Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Updates Q3 2026 Earnings Guidance

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) updated its third quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Monday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 0.310-0.330 for the period, compared to the consensus 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 subject of a number of research reports. Roth Capital cut shares of Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group lowered Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $20.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Upwork from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Upwork in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citizens Jmp cut shares of Upwork from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Upwork presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.50.

Upwork Stock Performance

Upwork stock opened at $9.83 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $8.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.21. The company has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14 and a beta of 0.99. Upwork has a fifty-two week low of $7.44 and a fifty-two week high of $22.84.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upwork

In other Upwork news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 9,169 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 341,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,784,113.35. This trade represents a 2.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 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 value of $191,264.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 797,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,499,584.25. This represents a 2.86% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 34,471 shares of company stock valued at $281,446 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 4.90% of the company’s stock.

More Upwork News

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UPWK. Abel Hall LLC acquired a new position in Upwork in the fourth quarter worth $210,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Upwork during the fourth quarter valued at $201,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in shares of Upwork during the third quarter worth about $244,000. Caption Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Upwork during the third quarter worth about $254,000. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Upwork in the 2nd quarter worth about $241,000. 77.71% of the stock is currently 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.