Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Posts Earnings Results

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07, FiscalAI reports. Upwork had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 16.71%. The business had revenue of $191.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $189.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Upwork updated its FY 2026 guidance to 1.380-1.430 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance to 0.310-0.330 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Upwork’s conference call:

• Q2 profitability exceeded expectations: Revenue reached $191.7 million, the high end of guidance, while adjusted EBITDA of $64.1 million surpassed the company’s forecast, supported by disciplined cost management and a 33.4% margin.
• AI automation and weakening SEO are pressuring growth. Upwork said low-complexity work is declining faster than expected, Google search changes are reducing customer referrals, and active clients fell to 763,000; full-year 2026 revenue guidance was reduced to $730 million–$750 million.
• Higher-value segments continue to gain traction, with Business Plus GSV up 174% year over year, AI strategy and consulting growth of 51%, and Enterprise GSV per account up 7%. Upwork maintained its expectation for approximately 25% Enterprise GSV growth in 2026, while EOR GSV increased 29%.
• Upwork is expanding its AI positioning through ChatGPT and Claude integrations and the new Upwork MCP Server, allowing clients and AI agents to access talent and jobs within AI tools. Management believes these capabilities can create new demand and strengthen customer acquisition as work becomes more AI-driven.
• Monetization and efficiency remained strong, with a 19.8% take rate, 77% non-GAAP gross margin, and $70 million of annualized operating-expense reductions underway. The company also plans to increase paid customer-acquisition spending by $5 million–$10 million in the second half after improving cost per new contract start by 22% sequentially.

Upwork Stock Performance

Upwork stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $8.31. The company had a trading volume of 4,237,751 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,842,644. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of 10.79 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $8.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.13. Upwork has a 1-year low of $7.44 and a 1-year high of $22.84.

Key Headlines Impacting Upwork

Here are the key news stories impacting Upwork this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Upwork reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.41 per share, above the $0.34 consensus estimate, while revenue of $191.66 million also exceeded expectations of $189.97 million. Upwork second-quarter earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: The company launched an Upwork MCP server that connects AI tools such as Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor directly to its marketplace. The service could simplify hiring, improve freelancer discovery and position Upwork as a source of human expertise within AI-driven workflows. Upwork launches MCP server
• Neutral Sentiment: Upwork’s results highlight a transition in customer demand: AI is automating some low-complexity assignments, while demand may be shifting toward higher-value and AI-related work. The financial benefit of this transition remains uncertain. Upwork and AI reshaping freelance demand
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter guidance calls for revenue of $176 million to $184 million and EPS of $0.31 to $0.33, below analyst expectations of $193.8 million and $0.41, respectively. Full-year revenue guidance of $730 million to $750 million and EPS guidance of $1.38 to $1.43 also fell short of consensus, overshadowing the earnings beat. Upwork weak guidance report
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts cited traffic and client-acquisition headwinds following a challenging quarter. RBC lowered its price target from $9 to $8 and maintained a “sector perform” rating, adding pressure to the stock’s outlook.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 23,468 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.15, for a total transaction of $191,264.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 797,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,499,584.25. The trade was a 2.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 9,169 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.15, for a total transaction of $74,727.35. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 341,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,784,113.35. This represents a 2.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 34,471 shares of company stock valued at $281,446 over the last 90 days. 4.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Upwork

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Upwork by 44.2% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,231,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,166,000 after purchasing an additional 5,893,970 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Upwork by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,585,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,071,000 after buying an additional 576,512 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Upwork by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,936,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,190,000 after buying an additional 107,375 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Upwork by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,932,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,294,000 after buying an additional 610,260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Upwork by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,159,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,792,000 after buying an additional 356,327 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on UPWK. UBS Group cut Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Citizens Jmp cut Upwork from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Upwork from $17.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Upwork from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Upwork from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.15.

Upwork Company Profile

Upwork Inc operates a leading online talent marketplace that connects businesses with independent professionals worldwide. Through its digital platform, the company enables clients across industries—including technology, marketing, creative services and customer support—to source, hire and manage freelance talent on demand. Key features of the Upwork platform include streamlined job posting, proposal evaluation, time-tracking tools, invoicing and secure payment processing, all designed to simplify collaboration between clients and remote workers.

The company traces its roots to the merger of two pioneering freelance marketplaces, Elance (founded in 1998) and oDesk (founded in 2003), which combined in 2015 to form a unified entity.