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Upwork Q1 revenue up 18.8% with boost from flat-fee pricing

May 02, 2024

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ: UPWK) reported first-quarter revenue rose 18.7% to $190.9 million. Gross margin at the world’s largest talent platform also improved, and net income rose 7.4%.

“We continue to accelerate profitability while investing in growth and innovation,” President and CEO Hayden Brown said in a press release.

Revenue growth was driven, in part, by the final transition to the company’s new flat-fee pricing structure that was introduced last year, CFO Erica Gessert said in a conference call with analysts.

Upwork’s gross services volume — the total amount that clients spend on Upwork’s offerings as well as additional fees to talent and clients for other services — rose 1% to nearly $1.01 billion.

Its marketplace take rate rose to 17.7% in the first quarter from 14.7% in the first quarter of last year. Take rate is total revenue divided by gross services volume.

The number of active clients also rose by 5% year over year to 872,000.

The company also noted it launched its Uma AI in the quarter and note that clients who used Uma started spending on Upwork in their first month at a 7% higher rate. The service provides matching of clients and talent and powers other functionality such as a job post generator.

Upwork also launched instant consultations, which enables clients to get expert advice within minutes from freelancers.

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Guidance

Upwork forecast revenue to grow by between $190 million and $195 million, representing year-over-year growth of 14.2% at the midpoint.

Share price

Shares in Upwork were up 4.89% to $12.55 as of 1:27 p.m. Eastern time today. They were 23.32% below their 52-week high.