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As the Q4 earnings season wraps, let’s dig into this quarter’s best and worst performers in the gig economy industry, including Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) and its peers.
The iPhone changed the world, ushering in the era of the “always-on” internet and “on-demand” services - anything someone could want is just a few taps away. Likewise, the gig economy sprang up in a similar fashion, with a proliferation of tech-enabled freelance labor marketplaces, which work hand and hand with many on demand services. Individuals can now work on demand too. What began with tech-enabled platforms that aggregated riders and drivers has expanded over the past decade to include food delivery, groceries, and now even a plumber or graphic designer are all just a few taps away.
The 6 gig economy stocks we track reported a mixed Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.5% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.
Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 11.9% since the latest earnings results.
Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK)
Formed through the 2013 merger of Elance and oDesk, Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) is an online platform where businesses and independent professionals connect to get work done.
Upwork reported revenues of $191.5 million, up 4.1% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 5.8%. Despite the top-line beat, it was still a mixed quarter for the company with EBITDA guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations but a significant miss of analysts’ number of gross services volume estimates.
“2024 was a record year for Upwork, with full-year revenue, GAAP net income and adjusted EBITDA reaching all-time highs,” said Hayden Brown, president and CEO, Upwork.
Upwork pulled off the biggest analyst estimates beat but had the weakest full-year guidance update of the whole group. The company reported 832,000 active customers, down 2.2% year on year. Still, the market seems discontent with the results. The stock is down 8.7% since reporting and currently trades at $12.60.
Is now the time to buy Upwork? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.
Best Q4: Angi (NASDAQ:ANGI)
Created by IAC’s mergers of Angie’s List and HomeAdvisor, ANGI (NASDAQ: ANGI) operates the largest online marketplace for home services in the US.
Angi reported revenues of $267.9 million, down 10.8% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 5.3%. The business had a very strong quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ number of service requests estimates.