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Upwork, Inc key statistics and ratios

In fiscal 2025, Upwork, Inc had return on equity of 19.1% and a net margin of 14.7%. Each ratio below is calculated from the figures on its income statement, balance sheet and cash flow pages.

Financial ratios

US$ thousands unless shown otherwise. Fiscal years, plus the last twelve months (LTM) when newer.

Fiscal year2016Dec 20162017Dec 20172018Dec 20182019Dec 20192020Dec 20202021Dec 20212022Dec 20222023Dec 20232024Dec 20242025Dec 2025LTMSept 2026
Net margin−9.9%−2.0%−7.9%−5.5%−6.1%−11.2%−14.5%6.8%28.0%14.7%13.5%
Return on equity——−18.7%−6.6%−8.2%−20.1%−35.4%14.9%45.1%19.1%16.2%
Return on assets—−1.5%−6.0%−4.0%−4.7%−7.0%−8.3%4.4%19.2%9.2%9.4%
Effective tax rate———————4.1%—24.6%26.8%
R&D as % of revenue23.0%22.5%21.9%21.3%22.3%23.7%25.0%25.7%27.2%23.6%21.9%

Returns use average equity or assets over the year. Return on equity is left blank when equity is negative or so small that the ratio says nothing (above ±200%); interest cover is left blank above 200 times. Price-based ratios such as P/E are on the valuation page.

Financial health

7 of 7 checks passed · September 30, 2026
What it owns · $931m
Short-term assets $568mLonger-term assets $363m
What it owes, and who funded it · $931m
Short-term liabilities $252mLonger-term liabilities $25mShareholders' equity $654m
  • Short-term assets cover short-term liabilities $568m of assets due within a year against $252m of liabilities due within a year.
  • Short-term assets cover long-term liabilities $568m short-term assets against $25m of longer-dated liabilities.
  • More cash than debt $228m of cash against $0 of debt.
  • Debt below 40% of shareholders' equity Debt is 0% of equity.
  • Debt burden no higher than five years ago Debt to equity moved from 225% to 0% over five years.
  • A year's operating cash flow covers at least 20% of debt No debt to cover.
  • Operating profit covers interest at least five times over No material interest expense reported.

From Upwork, Inc's latest balance sheet as filed. Checks are fixed, documented rules (methodology), counted only where the company reports the figures — a dot means the filing doesn't break the item out. Descriptions of reported data, not advice.

Moat

61 /100

Moderate moat

How hard Upwork's competitive advantage looks for rivals to wear away, judged from 9 years of its own filings: returns on capital, pricing power, profit durability, cash conversion and discipline.

  • Returns on capital 19 / 20

    Cash operating profit has been a median 14.2% of total assets over 8 years.

  • Pricing power 19 / 20

    Gross margin has been a median 73.7%, moving by 3.2 percentage points (standard deviation) across 9 years.

  • Durability 10 / 20

    Operating margin has been a median -5.8%; its worst year was -15.8%.

  • Cash conversion 11 / 20

    Free cash flow was positive in 7 of 9 years, at a median 6.7% of revenue.

  • Discipline 7 / 20

    The diluted share count rose 6.1% over five years; stock-based pay has been a median 8.2% of revenue.

AI disruption exposure: Medium. In this industry, AI could change how the product is made or sold, without replacing the core asset. The score above includes a 5-point deduction for that exposure (66 before it).

A rules-based reading of reported figures, not a forecast and not investment advice. How the score is built: methodology.

Compare with peers

Head to head: EVER vs UPWKCARS vs UPWKNRDS vs UPWK

More: Interactive Media & Services stocks compared, Communication Services sector, rankings of US companies

Figures from Upwork, Inc's SEC filings (10-K and 10-Q), retrieved November 2, 2026. How we read and check them: methodology and data sources. Not investment advice. Back to Upwork, Inc.