is Very Weak. Pearson plc has a Momentum Score of 23, which is Weak.

The Momentum Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Duolingo, Inc. or Pearson plc has a strong enough Momentum Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Duolingo, Inc. or Pearson plc is the better investment when it comes to momentum.

Other Duolingo, Inc. and Pearson plc Grades

In addition to Value, Momentum and Growth, A+ Investor also provides grades for Estimate Revisions and Quality.

Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and F-Score.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Duolingo, Inc. and Pearson plc pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Duolingo, Inc. or Pearson plc Stock?

Overall, Duolingo, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 25, Growth Score of 69 and Momentum Score of 6.

Pearson plc stock has a Value Score of 53, Growth Score of 26 and Momentum Score of 23.

Comparing Duolingo, Inc. and Pearson plc’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.