At a glance
Upwork Inc is worth $1.13B, about 11 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 2.4% to $787.8M in fiscal 2025, with 14.7% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 16.1% a year. It pays no dividend; it spent $236.0M buying back its shares over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned −48.2% over the past year with dividends reinvested and −28.7% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 42.4% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 60.5% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%).
The business in plain English
Upwork runs online platforms that connect businesses with independent workers, from solo freelancers to agencies. It calls the workers “talent” and the businesses “clients.” Clients range from small businesses and entrepreneurs to large enterprises, including Fortune 100 companies, and customers come from over 180 countries. Work spans more than 10,000 skills in over 130 categories, such as AI projects, software development, administrative support, marketing, design and customer service. Upwork pitches itself as an alternative to staffing firms and recruiters.
The Upwork Marketplace brought in $682.9 million, or 86.7% of the $787.8 million in revenue for the year ended December 31, 2025. Upwork takes a percentage of what talent bill clients and also charges clients a fee on what they pay. It adds income from ads, talent memberships, currency exchange, interest on customer funds it holds and “Connects,” virtual tokens freelancers need to bid on jobs.
The Enterprise business, run through a subsidiary called Lifted, supplied the other 13.3%, or $104.9 million. Lifted helps large companies source, manage and pay contract workers, charging subscription and service fees. Its Managed Services arm goes further, delivering whole projects and taking responsibility for the work. In all, $4.0 billion of work and services flowed through Upwork’s platforms in 2025, a figure the company calls gross services volume.
Price history
The interactive chart needs JavaScript.
UPWK -48.2% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By product or service
| Marketplace | $682.9M | 86.7% |
| Enterprise | $104.9M | 13.3% |
Latest results
- In Q3 FY2026 (ended Sep 30, 2026), revenue was $185.6M, down 8% from a year earlier, and net income was $31.8M (+8.4%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $787.8M (+2.4% year over year; +16.1% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 14.7% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +16.1% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 16.4% good |
| Free cash flow margin | 30.8% good |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 18.3% good |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 8.9% good |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $304.3M good |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $373.6M | $-22.9M | $16.0M |
| FY2021 | $502.8M | $-56.2M | $9.8M |
| FY2022 | $618.3M | $-89.9M | $10.2M |
| FY2023 | $689.1M | $46.9M | $52.0M |
| FY2024 | $769.3M | $215.6M | $150.0M |
| FY2025 | $787.8M | $115.4M | $242.5M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $1.13B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 10.7 |
| Dividend yield | None |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Upwork’s market value went from $1.93B at the end of 2018 to $1.13B on Oct 28, 2026, down 41%; since the end of 2025 it is down 56%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $1.13B | -56.3% |
| 2025 | $2.59B | +18.5% |
| 2024 | $2.19B | +8.0% |
| 2023 | $2.02B | +47.6% |
| 2022 | $1.37B | -68.7% |
| 2021 | $4.38B | +4.0% |
| 2020 | $4.21B | +252.6% |
| 2019 | $1.20B | -37.9% |
| 2018 | $1.93B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UPWK price data to Oct 28, 2026 | -54.6% | -48.2% | -4.4% | -28.7% | — |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -54.6% |
| 2025 | +21.2% |
| 2024 | +9.9% |
| 2023 | +42.4% |
| 2022 | -69.4% |
| 2021 | -1.0% |
| 2020 | +223.5% |
| 2019 | -41.1% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Before this security existed |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 30.3% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 42.4%, back to its old high 1.7 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 60.5% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 60.5%, not recovered by the end of the data |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-11-03 to 2026-11-03 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 19 sales ($2.8M), 4 of them under pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plans.
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 18, 2026 | Hayden Brown President & CEO, Director | sell (plan) | $428K |
| Aug 18, 2026 | Hayden Brown President & CEO, Director | sell (plan) | $421K |
| Sep 18, 2026 | Anthony Ray Kappus GM & Chief Operating Officer | sell | $386K |
| Sep 18, 2026 | Hayden Brown President & CEO, Director | sell | $202K |
| Aug 18, 2026 | Hayden Brown President & CEO, Director | sell (plan) | $196K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BlackRock, Inc. | 15.2% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Ancient Art, L.P. | 6.2% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 6.04% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| LSV ASSET MANAGEMENT | 5% | Dec 31, 2025 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 4.93% | Sep 30, 2026 |
| T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. | 0.2% | May 31, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in UPWK
| IBUY Amplify Online Retail ETF | 2.5% |
| FDLS Inspire Fidelis Multi Factor ETF | 1.05% |
| XITK SPDR FactSet Innovative Technology ETF | 0.93% |
| FSGS First Trust SMID Growth Strength ETF | 0.9% |
| SFLO VictoryShares Small Cap Free Cash Flow ETF | 0.7% |
| WCEO Hypatia Women CEO ETF | 0.57% |
| FYC First Trust Small Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund | 0.54% |
| TMSL T. Rowe Price Small-Mid Cap ETF | 0.46% |
What could go wrong
- Customers can take work off the platform. Clients and freelancers who meet on Upwork can arrange later projects directly to avoid fees. The company says this happens and hurts its business, since it earns a cut of each payment.
- Payment partners and fraud risks. About $4.0 billion flowed through Upwork's platforms in fiscal 2025. It relies on banks and payment partners to move that money; fraud or losing those partners could raise costs and hurt trust.
- AI problems could hurt the business. Upwork relies on AI for matching, fraud checks and its assistant, Uma, and pitches itself as an AI-powered marketplace. The company warns that AI-related problems could hurt its business and results.
- Keeping clients and freelancers coming back. Upwork needs a steady flow of active clients and talent. Revenue grew just 2.4% in fiscal 2025, and revenue for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, fell 1.7% from a year earlier.
- Tough competition and reliance on search traffic. Upwork faces intense competition and could lose market share. It also relies on search engines and other channels to bring visitors, so a drop in search rankings could slow customer growth.
- Complex rules in more than 180 countries. With customers in over 180 countries, Upwork must follow complex, overlapping and frequently changing laws, including tax rules. Failing to comply could bring extra costs, penalties or forced changes to the business.
Recent events
- Quarterly results released; Executive or board change
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change
- Major agreement signed; New debt or financial obligation
- Executive or board change; Shareholder vote results
- Quarterly results released; Restructuring or exit costs; Investor presentation or announcement
- Executive or board change
- Other company announcement
- Quarterly results released; Bylaws or fiscal year changed
- Executive or board change
For income and retirement investors
Upwork pays no dividend, and its annual report says it does not intend to pay one for the foreseeable future. Income investors would get no regular cash from the shares; any return depends on the share price rising. Instead, Upwork repurchased its own stock: $100.0 million in fiscal 2024 and $136.0 million in fiscal 2025, supported by $242.5 million of free cash flow (cash left after running and investing in the business) in fiscal 2025. The share count fell 2.6% between September 30, 2021, and July 31, 2026.
The share price has swung sharply. In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 42.4% but recovered by May 8, 2020. In the 2022 bear market it fell 60.5% and had not regained that peak as of October 28, 2026, when it was down 54.6% year to date. Single stocks carry more risk than diversified funds, which spread money across many companies.
Questions investors ask
Does Upwork pay a dividend?
No. Upwork paid no dividends from fiscal 2021 through fiscal 2025, and its annual report for fiscal 2025 says it does not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future. It returns cash through share repurchases instead, totaling about $236.0 million over those five years. For an income investor, that means the shares produce no regular cash; any return depends on the share price.
How does Upwork make money?
Upwork mainly earns fees on work arranged through its online marketplace. It takes a percentage of what freelancers bill and charges clients a fee on what they pay. It also earns money from ads, memberships, “Connects” bidding tokens, currency exchange and interest on customer funds it holds. The Marketplace produced 86.7% of fiscal 2025 revenue of $787.8 million. The other 13.3% came from Enterprise services through its Lifted subsidiary, which helps large companies manage and pay contract workers.
Is Upwork profitable?
Yes. Upwork earned $115.4 million in fiscal 2025, a 14.7% net margin (profit as a share of revenue), after posting net losses from fiscal 2020 through fiscal 2022. That profit was 46.5% lower than fiscal 2024's $215.6 million, though free cash flow rose to $242.5 million. In the quarter ended June 30, 2026, net income was $25.4 million, down 22.4% from a year earlier, as revenue slipped 1.7%.
How much has Upwork stock fallen?
Sharply. As of October 28, 2026, the shares were down 54.6% year to date, 48.2% over one year and 82% in total over five years. Across about eight years of trading history, the deepest drop from a previous high was 87.5%. At that date, the company's stock market value was about $1.1 billion, and the share price was 10.7 times fiscal 2025 earnings per share.
Does Upwork have a lot of debt?
Its debt is smaller than its cash. As of June 30, 2026, Upwork had $360.7 million of total debt and $614.2 million in cash and investments, leaving about $253.6 million of net cash (cash minus debt). The company still lists its debt as a risk, because repayments could limit cash available for operations. A June 23, 2026, filing reported a major agreement and a new debt obligation.