This is a step-by-step stock review to answer the question, is Upwork (UPWK) stock a good buy?
This article will teach you how to use the 4Ms of investing. This will be a detailed walkthrough to show you how the 4Ms work and why they are important. If you are interested, you can log into Tykr to use the 4M Confidence Booster (Powered by OpenAI) which will allow you to complete a 4M Analysis in less than 60 seconds.
What are the 4Ms?
- MOS (Margin of Safety) – The MOS is the math part of investing which includes the Summary, Score, and MOS (Margin of Safety).
- Meaning – The meaning is the business model and how scalable the revenue streams are.
- Moat – The moat is how the business compares to other companies in the same Sector and Industry.
- Management – The management is the track record of the CEO.
What 4M score are we going for?
- 80-100 = High confidence – Yay! You should have high confidence buying this stock. It passes all 4M!
- 60-79 = Moderate confidence – Alert! There may be better stocks in the market. Only buy this stock if you truly believe the company will improve!
- 0-59 = Low confidence – Warning! There are better stocks in the market. Due to the low score, you should consider looking at other stocks.
Table of Contents
The following links will direct you to key topics to help answer the question, is Upwork (UPWK) stock a good buy?
1. Upwork Company History
- Founded: 2015 through the merger of Elance and oDesk, both established platforms for freelance work.
- Initial Focus: Provided a platform for freelancers and clients to connect for various types of remote work.
- Rebranding: The merged entity was named Upwork, reflecting its expanded service offerings and global reach.
- Public Listing: Went public in 2018, trading under the ticker symbol UPWK.
- Growth: Continues to enhance its platform with tools for job matching, project management, and payment protection.
- Services: Offers a broad range of freelance services including writing, programming, design, and marketing.
- Recent Developments: Invested in expanding its global reach and improving user experience through technology and customer support.
- Headquarters: Located in Santa Clara, California.
2. MOS (Margin Of Safety)
When investing in a company, the first step is to look at the financials. Fortunately, Tykr does this for us automatically. The higher the score, the stronger the financials and the safer the investment. The higher the MOS, the higher the potential returns you can make.
- Summary: On Sale
- Score: 61
- MOS: 68%
To see the most up-to-date Summary, Score, and MOS, please log into Tykr.
3. Meaning
When investing in a company, it’s important to know how a company makes money. A mature business model has multiple streams of revenue which allow the company to weather downturns in the economy.
Here is how Upwork makes money:
- Service Fees: Earns revenue by charging a service fee on transactions between freelancers and clients. This fee is a percentage of the total payment.
- Subscription Plans: Generates income from freelancers and clients who pay for premium subscription plans that offer additional features and benefits.
- Payment Processing Fees: Collects fees for processing payments and handling transactions on the platform.
- Connects Purchases: Profits from the sale of “Connects,” which are credits freelancers use to apply for job listings on the site.
- Talent Solutions: Receives payments from businesses that use Upwork’s talent solutions for recruiting and managing freelance talent.
Here are a few of the other companies that Upwork has acquired over the years. This is important because a company will use a “Buy before build” philosophy to go to market faster and add additional streams of revenue. A company with more revenue streams has a more stable business model. Keep in mind, that most companies don’t build new software because it takes too long to go to market and generate revenue.
- Elance (2014)
- oDesk (2014)
- Moonlighting (2018)
- Rise (2021)
4. Moat
When investing in a company, it’s important to understand how a company ranks against other companies in the same sector and industry. Based on the Score, here is how Upwork stacks up against other companies.
- Kanzhun Limited.(BZ) – 78
- Paychex, Inc.(PAYX) – 67
- Automatic Data Processing, Inc.(ADP) – 61
- Upwork Inc.(UPWK) – 61
- Barrett Business Services, Inc.(BBSI) – 56
- HireQuest, Inc.(HQI) – 50
To see the most up-to-date Summary, Score, and MOS and each stock, please log into Tykr.
5. Management
When investing in a company, it’s important to understand who the CEO is, what they have accomplished in the past, and how they have helped this company grow. Good leaders typically have stronger cultures, less turnover, and better returns in the stock market.
- CEO Appointment (2020): Hayden Brown became CEO of Upwork in early 2020, making her one of the few female CEOs in the tech industry.
- Company Growth: Under her leadership, Upwork’s revenue and client base expanded significantly, as she focused on improving the platform’s user experience and attracting more businesses.
- Work Marketplace Vision: Brown championed the idea of a “work marketplace,” positioning Upwork as a leader in the freelancing industry, especially during the shift to remote work.
- Pandemic Response: She successfully navigated the company through the COVID-19 pandemic, leveraging the remote work boom to drive growth.
- Social Impact: Brown emphasized diversity, equity, and inclusion at Upwork, ensuring the platform served a broad range of freelancers and clients from various backgrounds
6. 4M Score
All of our homework on this company leads up to the 4M Score. A lot of investors only look at the numbers. Yes, it’s important to look at the first M (MOS) which is the math part of investing but it’s also important to look past the numbers and also look at the Meaning, Moat, and Management. If all 4Ms pass, we should have high confidence in buying this stock.
What 4M score are we going for?
- 80-100 = High confidence – Yay! You should have high confidence buying this stock. It passes all 4M!
- 60-79 = Moderate confidence – Alert! There may be better stocks in the market. Only buy this stock if you truly believe the company will improve!
- 0-59 = Low confidence – Warning! There are better stocks in the market. Due to the low score, you should consider looking at other stocks.
👉 The 4M Score of Upwork (UPWK) is 83/100.
To see the most up-to-date 4M Score, please log into Tykr.
7. Is Upwork (UPWK) stock a good buy?
Some of the top questions investors can have is Upwork (UPWK) stock a good buy or should I buy Upwork (UPWK) stock?
Upwork is a compelling investment due to its leadership in the growing freelancing and remote work market. As businesses increasingly embrace flexible work models, Upwork’s platform connects them with top global talent, driving revenue growth. Under CEO Hayden Brown, Upwork has focused on enhancing its user experience and expanding its client base, positioning it for long-term success. The company’s robust financial performance and strategic vision make it attractive to investors. However, competition from other freelancing platforms and economic fluctuations could impact growth. Investors should weigh Upwork’s market potential against these risks.
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To truly know if Upwork is a good stock to buy or sell, we recommend you log into Tykr. Within seconds you can see the Summary, Score, MOS, and 4M Score.
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The Summary, Score, and MOS of this stock may have changed since the posting of this review. Please login to Tykr to see up-to-date information.