What a brutal six months it’s been for Upwork. The stock has dropped 30.7% and now trades at $9.10, rattling many shareholders. This was partly due to its softer quarterly results and may have investors wondering how to approach the situation.
Is now the time to buy Upwork, or should you be careful about including it in your portfolio? Get the full stock story straight from our expert analysts, it’s free.
Why Is Upwork Not Exciting?
Even with the cheaper entry price, we’re sitting this one out for now. Here are two reasons we avoid UPWK, plus one stock we’d rather own.
1. Long-Term Revenue Growth Disappoints
Examining a company’s long-term performance can provide clues about its quality. Any business can put up a good quarter or two, but many enduring ones grow for years. Unfortunately, Upwork’s 6.6% annualized revenue growth over the last three years was tepid. This fell short of our benchmark for the consumer internet sector.
2. Revenue Projections Show Stormy Skies Ahead
Forecasted revenues by Wall Street analysts signal a company’s potential. Predictions may not always be accurate, but accelerating growth typically boosts valuation multiples and stock prices while slowing growth does the opposite.
Over the next 12 months, sell-side analysts expect Upwork’s revenue to decline by 8.8%. This underwhelming projection suggests its products and services may face demand challenges.
Final Judgment
Upwork isn’t a terrible business, but it doesn’t pass our quality test. After the recent drawdown, the stock trades at 4.3× forward EV/EBITDA (or $9.10 per share). This valuation is reasonable, but the company’s shakier fundamentals present too much downside risk. We’re fairly confident there are better investments elsewhere. We’d suggest looking at a dominant aerospace business that has perfected its M&A strategy.
Stocks We Would Buy Instead of Upwork
WHILE YOU’RE HERE: Top 9 Market-Beating Stocks. The best stocks don’t just beat the market once. They do it again. And again. Robust revenue growth, rising free cash flow, returns on capital that leave their competition in the dust. The market has already rewarded these businesses.
But our AI platform says the party isn’t over. Find out which 9 stocks made the cut this week — FREE. Get Our Top 9 Market-Beating Stocks for Free HERE.
Stocks that have made our list include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,460% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Exlservice (+271% between June 2020 and June 2025). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.