Upwork (UPWK) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $1.92B
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Average Volume (3M): 2.29M
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 8.7
• Beta (1Y): 1.28
• Revenue Growth: 7.21%
• EPS Growth: 396.32%
• Country: US
• Employees: 600
• Sector: Industrials
• Sector Strength: 90
• Industry: Staffing & Employment Services
• EPS (TTM): 0.34
• Shares Outstanding: 131,589,900
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 1,995,376
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 2,285,526
• PEG Ratio: -0.27
• Price to Book (P/B): 5.47
• Price to Sales (P/S): 0.00
• P/FCF Ratio: -626.77
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 2.10
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 1.32
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 6.73
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 12.03
• 1Y Price Target: $19.33
• Price Target Upside: 33.59% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Moderate Buy
• Number of Analyst Covering: 10

• Rating: 78 Outperform
• Price Target: $16.50 ▲(14.03%Upside)

Upwork's strong financial performance and positive earnings call are the most significant factors contributing to the high stock score. The company's strategic focus on AI and enterprise solutions supports future growth prospects. While technical analysis presents a neutral outlook, the current valuation suggests an opportunity for investors. Some macroeconomic challenges and flat enterprise revenue are risks to consider, but overall, the outlook is positive.

Positive Factors

AI and Technology

Upwork continues to steadily add more AI functionality to the platform, with the Objective AI’s native search technology and team already contributing new capabilities in search and matching that are driving incremental GSV.

Customer Engagement

Enterprise business displays increasing engagement, with stronger engagement from existing customers and encouraging early results from the launch of Business Plus.

Earnings

Upwork reported Q1 results that were modestly ahead of expectations, with GSV per active client returning to growth for the first time in six quarters while revenue and profitability outperformed guidance.

Negative Factors

Client Growth

Upwork's active clients declined by 23K in Q4, bringing total active clients to 832K, down 2% y/y and slightly below CGe at 835K.

Macroeconomic Environment

Overall, the macroeconomic environment continues to weigh on results with gross services volume declining year over year.

Revenue Outlook

FY25 revenue is expected to be down, indicating a more cautious outlook for the year.

Upwork Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Upwork Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates a work marketplace that connects businesses with various independent professionals and agencies in the United States, India, the Philippines, and internationally. The company's work marketplace provides access to talent with various skills across a range of categories, including sales and marketing, customer service, data science and analytics, design and creative, web, mobile, and software development. Its work marketplace also enables clients to streamline workflows, such as talent sourcing, outreach, and contracting. The company's work marketplace offers access to various functionalities for remote engagements with talent, including communication and collaboration, ability to receive talent invoices through their work marketplace, and payment protection. Its marketplace offerings include Upwork Basic, Upwork Plus, Upwork Enterprise, and Upwork Payroll, as well as managed and internet escrow agency services. The company was formerly known as Elance-oDesk, Inc. and changed its name to Upwork Inc. in May 2015. Upwork Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

How the Company Makes Money

Upwork primarily generates revenue through service fees charged to freelancers and clients who use its platform. Freelancers are charged a sliding fee based on their lifetime billings with a client, starting at 20% for the first $500, then 10% for billings between $500.01 and $10,000, and 5% for billings exceeding $10,000. Additionally, Upwork charges clients a payment processing and administration fee of 3% of the total contract amount. The company also offers premium services, such as Upwork Plus for freelancers and Upwork Business and Enterprise solutions for larger companies, which provide additional tools and features for a subscription fee. Furthermore, Upwork earns from its Talent Solutions offering, which includes advanced talent sourcing and management capabilities. Strategic partnerships with other firms and technological integrations can also contribute to Upwork's revenue growth by enhancing the platform's appeal and functionality.

Upwork Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Upwork demonstrates strong financial health with significant improvements in profitability, leverage, and cash flow efficiency. Revenue and profit margins are on a positive trajectory, supported by a strong balance sheet structure. The company has effectively reduced debt, enhancing financial stability. However, the high cash reserves suggest room for strategic investments to fuel further growth.

Income Statement

Upwork shows strong revenue growth with a 24.5% increase from 2022 to 2023, and has maintained a high gross profit margin of approximately 77.7% in TTM. The EBIT margin has significantly improved to 11.8% in TTM from negative in previous years, indicating enhanced operational efficiency. However, the net profit margin at 30.5% suggests strong profitability, although this is influenced by non-operating factors.

Balance Sheet

Upwork has a solid equity base, with an equity ratio of 47.9% in TTM, reflecting a balanced capital structure. The debt-to-equity ratio has drastically improved to 0.02 in TTM from previous years, indicating reduced financial leverage. Return on equity is robust at 39.5%, driven by significant net income growth, enhancing shareholder returns. However, the high cash position relative to debt indicates potential underutilization of resources.

Cash Flow

Upwork's cash flow performance is impressive with a 12.1% growth in free cash flow from 2023 to 2024 and a strong operating cash flow to net income ratio of 0.79 in TTM. The free cash flow to net income ratio of 0.73 underscores efficient cash generation relative to profitability. However, investing cash flow has been positive, indicating potential underinvestment in future growth.

Breakdown
TTM	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021	Dec 2020
Income Statement		Total Revenue
771.09M	769.33M	689.14M	618.32M	502.80M	373.63M
	Gross Profit
599.39M	595.23M	518.69M	457.92M	367.29M	269.36M
	EBIT
90.85M	65.21M	-11.26M	-92.62M	-54.22M	-22.41M
	EBITDA
105.50M	82.86M	1.46M	-81.49M	-40.13M	-7.91M
	Net Income Common Stockholders
234.87M	215.59M	46.89M	-89.89M	-56.24M	-22.87M
Balance Sheet		Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments
622.07M	622.10M	550.10M	686.61M	684.77M	169.65M
	Total Assets
1.24B	1.21B	1.04B	1.08B	1.08B	529.23M
	Total Debt
10.38M	369.12M	367.86M	581.94M	584.37M	31.23M
	Net Debt
-294.06M	63.36M	288.22M	452.56M	397.16M	-62.85M
	Total Liabilities
645.72M	636.24M	656.47M	831.37M	821.54M	229.92M
	Stockholders Equity
594.34M	575.38M	381.07M	248.88M	259.52M	299.31M
Cash Flow		Free Cash Flow
170.62M	150.03M	10.87M	-2.17M	4.70M	8.00M
	Operating Cash Flow
184.87M	153.56M	27.22M	6.56M	10.84M	22.36M
	Investing Cash Flow
126.20M	137.57M	88.27M	-69.47M	-428.98M	-4.15M
	Financing Cash Flow
-38.88M	-81.96M	-114.30M	6.08M	537.74M	54.64M

Upwork Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Negative
• Last Price: 14.47
• 50DMA: Negative
• 100DMA: Negative
• 200DMA: Positive
• MACD: Positive
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Neutral

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For UPWK, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 14.47 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 15.72, below the 50-day MA of 14.58, and above the 200-day MA of 14.13, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of -0.07 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 38.54 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 23.20 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for UPWK.

Upwork Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
UPWK	78 Outperform	$1.92B	8.68	49.80%	―	7.21%	396.32%
ROCK	77 Outperform	$1.81B	13.58	13.70%	―	-5.13%	16.93%
Sector *	66 Neutral	$4.52B	12.34	5.41%	3.62%	4.15%	-12.18%
XMTR	65 Neutral	$1.71B	―	-15.50%	―	19.35%	27.83%
ENR	58 Neutral	$1.62B	30.61	33.46%	5.50%	0.39%	-37.01%
WERN	58 Neutral	$1.70B	96.42	1.21%	2.04%	-7.66%	-78.26%
ZIP	48 Neutral	$563.92M	225.24	-2897.28%	―	-20.95%	-152.29%

Upwork Corporate Events

Upwork Announces New Board Members at Annual Meeting

On June 5, 2025, Upwork Inc. held its annual stockholder meeting where significant changes to its board of directors were made. Elizabeth Nelson did not stand for re-election, and Gregory C. Gretsch retired, leading to the appointment of Dana L. Evan and Glenn Kelman as new directors. The meeting also saw the approval of three proposals, including the election of directors, ratification of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the accounting firm, and an advisory vote on executive compensation, indicating strong shareholder support for the company’s governance and strategic direction.

The most recent analyst rating on (UPWK) stock is a Buy with a $20.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Upwork stock, see the UPWK Stock Forecast page.