Why is Upwork stock surging today?

Upwork stock surged 7.9% in pre-open trading to reach $10.49 after the company posted third-quarter 2026 results that handily topped analyst forecasts, with adjusted earnings per share of $0.40 beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 and revenue of $185.6 million exceeding the $180.25 million consensus — all released after Monday’s market close.

Adjusted EBITDA came in at $63.8 million, representing a 34.4% margin and surpassing the high end of the company’s own guidance range, while free cash flow reached $53.9 million for the quarter.

Alongside the earnings beat, Upwork announced that its subsidiary Lifted is acquiring WorkMotion, a Berlin-based employer-of-record firm, a deal management said is expected to drive Lifted GSV growth of more than 30% year-over-year in 2026.

The company also unveiled Upwork Now — a feature enabling clients to hire available freelancers on demand — and launched an MCP server opening the marketplace to AI agents as a new class of client; GSV from freelancers with AI skills jumped 55% year-over-year in the quarter.

On guidance, Upwork raised its full-year adjusted EPS outlook to $1.45–$1.47 (from $1.38–$1.43) and lifted its full-year adjusted EBITDA forecast to $236–$240 million, both above prior consensus. The company also announced a CFO transition, with Chief Business Officer Peter Sanborn set to succeed Erica Gessert on January 1, 2027.

The broader market provided a neutral-to-mildly supportive backdrop, with the NASDAQ edging up 0.3% while the S&P 500 was essentially flat and the Dow Jones dipped modestly, underscoring that today’s move in Upwork is almost entirely driven by company-specific news rather than macro tailwinds.

CEO Hayden Brown noted in the earnings release that "the launch of Upwork’s MCP server is opening our marketplace to AI agents as a new class of client," reinforcing the AI growth narrative that investors have been closely watching.

Taken together, the combination of a meaningful earnings beat, expanded profitability metrics, a strategically significant acquisition, new AI-driven product launches, and a raised full-year outlook gave investors multiple reasons to bid the stock sharply higher — carrying the after-hours momentum from Monday evening directly into today’s pre-market session, even as the stock remains well below its 52-week high of $22.84.