Daily News

World – Upwork Q1 revenue up 16%; gross services volume rises 21%

09 May 2019

First-quarter revenue at Upwork Inc. (UPWK: NSDQ) rose 16.4%, and gross margin improved. The Mountain View, California-based online staffing platform also reported gross services volume increased 21.1% year over year to USD 487 million — gross service volume represents the total amount that clients spend on platform offerings and managed services as well as additional fees to clients and freelancers.

Upwork reported a net loss of $4.7 million in the first quarter, a smaller loss than the $6.8 million loss in the first quarter of last year.

(USD thousands)	Q1 2019	Q1 2018	% change
Revenue	$68,924	$59,218	16.4%
Gross profit	$47,799	$39,601	20.7%
Gross margin	69.4%	66.9%
Net loss	($4,728)	($6,784)	nm

The lion’s share of revenue comes through its marketplace segment, but both the marketplace and managed services segments posted increases.

Revenue by segment

(USD thousands)	Q1 2019	Q1 2018	% change
Marketplace	$60,903	$51,959	17.2%
Managed services	$8,021	$7,259	10.5%

Revenue was also up across geographies.

Revenue by geography

(USD thousands)

Q1 2019

Q1 2018

% change

From freelancers

United States

$11,888

$9,103

30.6%

India

$6,630

$6,106

8.6%

Philippines

$4,577

$3,955

15.7%

Rest of world

$21,695

$19,025

14.0%

Total freelancers

$44,790

$38,189

17.3%

From clients

United States

$17,674

$15,462

14.3%

Rest of world

$6,460

$5,567

16.0%

Total clients

$24,134

$21,029

14.8%

Total revenue

$68,924

$59,218

16.4%

Quote

“During the quarter we made significant progress with the launch of several new products, features and enhancements to support our increasingly diverse and expanding online talent marketplace,” CEO Stephane Kasriel said.

Guidance

Upwork forecast second-quarter revenue of between $72.5 million and $73.5 million.

Share price and market cap

Shares in Upwork closed down 17.7% to USD16.86; the company had a market cap of USD2.19 billion, according to FT.com.