Upwork (UPWK) investor relations material

Business performance and market trends

• Enterprise revenue remained stable with expectations of 25% GSV growth, driven by new capabilities and acquisitions.

• SMB product, launched 18 months ago, achieved 34% quarter-over-quarter GSV growth and is the fastest-growing product in company history.

• Marketplace Basic plan, representing 85% of revenue, saw spending declines among very small businesses due to macroeconomic pressures.

• Volatility in small business spending was widespread across categories, not limited to specific work types or AI impact.

• Larger SMBs and enterprise clients are more resilient, providing stability and growth opportunities.

AI impact and automation

• Smallest jobs on the platform are increasingly automated, with 10% of GSV exposed to high automation risk, down from 11% a year ago.

• AI-related work categories are growing rapidly, with a $300M+ annualized run rate and 40% year-over-year growth.

• Customers seek human experts to supervise AI-generated work, leading to the upcoming launch of a human-supervised agent product.

• AI is driving both substitution of low-end tasks and creation of new job types, maintaining a high refresh rate of work.

• 20% of enterprise pipeline projects are now AI-related, signaling strong future demand.

Operational efficiency and workforce changes

• Headcount reduced from 850 to 480 over several years, focusing on profitability and efficiency.

• AI and automation contributed to efficiency, but reductions were mainly due to disciplined cost management and workflow optimization.

• 70%+ of customer support inquiries are now resolved by AI agents, with further improvements expected.

• Key investment areas in marketing, enterprise, SMB, and AI were protected during workforce reductions.

• Margin improved from -1% in 2022 to 29% in 2025, with a target of 35% considered sustainable.