Como Se Dice "Doomed," Rosetta Stone?

Investors have long assumed that Rosetta Stone had a lock on the business of software-driven language learning. Many still do: The stock is up more than 44% over the past year.

Is that fair? We'll find out more when the company reports fourth-quarter earnings this week. Revenue is expected to be up slightly, resulting in $0.09 of profit versus last year's $0.24 a share loss.

In the meantime, some Fools point to a disruptive new service called Duolingo, which claims to teach languages even more efficiently than Rosetta Stone does. There aren't nearly as many languages in Duolingo's library, of course, but it's also free to use. Rosetta Stone, meanwhile, pitches its strong relationships with educators as an advantage.

Tim Beyers, of Motley Fool Rule Breakers and Motley Fool Supernova, has tried both services, and weighs in on the threat to Rosetta Stone in the video below. Please watch, and then be sure to leave a comment to let us know what you think.

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The article Como Se Dice "Doomed," Rosetta Stone? originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Tim Beyers is a member of the Motley Fool Rule Breakers stock-picking team and the Motley Fool Supernova Odyssey I mission. He didn't own shares of any of the companies mentioned in this article at the time of publication. Check out Tim's web home and portfolio holdings or connect with him on Google+, Tumblr, or Twitter, where he goes by @milehighfool. You can also get his insights delivered directly to your RSS reader.The Motley Fool owns shares of Rosetta Stone. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Rosetta Stone. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days.

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