Upwork Inc

Equity Research 11 August 2026 | 5:17AM EDT

Upwork Inc. (UPWK) Q2’26 Review: Challenging Environment Sustains Operating Headwinds; Focus Remains on Transformation of Long-Term Focus Areas

UPWK 12m Price Target: $11.50 Price: $9.83 Upside: 17.0% BUY Eric Sheridan In its Q2’26 report, Upwork (UPWK) delivered in-line Gross Services | Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC Volume, a modest revenue beat, and Adj. EBITDA above Achal Gupta expectations, reflecting solid execution against a challenging | Goldman Sachs India SPL operating backdrop. Mgmt highlighted continued pressure from a subdued labor market/macro environment and the shift toward automation in lower complexity work - themes that have persisted across the sector for several quarters. In total, this manifested itself (in terms of the forward commentary) in an increasingly bifurcated Key Data _____________________________________ Market cap: $1.3bn end market where commoditized work continues to face Enterprise value: $1.0bn 3m ADTV: $31.5mn disintermediation pressure while demand for higher-value, United States AI-oriented work is expanding. In total, themes of the earnings Americas Internet M&A Rank: 3 report can be framed as: 1) top line headwinds with a mgmt focus GS Forecast __________________________________ on managing resilience in the company’s margin structure; 2) faster 12/25 12/26E 12/27E 12/28E

and growing impact from the SMB Business Plus segment (GSV Revenue ($ mn) New Revenue ($ mn) Old +174% YoY; active clients +219% YoY); 3) AI related work (the future EBITDA ($ mn) EBIT ($ mn) of the platform shows the pathway for long-term sustained topline EPS ($) New momentum with an annual GSV run rate of $330m in Q2); 4) an EPS ($) Old P/E (X) ongoing shift toward few clients with higher (more resilient) spend Dividend yield (%) -- -- -- -- per client (with active clients declining YoY but GSV per active client Net debt/EBITDA (X) 0.3 (1.0) (1.9) (2.6)

grew + 5% YoY); & 5) continued progress executing against the 6/26 9/26E 12/26E 3/27E enterprise strategy, including migration to the Lifted platform, a EPS ($)

focus on larger contract sizes, and expansion of go to market GS Factor Profile ______________________________ Growth strategy. Financial Returns In the short-term, we expect investor debate will remain on the pace Multiple and cadence of the countervailing impacts on the business, where questions will linger around the visibility and trajectory to more Integrated

normalized growth. We still see UPWK as positively levered to a Percentile 20th 40th 60th 80th 100th large and growing TAM as the future of work evolves and companies look to adopt a hybrid workforce in the future (especially around UPWK relative to Americas Coverage UPWK relative to Americas Internet new catalysts/opportunities including AI & greater category specialization – driven by product innovation, share of wallet & the Source: Company data, Goldman Sachs Research estimates. See disclosures for details. Enterprise opportunity). We reiterate our Buy rating and adjust our 12-month PT from $17.50 to $11.50, reflecting our updated

Goldman Sachs does and seeks to do business with companies covered in its research reports. As a result, investors should be aware that the firm may have a conflict of interest that could affect the objectivity of this report. Investors should consider this report as only a single factor in making their investment decision. For Reg AC certification and other important disclosures, see the Disclosure Appendix, or go to Analysts employed by non-US affiliates are not registered/qualified as research analysts with FINRA in the U.S.

Goldman Sachs Upwork Inc. (UPWK)

Upwork Inc. (UPWK) Balance Sheet ($ mn) _______________________________________ BUY Rating since Jan 6, 2022 12/25 12/26E 12/27E 12/28E Cash & cash equivalents Accounts receivable Inventory -- -- -- -- Ratios & Valuation __________________________________________ Other current assets /25 12/26E 12/27E 12/28E Total current assets ,081.2 P/E (X) Net PP&E EV/EBITDA (X) 9.5 4.4 3.7 2.8 Net intangibles EV/sales (X) 2.7 1.4 1.1 0.9 Total investments 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 FCF yield (%) Other long-term assets EV/DACF (X) 9.4 4.6 3.8 3.0 Total…