Revenue has plateaued in the $185M to $200M range with 2026Q3 down 8.0% year over year, while operating margin recovered to 18.6% from 7.1% a year earlier, suggesting gains reflect cost discipline rather than top-line momentum.
Upwork Inc. (UPWK) annual income statement — 10-year revenue, gross profit & net income history
| Metric | TTM | Dec'25 | Dec'24 | Dec'23 | Dec'22 | Dec'21 | Dec'20 | Dec'19 | Dec'18 | Dec'17 | Dec'16 |
|---|
| Sales/Revenue | 771.15M | 787.78M | 769.33M | 689.14M | 618.32M | 502.8M | 373.63M | 300.56M | 253.35M | 202.55M | 164.44M |
| Revenue Growth % | -1.24% | 2.4% | 11.64% | 11.45% | 22.98% | 34.57% | 24.31% | 18.63% | 25.08% | 23.17% | - |
| Cost of Goods Sold | 177.9M | 174.75M | 174.09M | 170.45M | 160.4M | 135.51M | 104.27M | 88.14M | 81.46M | 65.44M | 62.58M |
| COGS % of Revenue | - | 22.18% | 22.63% | 24.73% | 25.94% | 26.95% | 27.91% | 29.33% | 32.15% | 32.31% | 38.05% |
| Gross Profit | 593.25M | 613.03M | 595.23M | 518.69M | 457.92M | 367.29M | 269.36M | 212.42M | 171.9M | 137.11M | 101.87M |
| Gross Margin % | 76.93% | 77.82% | 77.37% | 75.27% | 74.06% | 73.05% | 72.09% | 70.67% | 67.85% | 67.69% | 61.95% |
| Gross Profit Growth % | - | 2.99% | 14.76% | 13.27% | 24.67% | 36.36% | 26.81% | 23.57% | 25.37% | 34.6% | - |
| Operating Expenses | 469.5M | 483.73M | 530.02M | 529.95M | 550.54M | 421.51M | 291.77M | 231.15M | 183.61M | 140.23M | 116.33M |
| OpEx % of Revenue | - | 61.4% | 68.89% | 76.9% | 89.04% | 83.83% | 78.09% | 76.91% | 72.47% | 69.23% | 70.74% |
| Selling, General & Admin | 292.69M | 288.14M | 314.01M | 339.61M | 370.83M | 296.38M | 204.74M | 163.22M | 122.3M | 90.38M | 72.88M |
| SG&A % of Revenue | - | 36.58% | 40.82% | 49.28% | 59.97% | 58.95% | 54.8% | 54.3% | 48.27% | 44.62% | 44.32% |
| Research & Development | 169.15M | 189.34M | 209.28M | 177.36M | 154.55M | 119.08M | 83.47M | 64.03M | 55.49M | 45.6M | 37.9M |
| R&D % of Revenue | - | 24.04% | 27.2% | 25.74% | 25% | 23.68% | 22.34% | 21.3% | 21.9% | 22.51% | 23.05% |
| Other Operating Expenses | 4M | 6.24M | 6.73M | 12.98M | 25.15M | 6.05M | 3.56M | 3.9M | -6.14M | -62K | -908K |
| Operating Income | 123.74M | 129.31M | 65.21M | -11.26M | -92.62M | -54.22M | -22.41M | -18.73M | -11.71M | -3.12M | -14.47M |
| Operating Margin % | 16.05% | 16.41% | 8.48% | -1.63% | -14.98% | -10.78% | -6% | -6.23% | -4.62% | -1.54% | -8.8% |
| Operating Income Growth % | - | 98.31% | 679.09% | 87.84% | -70.84% | -141.95% | -19.62% | -59.94% | -275.02% | 78.41% | - |
| EBITDA | 160.57M | 155.76M | 82.86M | 1.46M | -81.49M | -40.41M | -8.38M | -8.13M | -6.76M | 1.06M | -6.01M |
| EBITDA Margin % | 20.82% | 19.77% | 10.77% | 0.21% | -13.18% | -8.04% | -2.24% | -2.7% | -2.67% | 0.52% | -3.65% |
| EBITDA Growth % | 20.93% | 87.99% | 5582.85% | 101.79% | -101.65% | -382.46% | -3.08% | -20.15% | -736.22% | 117.7% | - |
| D&A (Non-Cash Add-back) | 36.83M | 26.45M | 17.65M | 12.72M | 11.14M | 13.81M | 14.03M | 10.61M | 4.95M | 4.19M | 8.46M |
| EBIT | 143.65M | 140.98M | 93.13M | 48.88M | -84.87M | -53.94M | -21.94M | -15.32M | -17.85M | -3.19M | -15.38M |
| Net Interest Income | 16.65M | 12.8M | 28M | 0 | -4.48M | -2.18M | -778K | -1.31M | -2.04M | -960K | -858K |
| Interest Income | 18.49M | 13.5M | 30.7M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Interest Expense | 1.84M | 700K | 2.7M | 0 | 4.48M | 2.18M | 778K | 1.31M | 2.04M | 960K | 858K |
| Other Income/Expense | 18.67M | 23.87M | 25.22M | 60.14M | 3.27M | -1.9M | -309K | 2.1M | -8.18M | -1.02M | -1.77M |
| Pretax Income | 142.41M | 153.18M | 90.43M | 48.88M | -89.35M | -56.12M | -22.72M | -16.63M | -19.89M | -4.14M | -16.23M |
| Pretax Margin % | 18.47% | 19.44% | 11.75% | 7.09% | -14.45% | -11.16% | -6.08% | -5.53% | -7.85% | -2.05% | -9.87% |
| Income Tax | 38.1M | 37.75M | -125.16M | 1.99M | 536K | 122K | 150K | 28K | 15K | -22K | -1K |
| Effective Tax Rate % | 26.75% | 24.65% | -138.41% | 4.07% | -0.6% | -0.22% | -0.66% | -0.17% | -0.08% | 0.53% | 0.01% |
| Net Income | 104.31M | 115.42M | 215.59M | 46.89M | -89.89M | -56.24M | -22.87M | -16.66M | -19.91M | -4.12M | -16.23M |
| Net Margin % | 13.53% | 14.65% | 28.02% | 6.8% | -14.54% | -11.19% | -6.12% | -5.54% | -7.86% | -2.04% | -9.87% |
| Net Income Growth % | -57.76% | -46.46% | 359.8% | 152.16% | -59.82% | -145.94% | -37.27% | 16.32% | -382.83% | 74.6% | - |
| Net Income (Continuing) | 104.31M | 115.42M | 215.59M | 46.89M | -89.89M | -56.24M | -22.87M | -16.66M | -19.91M | -4.12M | -16.23M |
| Discontinued Operations | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Minority Interest | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EPS (Diluted) | 0.81 | 0.83 | 1.52 | 0.34 | -0.69 | -0.44 | -0.19 | -0.15 | -0.19 | -0.04 | -0.50 |
| EPS Growth % | -54.29% | -45.39% | 347.06% | 149.28% | -56.82% | -131.58% | -26.67% | 21.05% | -341.86% | 91.4% | - |
| EPS (Basic) | - | 0.87 | 1.61 | 0.35 | -0.69 | -0.44 | -0.19 | -0.15 | -0.19 | -0.04 | -0.50 |
| Diluted Shares Outstanding | 128.26M | 139.41M | 143.15M | 137.26M | 130.52M | 127.16M | 118.7M | 109.81M | 103.72M | 95.93M | 32.49M |
| Basic Shares Outstanding | 125.1M | 130.62M | 133.62M | 134.77M | 130.52M | 127.16M | 118.7M | 109.81M | 103.72M | 95.93M | 32.49M |
| Dividend Payout Ratio | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying UPWK stock.
For fiscal year 2025, Upwork Inc. (UPWK) reported total revenue of $787.8M. This represents a 379.1% increase compared to $164.4M in 2016.
Upwork Inc. (UPWK) is profitable, generating $115.4M in net income for the fiscal year ending 2025 with a net profit margin of 14.7%.
Upwork Inc. (UPWK) reported an operating income of $129.3M, resulting in an operating profit margin of 16.4%. This margin reflects the operational efficiency of the business before interest and taxes.
Upwork Inc. (UPWK) generated $613.0M in gross profit for the year, representing a gross profit margin of 77.8%. This demonstrates the company's core pricing power and production efficiency.
Key Metrics
Top Statement Risk
Enterprise shift and AI automation pressure
Metrics are mathematically derived from official filings.
Top Line Flattening Near Two Percent Growth
Based on Upwork's reported quarterly figures, revenue reached $185.6M in 2026Q3, down 8.0% year over year, following a low-single-digit trend that has largely stalled across the last ten quarters of income statement data. This implies the platform has moved from expansion toward a plateau that now requires new demand drivers to restart meaningful growth.
Quarterly revenue has oscillated in a narrow band between roughly $186M and $202M, indicating that the marketplace has reached a size where incremental gross services volume is hard to generate. The 2026Q3 decline of 8.0% year over year, though partly a function of a tough comparison, suggests demand from small and mid-sized clients may be softening. Investors should monitor whether enterprise and high-complexity categories can offset weakness in lower-complexity work before the growth trajectory can be considered durable.
Gross Margin Holding Near Seventy-Seven Percent
As reported in the income statement, Upwork's gross margin has held in a tight 76% to 78% range across the period, with 2026Q3 printing at 76.1%, which suggests a cost of revenue structure that is stable but not expanding. This pattern implies limited pricing power beyond the existing take rate.
The stability of gross margin around the high-70s indicates that payment processing and infrastructure costs scale roughly in line with revenue, leaving little room for structural expansion. The modest dip toward 76% in the most recent quarter may reflect mix shifts or incentive spending rather than a deterioration in unit economics, though the reported data alone cannot confirm the cause. Sustained margin improvement would likely depend on AI-driven automation of matching and dispute handling rather than on pricing alone.
Operating Margin Recovery Driven by Cost Discipline
Based on Upwork's reported figures, operating margin expanded from 7.1% in 2024Q4 to 18.6% in 2026Q3 while revenue stayed roughly flat, indicating operating income is scaling considerably faster than the top line. This pattern suggests the cost base has been actively reduced relative to revenue.
The gap between flat revenue and rising operating income points to disciplined sales, marketing, and R&D spending rather than top-line acceleration driving the improvement. Because operating leverage works in both directions, this profile is sensitive to any reinvestment cycle that would reverse the cost reductions. The question for analysts is whether the margin gains reflect durable efficiency or a temporary pullback in spending that could reverse if growth needs to be purchased again.
Net Income Volatility Obscures Underlying Earnings Trend
Per Upwork's reported figures, net income swung from $147.2M in 2024Q4 to $15.6M in 2025Q4 and $31.8M in 2026Q3, with EPS moving from 1.03 to 0.11 to 0.25, which suggests the headline earnings series is heavily influenced by non-operating or one-time items.
The 2024Q4 net income figure sits far above operating income, which implies a sizable non-operating gain, likely tax-related or investment-related, that does not reflect core marketplace economics. Stock-based compensation of $9.2M to $19.8M per quarter is a material expense that narrows the gap between GAAP and cash-generating profitability. The 2026Q2 EPS shortfall of $0.20 against consensus of $0.34 warrants scrutiny of whether the quarter contained items beyond normal operating variance.
Sales and Marketing Dominates the Expense Base
According to reported financial statements, Upwork's SG&A expense of $70.6M in 2026Q3 represented roughly 38% of revenue, making it the largest operating cost line and a clear lever for the recent margin recovery. This suggests management has successfully trimmed acquisition-related spend.
SG&A has declined from $79.5M in 2024Q4 to $70.6M in 2026Q3, while R&D spending has fluctuated between roughly $34M and $53M per quarter, implying the company has been more willing to cut overhead than to reduce product investment. The sustainability of this discipline depends on whether client acquisition costs can stay low as enterprise adoption requires more account management. Investors should watch whether the reduction in marketing efficiency comes at the expense of future volume growth.
Margin Gains Could Prove Unsustainable Under Pressure
Based on the reported data, the operating margin improvement from roughly 7% to 18% coincides with flat-to-declining revenue, which may indicate the gains come from spending restraint rather than structural strength that can withstand renewed competition or AI-driven disintermediation.
If the margin expansion stems mainly from reduced marketing and R&D, a return to growth investment would likely compress margins back toward the low-teens or below. The stated AI-driven shift away from lower-complexity work could erode the take-rate base faster than enterprise gains can replace it. Short-sellers would likely argue the current profitability profile reflects a harvesting phase on a plateaued platform rather than a durable compounder.