51Talk (COE) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

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DATE

Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026 at 8:00 a.m. ET

CALL PARTICIPANTS

• Investor Relations - David Chung
• Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer - Jack Jiajia Huang
• Chief Financial Officer - Cindy Tang

TAKEAWAYS

• Net Revenues -- $32.4 million, representing a 58.8% increase driven by a higher number of active students attending lessons.
• Gross Billings -- $39.3 million, growing 38.1% year over year and exceeding the high end of previous management guidance.
• Active Students -- 138,100 individuals, a 51.3% increase reflecting robust demand across key international markets.
• Gross Margin -- 73.9%, compared with 74.5% in the same quarter last year.
• Operating Cash Inflow -- $4.9 million, generated during the quarter despite the reported operating loss.
• Cost of Revenues -- $8.5 million, an increase of 62.5% primarily due to higher service fees paid to teachers and an increased volume of lessons.
• Sales and Marketing Expenses -- $19.3 million, a 48.8% increase driven by headcount growth in the sales team and intensified promotional activities.
• Product Development Expenses -- $2.4 million, representing a 96.6% increase resulting from investments in AI-powered content platforms.
• General and Administrative Expenses -- $4.3 million, a 3.5% increase reflecting stable corporate overhead.
• Operating Loss -- $2.1 million, which narrowed from a loss of $3.2 million in the prior-year period.
• Net Loss Attributable to Ordinary Shareholders -- $3.1 million, compared to $3.5 million for the same quarter last year.
• Non-GAAP Net Loss -- $2.6 million, excluding $0.5 million in share-based compensation expenses.
• Earnings Per ADS -- Negative $0.51 on a GAAP basis and negative $0.43 on a non-GAAP basis.
• Total Cash and Time Deposits -- $40.1 million as of June 30, 2026, up from $39 million at the end of 2025.
• Advances from Students -- $86.7 million as of June 30, 2026, compared with $76.6 million as of Dec. 31, 2025.
• Q3 2026 Gross Billings Guidance -- $41 million to $43 million, representing a projected sequential increase of 4.3% to 9.4%.

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RISKS

• Tang noted that cost of revenues rose 62.5% because of the "increase in total service fees paid to teachers, mainly resulting from an increased number of paid lessons, as well as higher payment processing fees associated with the expansion of payment channels."
• Tang reported that sales and marketing expenses increased 48.8% due to "higher sales personnel costs driven by headcount growth in the sales and marketing team."

SUMMARY

51Talk Online Education Group (NYSEMKT:COE) reported significant year-over-year revenue and student growth during the second quarter of 2026. Management attributed the 58.8% increase in net revenues to a 51.3% expansion in active students, which reached approximately 138,100. The company launched a new AI-powered learning product in July and indicated a strategic shift toward more efficient investment to reach profitability. While operating expenses rose 41.8% primarily due to sales headcount expansion and marketing efforts, the operating loss narrowed by $1.1 million compared to the prior-year period.

• On July 1, the company launched Global Communicator, a next-generation learning product developed in partnership with Oxford University Press.
• CEO Huang stated, "The world students learn in, the characters they meet, and the lessons themselves are all generated end to end by our AI-powered content production platform."
• Management noted the AI platform will serve as the technical foundation for future expansions into new regions, languages, and subjects.
• The company reported that higher payment processing fees from new payment channels contributed to the 62.5% increase in cost of revenues.
• CEO Huang stated that the priority for the remainder of 2026 is "to sustain healthy growth by building on last year's success" to drive long-term shareholder value.

INDUSTRY GLOSSARY

• Active Student: A student who attended at least one paid lesson during a given period, excluding trial or live broadcasting lessons.
• ADS (American Depositary Share): A U.S. dollar-denominated equity share of a foreign-based company available for purchase on an American stock exchange.
• Advances from Students: The amount of cash received in advance from students for course packages or services before those services have been delivered.
• Global Communicator: The company's AI-powered education product designed to generate interactive learning content automatically.
• Gross Billings: Total cash received and receivable from third-party payment platforms for the sale of course packages and services, net of refunds.
• Non-GAAP: A financial measure that excludes certain items, such as share-based compensation, to provide an alternative view of operating performance.

Full Conference Call Transcript

Operator: Hello, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by for 51Talk Online Education Group's second quarter 2026 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Today's conference call is being recorded. I will now turn the call over to your host, Mr. David Chung, Investor Relations for the company. Please go ahead, David.

David Chung: Thank you. Hello, everyone, and welcome to the second quarter 2026 earnings conference call of 51Talk. The company's results were issued via Newswire services earlier today and are posted online. You can download the earnings press release and sign up for the company's distribution list by visiting ir.51talk.com. Mr. Jack Huang, our CEO, and Ms. Cindy Tang, our CFO, will begin with some prepared remarks. Following the prepared remarks, there will be a Q&A session. Before we continue, please note that the discussion will contain forward-looking statements made under the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties.

As such, the company's results may be materially different from the views expressed today. Further information regarding this and other risks and uncertainties is included in the company's Form 20-F and other public filings as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required under the applicable law. Please also note that earnings press release and this conference call include discussion of unaudited GAAP financial information as well as unaudited non-GAAP financial measures. 51Talk's press release contains a reconciliation of the unaudited non-GAAP measures to the unaudited most directly comparable GAAP measures. I will now turn the call over to our CEO, Jack Huang.

Jack, please go ahead.

Jack Huang: Thank you, David. Hello, everyone. Thank you very much for joining our conference call today. Gross billings for the second quarter reached $39.3 million, once again exceeding the high end of our guidance announced in June 2026 and representing a growth of 38.1% year-over-year. Demand across our key markets remains robust. We generated $4.9 million of net operating cash inflows during the quarter. On July the 1st, we launched our next generation learning product, Global Communicator, built with our strategic partner, Oxford University Press. The world students learn in, the characters they meet, and the lessons themselves are all generated end to end by our AI-powered content production platform.

The same platform will power new regions, new languages, and even new subjects. It is the foundation for what we build next. Our priority for the remainder of 2026 is to sustain healthy growth by building on last year's success. Following an exceptionally strong quarter in Q3 2025, we are investing more efficiently in the third quarter of 2026, moving us toward profitability and a long-term shareholder value. With that, I will now turn the call over to Cindy, our CFO.

Cindy Tang: Thank you, Jack. Now let me walk you through our second quarter financial details. Net revenues for the second quarter were $32.4 million, a 58.8% increase from the same quarter last year, largely driven by the increase of active students with attended lesson consumption. Gross margin for the second quarter was 73.9%. Gross billings grew by 38.1% from the same quarter last year to $39.3 million. Q2 operating expenses were $26 million, an increase of 41.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Specifically, this has been driven by Q2 sales and marketing expenses of $19.3 million, a 48.8% increase from the same quarter last year, primarily attributable to higher sales personnel costs driven by headcount growth in the sales and marketing team, as well as increased marketing and branding expenses from intensified promotional activities. Q2 product development expenses were $2.4 million, a 96.6% increase from the same quarter last year. Finally, Q2 general and administrative expenses were $4.3 million, broadly flat compared to the same quarter last year. Overall, second quarter operating loss narrowed to $2.1 million from $3.2 million in the same quarter last year.

The net loss attributable to the company's ordinary shareholders was $3.1 million, compared with $3.5 million in the same quarter last year. Q2 GAAP and non-GAAP earnings per ADS were negative $0.51 and $0.43 respectively. The company's total cash equivalents, and time deposits were $40.1 million at the end of the second quarter. Advances from students were $86.7 million at the end of the second quarter. Looking forward to the third quarter of 2026, we currently expect the net gross billings to be between $41 million and $43 million.

The above outlook is based on our current market conditions and reflects the company's current and preliminary estimates of the market and operating conditions and customer demands, which are all subject to change. This concludes our prepared remarks. We will now open the line for questions. Operator, please go ahead.

Operator: We will now begin the question and answer session. To ask a question, please press star then one on your telephone keypad. If you are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the key. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. At this time, we will pause momentarily to assemble our roster. Once again, if you would like to ask a question, please press star then one. As we are reaching the end of our conference call, I'd like to turn the call back over to the company for closing remarks. Mr. David, please go ahead.

David Chung: Thank you once again for joining us today. If you have further questions, please contact 51Talk's investor relations through the contact information provided on our website.

Operator: This concludes this conference call. You may now disconnect your line. Thank you.

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