Upwork

UPWK

Staffing & Employment Services · Industrials

Exchange

NASDAQ

Winston Score

Winston is curious

A decent business — some strong pillars, some weaker.

Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Mar 31, 2026

How the score breaks down

Quality

Strong

Growth

Mixed

Cash Flow

Exceptional

Stability

Strong

Valuation

Exceptional

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Winston Score History

The full picture

Upwork runs an online marketplace where businesses can find and hire freelancers for work like writing, coding, design, and marketing. Companies of all sizes — from small startups to large enterprises — post jobs on the platform, and independent workers around the world bid for those projects. It is one of the largest freelance marketplaces in the United States.

Upwork makes money by taking a percentage cut from payments that flow between clients and freelancers, plus charging subscription fees for premium features and tools. The platform operates globally, connecting talent across more than 180 countries, and its two-sided network — where more clients attract more freelancers and vice versa — gives it a natural competitive advantage that is hard for newcomers to replicate. The key growth driver is continued adoption of remote and contract work by enterprises, but the main risk is intense competition from rivals like Fiverr and LinkedIn, as well as the possibility that AI tools reduce demand for certain freelance services.

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Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+1.4% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow revenue growth

EPS Growth

-10.7% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Earnings declining

Insider Activity

7.3%ownership

→ Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$580M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth context

Upwork is growing revenue at 1% year-over-year. The Winston Score measures business quality today — these growth metrics show what could matter tomorrow.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

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Quality

Profit per sale

Gross Margin

77.2%

Premium pricing power — 77.2% gross margin

Profit after running costs

Operating Margin

16.7%

Healthy — 16.7% operating margin

Return on the money invested

ROCE

13.1%

Good — 13.1% return on capital

ROIC between 5% and 15%. They earn 5 to 15 cents back per year on every dollar invested.

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Growth

Sales growth

Sales YoY

+2.5%

Nearly flat sales (+2.5% YoY)

Profit growth

EPS YoY

-52.3%

Earnings shrinking (-52.3% YoY)

Earnings per share down more than 10%. Either a bad year, or a real decline.

How steady the profit is

EPS Consistency

6/8 quarters

Earnings grew in most of the last 8 quarters

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash

Cash Conversion

215%

Turns 215% of profit into real cash

Spare cash per sale

FCF Margin

28.3%

Converts sales into free cash efficiently (28.3%)

Free cash flow margin above 20%. Out of every $100 in sales, more than $20 is real cash they keep.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns

Debt / Equity

0.66

Moderate — manageable debt (0.66)

Covers its interest

Interest Cover

45.68x

Comfortably covers interest (45.7x)

Interest coverage above 8. Profits cover interest many times over.

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Valuation

Price vs profit

P/E Ratio (TTM)

10.8x

no trend

Attractive valuation — P/E 10.8

P/E in the normal range. Price is roughly $15 for every $1 of yearly profit.

Cheaper or dearer next year

P/E vs Forward

+6.5

GROWING

Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (10.8 → 4.3)

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Dividends

Not applicable for this business.

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