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 EPS guidance of 1.430-1.480 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on UPWK. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. BTIG Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Upwork in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Upwork from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Upwork from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.91.

Upwork Price Performance

NASDAQ:UPWK traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $18.79. 7,551,082 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,718,621. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $20.31 and its 200-day moving average is $17.68. The stock has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.74 and a beta of 1.06. Upwork has a 1-year low of $11.13 and a 1-year high of $22.84.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $198.41 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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. As a group, research analysts predict that Upwork will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Upwork news, insider Dave Bottoms sold 9,622 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.66, for a total value of $198,790.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,127.70. The trade was a 96.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gary Steele sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.51, for a total value of $218,875.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 85,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,490,608.79. This represents a 12.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 523,248 shares of company stock valued at $10,029,741. 7.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Upwork

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Boston Partners boosted its position in Upwork by 785.7% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,322,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,962,000 after purchasing an additional 2,060,356 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Upwork in the second quarter worth about $11,955,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Upwork in the third quarter valued at about $11,866,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Upwork by 364.0% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 789,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,305,000 after buying an additional 619,459 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in Upwork by 147.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 928,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,234,000 after acquiring an additional 552,903 shares in 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.