Upwork Q2 net income falls 22% on lower client, GSV base; issues soft Q3 revenue forecast

Upwork

10/08/2026 22:18

Overview
Online work marketplace's Q2 revenue fell 2% yr/yr, slightly beating analyst expectations
Q2 adjusted EBITDA rose 12% yr/yr and beat analyst estimates
Company returned $109.7 mln to shareholders via buyback in first half of 2026
Shares of the company were down about 20% in extended trading

Outlook
Upwork sees Q3 revenue between $176 mln and $184 mln
Company expects full-year 2026 revenue of $730 mln to $750 mln
Upwork anticipates growing demand for high-value AI talent and complex projects

Result Drivers
AI-RELATED WORK GROWTH - Co said GSV from AI-related work rose more than 22% yr/yr, with AI Strategy & Consulting up over 50% yr/yr
SMB SEGMENT EXPANSION - GSV from Business Plus offering for SMB rose 24% qtr/qtr and 174% yr/yr; active clients up 16% qtr/qtr and 219% yr/yr
ENTERPRISE PLATFORM MIGRATION - Co said it migrated first wave of enterprise customers to new platform and saw 29% yr/yr GSV growth in EOR offering

Company press release: ID:nGNXbJCP77

Key Details
Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
Q2 Revenue
Slight Beat*
$191.70 mln
$189.96 mln (9 Analysts)
Q2 Net Income
 
$25.40 mln
 
Q2 Adjusted EBITDA
Beat
$64.10 mln
$57.58 mln (10 Analysts)
*Applies to a deviation of less than 1%; not applicable for per-share numbers.

Analyst Coverage
The current average analyst rating on the shares is "hold" and the breakdown of recommendations is 3 "strong buy" or "buy", 8 "hold" and no "sell" or "strong sell"
The average consensus recommendation for the employment services peer group is "buy."
Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Upwork Inc. is $10.00, about 3.4% above its August 7 closing price of $9.67
The stock recently traded at 6 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 7 three months ago

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(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)