Is ETS profitable in 2025?

No, ETS reported a $60.7 million operating loss for FY2025 (year ended September 30, 2025), an improvement from a $146.8 million operating loss in FY2024, per its published audit dated 2026-04-25.

Did ETS lose the SAT contract?

Yes. College Board ended its roughly $300 million/year SAT-administration contract with ETS starting in 2024, bringing testing in-house on its own digital Bluebook platform, per Inside Higher Ed reporting dated 2026-04-22.

Is ETS laying people off?

Yes, ETS has cut staff five times in five years, including a ~6% global layoff (~150 people) in September 2023 and a company-wide U.S. voluntary buyout offer announced around April 2026 for employees with 2+ years tenure.

Could Duolingo replace TOEFL?

Duolingo English Test is closing the gap: an estimated ~650,000 annual tests versus TOEFL's ~750,000 as of 2026-03-04, and Duolingo claims acceptance by 98 of the top 100 US News-ranked schools and all 8 Ivies as of 2025-06-29 (vendor-claimed).

ETS is a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1947; it has no public shareholders and funds itself through testing revenue and royalties, reported annually via IRS Form 990.

Yes, ETS acquired ACT, Inc. from private-equity firm Nexus Capital Management on June 30, 2026, consolidating the two historic US college-admissions testing organizations under one nonprofit.

Education companies · United States

ETS (Educational Testing Service)

ets.org ↗

Nonprofit test maker behind TOEFL, GRE, Praxis, and K-12 state assessments.

Protection under test

Assessed 22 July 2026 · Evidence as of 22 July 2026

Something worth protecting exists and is being tested right now.

On the recordSince 22 July 2026 · Checkable from H1 2026 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: Decision on reported GRE/TOEFL divestiture

The call

ETS still runs the regulated core of US testing, Praxis and K-12 contracts, while its consumer-facing flagships lose ground to College Board and Duolingo.

ETS administers standardized tests like the TOEFL and GRE that people take to get into college or graduate school. It is getting harder to replace because some of its tests, like the Praxis exam for teacher licenses, are required by state law. However, the company is being squeezed from two sides: the College Board started running the SAT itself instead of hiring ETS in 2024, and Duolingo built a cheaper, online English test that uses AI and is now accepted by almost all top universities. The company's revenue has dropped sharply and it has laid off workers five times in five years. The one thing that could save ETS is whether it successfully sells off its shrinking test divisions and focuses entirely on the regulated tests that schools and states require by law, which would be harder for competitors to replace.

Why

AI pressure: Duolingo English Test. Duolingo's app-based test hit 650K tests/year and is accepted by 98 of the top 100 US schools, undercutting TOEFL pricing and reach. Could AI do the core job? Yes, likely.

Bigger players: College Board. College Board pulled the SAT in-house onto its own Bluebook platform in 2024, cutting a $300M/year contract that was 30% of ETS revenue. Could a giant copy it? Probably.

What protects it. State licensure rules require Praxis for teacher certification, and K-12 government contracts keep buyers locked in no matter what happens to TOEFL or GRE.

What would change this call

Whether ETS completes a sale or divestiture of its GRE/TOEFL business. Would show ETS is retreating from consumer testing to focus on regulated Praxis/K-12 core.
TOEFL vs Duolingo English Test annual volume gap narrowing or reversing further. Would show continued share loss of international test-takers to Duolingo's AI-native format.
Whether ETS announces a sixth layoff or buyout round in FY2026-27. Would show cost-cutting hasn't stabilized despite ACT integration and portfolio changes.

Key numbers

FY2025 operating loss: $60.7 million (2025-09-30)
Lost $300M/year SAT contract in 2024 (2024-01-01)
TOEFL ~750K tests/yr vs Duolingo DET ~650K (2026-03-04)

Named risks

Reported exploration of GRE/TOEFL sale could fragment flagship consumer testing business. Severity: high
Continued operating losses ($60.7M FY2025) despite revenue near 15-year lows. Severity: high
Five layoff/buyout rounds in five years signal ongoing organizational instability. Severity: high
Duolingo DET and IELTS continuing to erode TOEFL volume and pricing power. Severity: medium
ACT integration execution risk following June 2026 acquisition. Severity: medium

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
College Board	losing to	Ended ~$300M/year SAT contract with ETS, took administration in-house on Bluebook, 2024
Duolingo English Test	losing to	~650K annual tests vs TOEFL's ~750K as of 2026-03-04; claims 98/100 top US schools accept it (vendor-claimed, 2025)
IELTS	losing to	Holds ~47.1% of English-proficiency test market vs TOEFL, per market research dated 2024-12-31
ACT, Inc.	gaining on	ETS acquired ACT outright on 2026-06-30, removing it as a separate competitor
Pearson (PTE)	contesting	Remains a rival incumbent in English-proficiency and K-12 testing contracts

Questions people ask

Is ETS profitable in 2025?: No, ETS reported a $60.7 million operating loss for FY2025 (year ended September 30, 2025), an improvement from a $146.8 million operating loss in FY2024, per its published audit dated 2026-04-25.
Did ETS lose the SAT contract?: Yes. College Board ended its roughly $300 million/year SAT-administration contract with ETS starting in 2024, bringing testing in-house on its own digital Bluebook platform, per Inside Higher Ed reporting dated 2026-04-22.
Is ETS laying people off?: Yes, ETS has cut staff five times in five years, including a ~6% global layoff (~150 people) in September 2023 and a company-wide U.S. voluntary buyout offer announced around April 2026 for employees with 2+ years tenure.
Could Duolingo replace TOEFL?: Duolingo English Test is closing the gap: an estimated ~650,000 annual tests versus TOEFL's ~750,000 as of 2026-03-04, and Duolingo claims acceptance by 98 of the top 100 US News-ranked schools and all 8 Ivies as of 2025-06-29 (vendor-claimed).
Who owns ETS?: ETS is a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1947; it has no public shareholders and funds itself through testing revenue and royalties, reported annually via IRS Form 990.
Did ETS buy ACT?: Yes, ETS acquired ACT, Inc. from private-equity firm Nexus Capital Management on June 30, 2026, consolidating the two historic US college-admissions testing organizations under one nonprofit.

Timeline

2026-06-30ETS acquires ACT, Inc. from Nexus Capital Management
2026-04-25ETS FY2025 audit shows $60.7M operating loss, total assets down 6.7%
2026-04-01ETS announces company-wide voluntary buyout offer to US employees
2026-01-01Reports emerge ETS is exploring sale of GRE and TOEFL franchises
2025-09-27ETS FY2024 Form 990 shows $908M revenue, lowest in ~15 years
2025-04-02ETS launches TOEFL Access platform with AI chatbot Quinn
2024-01-01ETS acquires PSI Services; PSI CEO Janet Garcia becomes ETS President
2024-01-01College Board SAT goes fully in-house on digital Bluebook platform
2023-09-29ETS cuts ~6% of global workforce (~150 people)
2023-01-01ETS shortens GRE test length roughly in half amid declining volumes

Revision history

22 July 2026

First assessed. Protection under test. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

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