- Upwork reported fourth-quarter earnings per share of $0.36 on revenue of $198.4 million, compared to an estimated EPS of $0.31 on revenue of $197.52 million.
- However, its first-quarter guidance came in below expectations, prompting a series of price target cuts.
- Analysts at Citizens trimmed their price target for the UPWK stock to $22 from $27, while keeping a ‘Buy’ rating, stating that Upwork’s soft Q1 guidance reflected the transition away from its legacy enterprise offering.
Upwork Inc. (UPWK) shares were up nearly 10% in Wednesday’s pre-market trade after the company announced a share repurchase program.
The human and AI-powered freelance marketplace announced that its board of directors has approved a new $300 million share repurchase program.
“2025 was a pivotal year for Upwork, as we returned to GSV growth and delivered record financial results,” said Upwork CEO Hayden Brown. “Our performance and strong balance sheet position us to return value to shareholders while continuing to invest in the key growth levers already delivering value for our business,” he added.
The new $300 million share repurchase program follows a $136 million buyback in 2025, which repurchased more than nine million shares.
Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around Upwork hovered in the ‘extremely bullish’ territory at the time of writing. The stock was among the top ten trending tickers on the platform.
Brown said that Upwork enters 2026 with a clear plan to enhance the company’s Gross Services Value (GSV) and boost revenue.
Upwork’s Q4 Earnings Beat Expectations
Upwork reported its fourth-quarter (Q4) earnings earlier this month, beating Wall Street expectations, with earnings per share (EPS) of $0.36 on revenue of $198.4 million, compared to an estimated EPS of $0.31 on revenue of $197.52 million, according to TheFly.
However, the company’s first-quarter (Q1) guidance came in below expectations. Upwork expects EPS in the $0.26 and $0.28 range, while analysts estimated an EPS of $0.31. Its revenue range of $192 million to $197 million was also below the expectations of $200.61 million.
Upwork’s soft Q1 guidance resulted in a slew of price target cuts. Analysts at Citizens trimmed their price target for the UPWK stock to $22 from $27, while keeping a ‘Buy’ rating. The firm said Upwork’s soft Q1 guidance reflected the transition away from its legacy enterprise offering.
Analysts at RBC Capital trimmed their price target for Upwork to $20 from $24 while keeping a ‘Sector Perform’ rating. The firm noted that next year’s outlook could create some investor uncertainty about how achievable Upwork’s turnaround is.
UPWK stock is down 34% year-to-date and 61% over the past 12 months.
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