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.
Although it had a fine quarter compared to its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 8.7% since reporting. It currently trades at $1.57.
Is now the time to buy Angi? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.
Weakest Q4: Fiverr (NYSE:FVRR)
Based in Tel Aviv, Fiverr (NYSE:FVRR) operates a fixed price global freelance marketplace for digital services.
Fiverr reported revenues of $103.7 million, up 13.3% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 2.3%. Still, it was a slower quarter as it posted a decline in its buyers and EBITDA guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations.
As expected, the stock is down 23.3% since the results and currently trades at $25.38.
Read our full analysis of Fiverr’s results here.
DoorDash (NASDAQ:DASH)
Founded by Stanford students with the intent to build “the local, on-demand FedEx", DoorDash (NYSE:DASH) operates an on-demand food delivery platform.
DoorDash reported revenues of $2.87 billion, up 24.8% year on year. This result topped analysts’ expectations by 1.1%. Aside from that, it was a mixed quarter as it also logged strong growth in its requests but EBITDA guidance for next quarter slightly missing analysts’ expectations.
The company reported 685 million service requests, up 19.3% year on year. The stock is down 5% since reporting and currently trades at $183.50.
Read our full, actionable report on DoorDash here, it’s free.
Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT)
Founded by Logan Green and John Zimmer as a long-distance intercity carpooling company Zimride, Lyft (NASDAQ: LYFT) operates a ridesharing network in the US and Canada.
Lyft reported revenues of $1.55 billion, up 26.6% year on year. This number came in 0.9% below analysts' expectations. Taking a step back, it was a mixed quarter as it also recorded an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.
Lyft scored the fastest revenue growth but had the weakest performance against analyst estimates among its peers. The company reported 24.7 million users, up 10.3% year on year. The stock is down 18% since reporting and currently trades at $11.83.
Read our full, actionable report on Lyft here, it’s free.
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