Is Coursera a Good Investment?

PHOTO CREDIT: Coursera

OVERVIEW

Coursera Incorporation is a company based in the United States. The company operates an online education platform for people and company’s around the world. They have partnered with over 200 educational institutions to offer a wide range of online courses and other educational programs on its platform. The company was founded in 2011.

Why You Should?

1. Coursera is a great growth play in an investor’s portfolio. The company continues to see strong growth as people around the world shift to online education platforms like Coursera to continue to learn. Companies are also partnering with Coursera to offer educational material to their employees. This future growth will benefit the company.
2. The Delta variant will also benefit the company. As the Delta variant causes an increase in restrictions and shutdowns around the world, people will be stuck at home. Some of these people would go to platforms like Coursera to continue to learn during these difficult times. Many school students would also go to Coursera for additional learning and education as well.
3. Coursera has been aggressively growing within the United States. However, the company has been looking to offer affordable and new courses to people in countries around the world. Some of these markets include the UK, Europe, Asia, and South/Central America. These new markets will help the company unlock new growth opportunities.
4. The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted consumer trends in the online education business. As people stayed at home, the company saw a rise in demand for online courses as people had free time and wanted to learn new things during the pandemic. Because of this, many people will turn to platforms like Coursera in the future due to the convenience of online education.

Why You Should Not?

1. The company faces tough competition in the education space. Some of these competitors include Udemy, Udacity, Khan Academy, and many others. This competition might hurt the company and its investors in the future.
2. COVID-19 reopenings might hurt the company’s business in the short to mid-term. This is because people who were previously forced to learn online would have in-person options at education institutions like colleges, high schools, and other in-person schools. This might hurt the company to gain new engagement during this reopening time.
3. The company has continued to see losses expand as it puts money into its aggressive growth strategy. Though it is normal for startups like Coursera to report losses in the mid-term, it has still to prove their long-term profitability. If the company does not report a profit in the long term, it will hurt the company and its investors.

MY OPINION

I think that Coursera is a good long-term investment option due to its position as a good growth play, positive impacts from the Delta variant, a shift in consumer trends caused by the pandemic, as well as international growth. However, tough competition, negative impacts from COVID-19 reopenings, as well as a loss-making business, might hurt the company and its investors.