Latest news with #UPWK
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Upwork or Fiverr? Picking the Winner in the Freelance Race
The freelance economy is evolving fast, and two platforms — Upwork Inc. UPWK and Fiverr International FVRR — are leading the charge. Both companies are moving beyond their marketplace roots, leaning into AI, services and enterprise clients to drive growth in a shifting macro environment. But their paths and strategies differ in meaningful ways. Fiverr is building out high-margin services and AI tools to enhance seller performance and move upmarket, while Upwork is positioning itself as an AI-first platform serving enterprise clients and capturing demand for AI talent. Over the past three months, Upwork shares have moved up 4.4%, underperforming Fiverr. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research As both stocks look to redefine their roles in the future of work, let's find out which one is better placed to deliver long-term value. Upwork kicked off 2025 on a strong note, delivering record first-quarter revenues were up just 1% year over year to $193 million, UPWK reported record-high adjusted EBITDA of $56 million and a healthy margin of 29%. Net income reached $37.7 million — another quarterly best for the services volume per active client rose year over year for the first time in six quarters and climbed for the third straight quarter. Product enhancements, including better search recommendations and customer experience updates, helped drive marketplace outperformance. Upwork is making a bold shift to become an AI-native platform, and leading that effort is Uma, its in-house 'Mindful AI.' Uma helps users save time by writing proposals, screening candidates and simplifying hiring, and its working engagement with Uma jumped 52% in the last reported quarter, with proposal-writing usage up 58%. These tools are already improving hiring rates, conversions and freelancer earnings. To strengthen its AI edge, Upwork is combining internal innovation with smart acquisitions like Headroom and Objective AI. Another advantage is Upwork's access to talent. As businesses rush to adopt AI, many are hitting a wall — 63% of employers say they lack skilled people. Upwork fills that gap, offering access to more than 80,000 AI specialists. Freelancers on the platform are already working on real-world projects — training AI for social media giants, building healthcare tools and helping law firms automate legal workflows. For investors, this growing role in the AI ecosystem positions Upwork not just as a job marketplace but as a key enabler of the next wave of digital transformation. The company remains committed to returning value to shareholders. In the first quarter of 2025, it repurchased $2.3 million worth of shares. As of the quarter-end, $67 million remained under its existing share repurchase authorization. For the full year, the company reaffirmed its revenue target of $740-$760 million but raised its adjusted EBITDA guidance to $190-$200 million and EPS forecast to $1.14-$1.18. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for UPWK's 2025 and 2026 EPS implies year-over-year growth of 9.6% and 16.7%, respectively. See how the estimates have been revised over the past 90 days. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Fiverr's first-quarter 2025 revenues rose 15% year over year to $107.2 million, while the adjusted EBITDA margin widened to 18%. Management expects full-year revenues at $425-$438 million (up 9-12% year over year). Adjusted EBITDA margins are anticipated to hit 20% in 2025, with long-term goals of achieving 25% by 2027. Adding to investors' confidence, the board has authorized $100 million for share buybacks. Looking at the revenue mix, the classic marketplace revenue slipped 0.8% to $77.7 million, which is a bit concerning. Beyond marketplace transaction fees, Fiverr has been aggressively building out its service revenues, which include offerings like Fiverr Ads, Seller Plus and AutoDS. This segment grew a whopping 94% year over year in the first quarter to $29.5 million, representing 27.5% of total revenues. Management expects it to cross 30% for the full year. The company is steadily moving beyond its roots as a gig marketplace, evolving into a full-service work platform tailored to larger clients and powered by smarter tools. Central to this transformation are Fiverr Pro, which is helping the company move upmarket and win larger enterprise clients, and Fiverr Go, its new AI-powered tool designed to enhance buyer-seller interactions and drive higher conversions. With features such as Dynamic Matching, Project Management and dedicated Customer Success Managers, Fiverr Pro is expanding the addressable market. The payoff is real — a global book publisher scaled from a $15,000 trial to a $200,000 contract, and a large e-learning firm shifted its entire YouTube workflow to Fiverr after beating agency turnaround times and costs. The other growth engine is Fiverr Go, a generative-AI layer that turns every seller profile into a round-the-clock digital assistant. More than 6,000 top freelancers have activated the tool, and 200,000 buyers have tried it. Sellers who enabled the AI-powered 'Personal Assistant' saw an immediate 56% increase in one-hour conversion rates and a 10% boost over a 14-day period. All in all, Fiverr is gradually shifting from a gig marketplace to a more full-featured work platform, with a growing emphasis on services, enterprise use cases and AI tools. While execution risks remain, the company's evolving model could support more sustainable growth over time. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FVRR implies EPS growth of 18.5% in 2025, although growth is expected to flatten in 2026. See how the estimates have been revised over the past 90 days. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Both Fiverr and Upwork are shaking up the freelance world, but Upwork looks like the smarter bet today. Upwork isn't just embracing AI — it's building an AI-native platform. From Uma, its in-house assistant, to acquisitions like Headroom and Objective AI, it's positioning itself at the center of enterprise AI transformation. Its access to 80,000+ AI specialists further strengthens its value proposition as businesses rush to close the talent gap. Fiverr has momentum, particularly in high-margin services and enterprise traction. But its shift upmarket has come at the cost of a shrinking active buyer base, raising concerns about GMV growth and long-term engagement. Competition is intensifying, and Fiverr's Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) reflects the need for more proof of durable progress. Fiverr is worth watching, but Upwork's AI focus, operational strength and upward EPS revisions make it the more compelling choice for investors. UPWK stock currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Upwork Inc. (UPWK) : Free Stock Analysis Report Fiverr International (FVRR) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Will Business Plus Become Upwork's Next Big Growth Engine?
Upwork Inc. UPWK is starting to look more than just a place for quick freelance gigs. With its new Business Plus plan, the company is going after bigger clients—and it's working. In the last reported quarter, the number of active clients on Business Plus more than doubled. About 40% of them are brand new to Upwork, which is impressive considering Upwork hasn't even spent much on marketing the plan. That shows the offer is meeting a clear need. Business Plus gives clients a smoother hiring experience. They get access to Upwork's top-vetted talent, help with shortlisting and Net-30 payment terms. These features are helping new customers move faster—from signing up to posting jobs—and spending more once they start hiring. At the same time, Upwork's larger Enterprise business is in a transition phase. But Business Plus is picking up some of that slack by pulling in larger, higher-value customers. And those customers are using the new features at high rates. Upwork sees strong early signs that Business Plus fits what these clients want. And it plans to keep improving the offering this year. For investors, this could be important. If Business Plus keeps growing, it could help Upwork bring in more steady revenue from bigger customers. It's the kind of shift that might not make headlines—but could matter a lot over time. Upwork isn't alone in trying to attract larger, higher-value clients. Fiverr FVRR is also stepping up its game with Fiverr Pro, which is aimed at teams and bigger projects. Fiverr continues to expand its platform tools, and like Upwork, it's leaning into AI and premium services to boost average spend per client. Meanwhile, Microsoft's MSFT LinkedIn remains a powerful force in the professional hiring space. LinkedIn Recruiting Solutions offers enterprise clients tailored sourcing tools, advanced filters, and AI-driven candidate recommendations. Backed by Microsoft's ecosystem, LinkedIn is becoming a go-to for companies managing large-scale hiring. As Upwork, Fiverr and LinkedIn expand their enterprise-facing offerings, Business Plus gives Upwork a more structured way to win over mid-to-large clients directly on its platform. Shares of Upwork have lost 20% year to date compared with the industry's decline of 10%. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research From a valuation standpoint, UPWK trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 2.25, lower than the industry and its own 5-year average. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research See how the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Upwork's earnings has been revised over the past 60 days. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Upwork stock currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and has a VGM Score of B. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) : Free Stock Analysis Report Upwork Inc. (UPWK) : Free Stock Analysis Report Fiverr International (FVRR) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Could Be Worth Watching
While Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) might not have the largest market cap around , it received a lot of attention from a substantial price movement on the NASDAQGS over the last few months, increasing to US$17.44 at one point, and dropping to the lows of US$11.87. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether Upwork's current trading price of US$11.96 reflective of the actual value of the small-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Let's take a look at Upwork's outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change. AI is about to change healthcare. These 20 stocks are working on everything from early diagnostics to drug discovery. The best part - they are all under $10bn in marketcap - there is still time to get in early. Great news for investors – Upwork is still trading at a fairly cheap price according to our price multiple model, where we compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average. We've used the price-to-earnings ratio in this instance because there's not enough visibility to forecast its cash flows. The stock's ratio of 7.51x is currently well-below the industry average of 20.14x, meaning that it is trading at a cheaper price relative to its peers. Although, there may be another chance to buy again in the future. This is because Upwork's beta (a measure of share price volatility) is high, meaning its price movements will be exaggerated relative to the rest of the market. If the market is bearish, the company's shares will likely fall by more than the rest of the market, providing a prime buying opportunity. Check out our latest analysis for Upwork Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Buying a great company with a robust outlook at a cheap price is always a good investment, so let's also take a look at the company's future expectations. Though in the case of Upwork, it is expected to deliver a highly negative earnings growth in the next few years, which doesn't help build up its investment thesis. It appears that risk of future uncertainty is high, at least in the near term. Are you a shareholder? Although UPWK is currently trading below the industry PE ratio, the negative profit outlook does bring on some uncertainty, which equates to higher risk. Consider whether you want to increase your portfolio exposure to UPWK, or whether diversifying into another stock may be a better move for your total risk and return. Are you a potential investor? If you've been keeping tabs on UPWK for some time, but hesitant on making the leap, we recommend you research further into the stock. Given its current price multiple, now is a great time to make a decision. But keep in mind the risks that come with negative growth prospects in the future. So if you'd like to dive deeper into this stock, it's crucial to consider any risks it's facing. At Simply Wall St, we found 2 warning signs for Upwork and we think they deserve your attention. If you are no longer interested in Upwork, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Sign in to access your portfolio
