Upwork slightly misses Q1 revenue estimates, announces 24% job cuts

Upwork

07/05/2026 21:42

Overview

Online work marketplace's Q1 revenue grew 1% yr/yr, slightly missing analyst expectations

Adjusted EBITDA for Q1 rose 3% and beat analyst expectations

Company to cut workforce by 24% as part of restructuring plan

Outlook

Upwork sees Q2 2026 revenue of $187 mln to $193 mln

Company expects full-year 2026 revenue of $760 mln to $790 mln

Upwork raises full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance to $250 mln-$260 mln

Result Drivers

AI WORK CATEGORY - GSV from AI-related work rose over 40% yr/yr, with AI Integration & Automation up more than 50% yr/yr

SMB INITIATIVES - GSV from Business Plus offering for SMBs increased 34% qtr/qtr, with active clients up 35% qtr/qtr

RESTRUCTURING PLAN - Co announced a 24% workforce reduction to build a more efficient operating model and position for profitable growth

Company press release: ID:nGNX6fPmLs

Key Details

Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
Q1 Revenue
Slight Miss*
$195.50 mln
$195.90 mln (11 Analysts)
Q1 Net Income
$31.50 mln
Q1 Adjusted EBITDA
Beat
$57.40 mln
$46.48 mln (11 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 "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 7 "strong buy" or "buy", 4 "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 $22.00, about 118.3% above its May 6 closing price of $10.08

The stock recently traded at 7 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 14 three months ago

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact reuters.support@thomsonreuters.com.

(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.)