Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Issues FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Monday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 1.380-1.430 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 1.520. The company issued revenue guidance of $730.0 million-$750.0 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $776.0 million. Upwork also updated its Q3 2026 guidance to 0.310-0.330 EPS.

Upwork Stock Up 1.7%

UPWK opened at $9.83 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14 and a beta of 0.99. Upwork has a 52 week low of $7.44 and a 52 week high of $22.84. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.21.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UPWK. Roth Capital cut Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, May 8th. Citizens Jmp downgraded Upwork from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Upwork from $20.00 to $9.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $22.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered 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 research 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upwork

In other Upwork news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 9,169 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.15, for a total transaction of $74,727.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 341,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,784,113.35. The trade was a 2.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 23,468 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.15, for a total value of $191,264.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 797,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,499,584.25. The trade was a 2.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 34,471 shares of company stock worth $281,446 over the last quarter. 4.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Upwork

Here are the key news stories impacting Upwork this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Upwork reported second-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.41, above the $0.34 analyst consensus, while revenue of $190.14 million was slightly ahead of expectations. The company also posted a 13.81% net margin and 17.92% return on equity. Upwork quarterly earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: The company launched an Upwork Model Context Protocol server, allowing AI tools such as Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor to search for freelancers, create job posts and manage proposals through Upwork. The initiative could increase platform engagement and position Upwork as a marketplace for human expertise used alongside AI. Upwork launches MCP server
• Neutral Sentiment: Upwork said AI is reshaping freelance demand: lower-complexity assignments are being automated, while demand may shift toward more specialized work that requires human judgment. This creates a potential long-term opportunity but also raises uncertainty about transaction growth and pricing. Upwork and AI reshaping freelance demand
• Negative Sentiment: Management’s outlook was substantially below Wall Street expectations. Third-quarter revenue guidance of $176 million to $184 million and EPS guidance of $0.31 to $0.33 trailed consensus estimates of $193.8 million and $0.41, respectively. Full-year revenue guidance of $730 million to $750 million also missed the $776 million consensus, while EPS guidance of $1.38 to $1.43 was below $1.52. Upwork stock reaction to Q2 results
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly revenue declined 1.7% year over year, reinforcing concerns that automation is weakening demand for some traditional freelance services and that Upwork’s AI strategy may take time to offset the pressure. Upwork Q2 sales and stock reaction

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upwork

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Abel Hall LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upwork during the 4th quarter worth approximately $210,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. bought a new stake in Upwork in the fourth quarter worth $201,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in Upwork in the third quarter worth $244,000. Caption Management LLC purchased a new stake in Upwork during the third quarter valued at $254,000. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in Upwork during the second quarter valued at $241,000. Institutional investors own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

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.