Symbotic SYM and Duolingo DUOL are well-established names in the Zacks Technology Services industry. Symbotic, based in Wilmington, MA, develops, commercializes, and deploys innovative, comprehensive technology solutions for improving supply chain operations. Through its operations, SYM has emerged as a key player in the AI-enabled robotics technology field for the supply chain.
Duolingo operates as a mobile learning platform in the United States, China, the United Kingdom, and internationally. DUOL offers courses in 40 different languages through the Duolingo app. Moreover, DUOL provides a digital language proficiency assessment exam.
Given this backdrop, let’s examine closely to find out which technology services player currently holds the edge, and more importantly, which might be the smarter investment now.
Symbotic’s high backlog positions it to generate substantial revenues in the foreseeable future. We are optimistic about its margin expansion, driven by increased system deployment. Symbotic is a key provider of intelligent robotics systems for warehouses.
In the third quarter of fiscal 2025, the company had a backlog of $22.4 billion. Management stated that it expects to recognize nearly 11% of its remaining performance obligations as revenues in the next 12 months, 56% of its remaining performance obligations as revenues in the following 13-60 months, and the rest thereafter.
Revenues increased 26% year over year. We expect the top line to continue to be driven by the conversion of this sizable backlog. For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, Symbotic expects revenues in the $590-$610 million range and adjusted EBITDA in the $45-$49 million band.
In the third quarter, SYM delivered a negative earnings surprise. SYM’s earnings surprise history is not impressive. In the trailing four quarters, it surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate twice and missed in the other two, with an average negative surprise of 78.3%.
Symbotic Inc. Price and EPS Surprise
Symbotic price-eps-surprise | Symbotic Quote
SYM’s partnership with Walmart WMT has been very profitable, accounting for a significant portion of its revenues. In January, Symbotic completed the acquisition of Walmart’s advanced systems and robotics business. Walmart is the largest customer of SYM. This gives rise to customer concentration risks. Also, Symbotic currently does not pay dividends and has no plans to do so, which weakens its appeal among income-focused investors.
DUOL utilizes several AI applications to personalize and automate the learning process, analyze errors and create content. Its Birdbrain AI system analyzes real-time user performance. DUOL uses OpenAI’s large language models for content creation.
One of the strongest positives for Duolingo lies in how it is turning artificial intelligence and proprietary learner data into a competitive edge. Unlike many companies where AI remains a vague promise, Duolingo is embedding it directly into its product roadmap and financials. By using its massive learner dataset, the company can rapidly build and launch new verticals, such as music and chess, with a level of accuracy and personalization that competitors cannot easily replicate. The efficiency of AI has also translated into cost advantages.
In the second quarter of 2025, Duolingo raised its full-year outlook, partly because AI-related expenses came in lower than anticipated. Gross margin rose sequentially by 130 basis points to 72.4%, a clear sign that innovation is not hurting profitability. Even more impressive is how quickly AI is accelerating content expansion. The company rolled out 148 new language courses in April, marking its largest expansion ever. It had taken over a decade to build the first 100 courses, but AI-driven efficiencies enabled nearly 150 in less than a year. This ability to scale course content rapidly translates into stronger user engagement, deeper brand trust, and ultimately, sustainable growth in bookings.
Another positive for Duolingo is the way it is building a multi-pronged revenue model that extends far beyond language learning subscriptions. The company has been successfully steering more users toward premium tiers, with paid subscriptions now representing a significant portion of its revenue base. In the second quarter of 2025, paid subscribers increased 37% year over year. At the same time, it continues to monetize through advertising, in-app purchases, and partnerships, ensuring that growth is not overly reliant on a single channel.
Driven by the 41% revenue growth, Duolingo delivered a 65.4% earnings surprise in the June quarter. This was the third earnings beat for the company in the last four quarters, having missed the mark in the remaining quarter. The average beat is 25.5%
Duolingo, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise
Duolingo price-eps-surprise | Duolingo Quote
Duolingo’s liquidity position is also robust, with a current ratio of 2.81 at the end of the second quarter of 2025 compared to the industry’s 1.78. A current ratio above 1 indicates that Duolingo is well-positioned to meet its short-term obligations, providing a buffer against potential financial challenges.
Both these technology companies appear to be overvalued compared with the technology services industry on the basis of the price-to-sales ratio (forward 12 months). However, the reading of Symbotic is higher than that of Duolingo.
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While we are optimistic about SYM’s margin expansion, driven by increased system deployment, challenges like high valuation, unfavorable earnings surprise history and customer concentration risks raise concerns.
Meanwhile, Duolingo’s foundation of proprietary data and AI-driven efficiencies is enabling faster product rollouts, deeper user engagement and significant cost advantages. The company is also proving the scalability of its model beyond language learning, successfully expanding into areas like chess and music to broaden its market and boost retention. At the same time, it is diversifying revenues through premium subscriptions, advertising and testing services, reducing dependence on any single growth driver. Its liquidity position is also solid.
Given the above analysis, DUOL seems a better pick than SYM now.
While DUOL sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), SYM is currently #5 Ranked (Strong Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
