Upwork Surges 20% On Earnings Beat, CEO Calls 2020 'Watershed Year'

Upwork Inc UPWK is surging after hours following the company's big fourth-quarter earnings beat.

Big Earnings Beat: Upwork reported quarterly earnings of 6 cents per share, which beat the analyst consensus estimate by 11 cents.

The company reported quarterly sales of $106.20 million, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $97.34 million by 9.1%. This is a 32.27% increase over sales of $80.29 million in the same period last year.

The company also issued first quarter and 2021 sales guidance above estimates.

Watershed Year: "2020 was a watershed year for Upwork. In the fourth quarter, we achieved our highest year-over-year growth since going public," CEO Hayden Brown said in the press release.

"Nearly a year into the pandemic, organizations are embracing remote work to unleash the potential of a global workforce of independent talent that gives them the agility, skills and efficiency they need," said Brown. "Our results demonstrate that we are optimally positioned to capture the exciting opportunity ahead by serving customers as the world's work marketplace."

UPWK Price Action: Upwork's stock traded up 18.2% to $61 at the time of publication in the after-hours session. The stock has a 52-week high of $60.44 and a 52-week low of $5.14 per share.

Benzinga's Luke Jacobi and Jason Raznick recently debated on "Power Hour" whether Upwork's stock is overvalued or undervalued. Check out the discussion in the video below: