Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Updates Q3 2026 Earnings Guidance

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) updated its third quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Monday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 0.310-0.330 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 0.410. The company issued revenue guidance of $176.0 million-$184.0 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $193.8 million. Upwork also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 1.380-1.430 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPWK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Upwork from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Upwork from $25.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $22.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on Upwork from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.50.

Upwork Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:UPWK traded up $0.16 during trading on Monday, reaching $9.83. The stock had a trading volume of 6,496,018 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,767,414. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $8.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.28. Upwork has a one year low of $7.44 and a one year high of $22.84. The company has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14 and a beta of 0.99.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. Upwork had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 17.92%. Upwork has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.380-1.430 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.310-0.330 EPS.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 23,468 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.15, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 2.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.15, for a total value of $74,727.35. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 341,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,784,113.35. This trade represents a 2.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,471 shares of company stock worth $281,446. Insiders own 4.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upwork

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Upwork by 19,361.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 3,485 shares in the last quarter. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Upwork in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $66,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Upwork by 103.5% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 2,087 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Upwork by 37.2% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 1,527 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Upwork by 1,333.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 13,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 12,997 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

About Upwork

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.