Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Issues FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Monday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 1.430-1.480 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 1.410. The company issued revenue guidance of $835.0 million-$850.0 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $832.5 million. Upwork also updated its Q1 2026 guidance to 0.260-0.280 EPS.

Upwork Stock Down 0.7%

UPWK stock traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $18.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,551,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,718,621. Upwork has a 52-week low of $11.13 and a 52-week high of $22.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.74 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.68.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $198.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.52 million. Upwork had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 31.63%.Upwork has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.430-1.480 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.260-0.280 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Upwork will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on UPWK. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Upwork from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Upwork in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Upwork in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.91.

Insider Activity at Upwork

In other Upwork news, Director Gary Steele sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.51, for a total transaction of $218,875.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 85,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,490,608.79. This trade represents a 12.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 9,044 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.59, for a total value of $186,215.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 246,701 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,079,573.59. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 523,248 shares of company stock valued at $10,029,741 over the last quarter. 7.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 24,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 928 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Upwork by 3.0% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 45,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $843,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Upwork by 1.3% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 115,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,557,000 after acquiring an additional 1,523 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Upwork by 103.5% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 2,087 shares during the period. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Upwork by 0.8% in the second quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 389,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,298,000 after acquiring an additional 2,971 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.