We feel now is a pretty good time to analyse Udemy, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:UDMY) business as it appears the company may be on the cusp of a considerable accomplishment. Udemy, Inc., a learning company, that operates a marketplace platform for learning skills in the United States and internationally. The US$1.2b market-cap company posted a loss in its most recent financial year of US$107m and a latest trailing-twelve-month loss of US$96m shrinking the gap between loss and breakeven. Many investors are wondering about the rate at which Udemy will turn a profit, with the big question being "when will the company breakeven?" In this article, we will touch on the expectations for the company's growth and when analysts expect it to become profitable.

Consensus from 14 of the American Consumer Services analysts is that Udemy is on the verge of breakeven. They expect the company to post a final loss in 2025, before turning a profit of US$2.7m in 2026. The company is therefore projected to breakeven just over a year from today. How fast will the company have to grow each year in order to reach the breakeven point by 2026? Working backwards from analyst estimates, it turns out that they expect the company to grow 68% year-on-year, on average, which is rather optimistic! If this rate turns out to be too aggressive, the company may become profitable much later than analysts predict.

Given this is a high-level overview, we won't go into details of Udemy's upcoming projects, though, take into account that generally a high forecast growth rate is not unusual for a company that is currently undergoing an investment period.

One thing we'd like to point out is that Udemy has no debt on its balance sheet, which is rare for a loss-making growth company, which typically has high debt relative to its equity. The company currently operates purely off its shareholder funding and has no debt obligation, reducing concerns around repayments and making it a less risky investment.

Next Steps:

There are key fundamentals of Udemy which are not covered in this article, but we must stress again that this is merely a basic overview. For a more comprehensive look at Udemy, take a look at Udemy's company page on Simply Wall St. We've also put together a list of key factors you should further examine:

1. Valuation: What is Udemy worth today? Has the future growth potential already been factored into the price? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether Udemy is currently mispriced by the market.
2. Management Team: An experienced management team on the helm increases our confidence in the business – take a look at who sits on Udemy's board and the CEO's background.
3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.