Upwork (UPWK) Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] (2018 - 2026)
Upwork (UPWK) reported Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] of 14.55% for Q3 2026, down 3.76 percentage points from 18.31% a year earlier and down 4.63 percentage points from the prior quarter.
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Analysis
Upwork (UPWK) Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] (2018 - 2026) Analysis & Trends
For FY2025, Upwork posted Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] of 21.36%, up 13.74 percentage points from FY2024.
- Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] has increased for three consecutive years, with a five-year change of +29.11 percentage points (FY2020 to FY2025).
- By year, Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] came in at 7.62% in FY2024 (+9.09 pp), -1.47% in FY2023 (+9.65 pp), -11.12% in FY2022 (-1.63 pp) and -9.49% in FY2021 (-1.73 pp).
- The Q3 2026 figure ranks as the lowest quarterly Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] since Q2 2025.
- Year over year, Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] gained in seven of the last eight quarters, with an average year-over-year change of +7.01 percentage points.
- The high point for year-over-year Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] in five years was Q2 2024 (a gain of 18.56 percentage points); the low point was Q3 2022 (a drop of 5.88 percentage points).
- Per Business Quant data, the three quarters before Q3 2026 came in at 19.18% (Q2 2026), 19.78% (Q1 2026) and 19.73% (Q4 2025).
Peer Set
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | ROCE (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alphabet | 3,505.75 Bn | 3,240.65 Bn | 76.16 Bn | 18.96% |
| 2 | Meta Platforms | 1,636.37 Bn | 1,300.89 Bn | 51.23 Bn | 19.78% |
| 3 | Netflix | 264.79 Bn | 226.09 Bn | 6.80 Bn | 33.64% |
| 4 | Alibaba Group Holding | 244.49 Bn | 58.13 Bn | 15.16 Bn | 2.15% |
| 5 | Shopify | 196.00 Bn | 174.81 Bn | 1.78 Bn | 15.96% |
| 6 | Uber Technologies | 145.16 Bn | 115.98 Bn | 6.42 Bn | 13.04% |
| 7 | AppLovin | 136.87 Bn | 125.40 Bn | 1.94 Bn | 85.44% |
| 8 | Spotify Technology | 125.04 Bn | 81.96 Bn | 1.89 Bn | 20.03% |
| 9 | Booking Holdings | 122.68 Bn | 56.42 Bn | - | 96.01% |
| 10 | Upwork | 1.22 Bn | -951.96 Mn | 141.30 Mn | 14.55% |
Historic Data
Download Data
Historic Data
| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| Sep 30, 2026 | 14.55% |
| Jun 30, 2026 | 19.18% |
| Mar 31, 2026 | 19.78% |
| Dec 31, 2025 | 19.73% |
| Sep 30, 2025 | 18.31% |
| Jun 30, 2025 | 10.88% |
| Mar 31, 2025 | 9.55% |
| Dec 31, 2024 | 7.51% |
| Sep 30, 2024 | 7.99% |
| Jun 30, 2024 | 7.05% |
| Mar 31, 2024 | 3.68% |
| Dec 31, 2023 | -1.59% |
| Sep 30, 2023 | -5.80% |
| Jun 30, 2023 | -11.51% |
| Mar 31, 2023 | -12.66% |
| Dec 31, 2022 | -11.13% |
| Sep 30, 2022 | -11.26% |
| Jun 30, 2022 | -9.21% |
| Mar 31, 2022 | -8.48% |
| Dec 31, 2021 | -6.35% |
API Access
Upwork Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] API
Pull this series into your own models, spreadsheets and apps with the Business Quant
Historical Metrics API. The request below matches the chart above — change the
frequency, period or values and it follows. Swap YOUR_API_KEY for your own key.
https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=return-on-capital-employed-%5Broce%5D&ticker=UPWK&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEYimport requests
url = "https://data.businessquant.com/historic"
params = {"slug": "return-on-capital-employed-[roce]", "ticker": "UPWK", "period": "max", "api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY"}
data = requests.get(url, params=params).json()const res = await fetch("https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=return-on-capital-employed-%5Broce%5D&ticker=UPWK&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY");
const data = await res.json();