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SAN FRANCISCO - Udemy (NASDAQ: UDMY), a prominent online learning and teaching marketplace with a market capitalization of $1.35 billion and annual revenue of $786.57 million, has announced the immediate appointment of Hugo Sarrazin as its new President, Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the Board of Directors. The appointment comes as Greg Brown steps down after four years at the helm to explore new opportunities, although he will remain as a non-executive advisor until the end of the year to aid in the transition.
Sarrazin brings extensive experience in scaling SaaS businesses and integrating artificial intelligence into organizational strategies. His previous role as President and Chief Product and Technology Officer at UKG saw him oversee international product and technology teams, with a focus on cloud migration and AI-driven solutions. Sarrazin’s 26-year tenure at McKinsey & Company involved guiding organizations through complex transformations and co-founding McKinsey Digital Labs and McKinsey Design.
The leadership change coincides with Udemy reaffirming its financial outlook provided on February 13, 2025, indicating confidence in the company’s trajectory. According to InvestingPro data, the company maintains impressive gross profit margins of 62.54%, and analysts expect the company to achieve profitability this year, with multiple analysts recently revising earnings estimates upward. Sohaib Abbasi, Independent Chairman of Udemy’s Board of Directors, expressed enthusiasm for Sarrazin’s leadership capabilities, highlighting his expertise in strategy, innovation, and business transformation as key to driving Udemy’s growth.
Sarrazin expressed his excitement about joining Udemy, noting the potential to innovate in professional skill development and learning, leveraging the power of generative AI and the platform’s global network. He aims to build on the company’s mission of making learning accessible and lead Udemy into a significant expansion phase.
Abbasi also extended gratitude to the outgoing CEO, Greg Brown, for his contributions, including scaling Udemy Business to over $500 million in Annual Recurring Revenue and growing the enterprise customer base to more than 17,000.
The information about the executive transition at Udemy is based on a press release statement. Sarrazin’s appointment marks a strategic move for Udemy as it continues to expand its global reach and enhance its learning platform with AI-enabled innovations. InvestingPro analysis suggests the stock is currently slightly undervalued, with additional insights available in the comprehensive Pro Research Report, which provides deep-dive analysis of Udemy among 1,400+ top US stocks.
In other recent news, Udemy reported fourth-quarter earnings that exceeded analyst expectations, posting an adjusted earnings per share of $0.10, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.06. The company’s revenue for the quarter reached $199.9 million, which was also above the projected $194.71 million. Despite these positive results, Udemy’s guidance for the first quarter of 2025 was lower than expected, with projected revenue between $195 million and $199 million, falling short of the $201.4 million analysts anticipated. For the full year 2024, Udemy’s total revenue increased by 8% to $786.6 million, with the enterprise segment showing a robust 18% growth, while the consumer segment experienced a 5% decline.
Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Brett Knoblauch maintained an Overweight rating on Udemy, keeping the price target steady at $11.00, and expressed optimism about the company’s strategic enhancements and financial position. The analyst highlighted Udemy’s agility in releasing new courses quickly as a competitive advantage in the market. Udemy Business Annual Recurring Revenue rose 11% year-over-year to $516.9 million, reflecting ongoing growth in its enterprise offerings. The company ended the quarter with $355.7 million in cash and marketable securities, indicating a strong financial position.
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