Upwork Shares Jump 7%: What’s Behind the Rise?
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Nov 18 2025
0mins
Source: Benzinga
Investor Day Highlights: Upwork Inc. recently held its 2025 Investor Day, where executives outlined the company's long-term growth strategy and financial outlook, emphasizing a complete business reinvention over the past three years.
AI Strategy and Growth Projections: The company is focusing on AI-powered workflows and anticipates over $100 million in incremental gross services volume (GSV) from its AI initiatives, projecting GSV growth of 4% to 6% in 2026 and revenue growth of 6% to 8%.
Long-term Financial Targets: Upwork introduced new financial targets for 2028, expecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13% to 15% for revenue and 7% to 9% for GSV, along with a projected 20% annual growth in adjusted EBITDA.
Stock Performance: Following the announcements, Upwork shares rose by 7.04%, trading at $17.32 at the time of publication.
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Analyst Views on UPWK
Wall Street analysts forecast UPWK stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for UPWK is 23.33 USD with a low forecast of 17.00 USD and a high forecast of 28.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
10 Analyst Rating
6 Buy
4 Hold
0 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 20.510
Low
17.00
Averages
23.33
High
28.00
Current: 20.510
Low
17.00
Averages
23.33
High
28.00
About UPWK
Upwork Inc. operates a working marketplace, which connects businesses with independent talent. The Company's independent talent refers to the talent that includes independent professionals and agencies of varying sizes. The Company’s marketplace offerings are designed for clients looking to identify hiring. Its marketplace offerings provide clients with access to independent talent with verified work history on its work marketplace, as well as client feedback. They also receive perks, such as a verified client badge and highlighted job posts. Upwork Payroll is available to clients when they choose to work with talent that they engage through Upwork as employees. With Upwork Payroll, clients have access to third-party staffing providers to employ talent and meet their talent needs through its work marketplace. It offers two lines of service: managed services and enterprise solutions. Its managed services offer a service-led program management and full project lifecycle solution.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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