What Happened?
Shares of online learning platform Udemy (NASDAQ: UDMY) jumped 2.6% in the morning session after the company released a report highlighting a surge in demand for Artificial Intelligence (AI) skills on its platform, which happened during a broader market rally fueled by a Federal Reserve interest rate cut.
The central bank trimmed rates by 25 basis points, boosting investor optimism and lifting stocks, particularly in the technology sector. Adding to this positive market mood, Udemy published its "2026 Global Learning & Skills Trends Report." The report revealed a massive appetite for AI knowledge, showing 11 million enrollments in generative AI courses to date.
Specifically, consumption of Microsoft Copilot content soared by 3,400% year-over-year, while GitHub CoPilot content saw an incredible 13,534% increase. These figures suggested strong demand for Udemy's offerings and positioned the company as a key player in corporate upskilling for the AI era.
After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $7.42, up 3.4% from previous close.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Udemy’s shares are very volatile and have had 21 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 7 days ago when the stock gained 5.9% on the news that the company announced its Board of Directors approved a $50 million share repurchase program. The program, which is effective immediately, authorizes the company to buy back its own common stock. Share repurchase programs are often viewed positively by investors as they can reduce the number of shares outstanding, potentially boosting earnings per share. Furthermore, such a move typically signals that the company's management believes the stock is undervalued and has strong conviction in its future growth prospects. According to the press release, the board's decision reflects a "strong conviction in Udemy's ability to capture this significant growth opportunity while delivering returns to our shareholders.".
Udemy is down 9.9% since the beginning of the year, and at $7.42 per share, it is trading 26.5% below its 52-week high of $10.10 from February 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Udemy’s shares at the IPO in October 2021 would now be looking at an investment worth $269.99.
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