The end of the earnings season is always a good time to take a step back and see who shined (and who not so much). Let’s take a look at how gig economy stocks fared in Q3, starting with Fiverr (NYSE: FVRR).
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 Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 0.6% below.
In light of this news, share prices of the companies have held steady. On average, they are relatively unchanged since the latest earnings results.
Fiverr (NYSE: FVRR)
Based in Tel Aviv, Fiverr (NYSE: FVRR) operates a fixed price global freelance marketplace for digital services.
Fiverr reported revenues of $107.9 million, up 8.3% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations, but overall, it was a mixed quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates but a decline in its buyers.
“With AI continuing to run through every facet of the business, our commitment to driving AI transformation and re-accelerating GMV growth is as focused as ever. Our recent strategic restructuring has prepared us to further this transformation and truly establish an AI-first mentality. What the market wants is clear, high-quality specialized talent, and the intentional investments we are making are already allowing us to capture these higher-value client projects,” said Micha Kaufman, founder and CEO of Fiverr.
Fiverr achieved the highest full-year guidance raise of the whole group. The company reported 3.3 million active buyers, down 12.6% year on year. Unsurprisingly, the stock is up 1.4% since reporting and currently trades at $21.92.
Is now the time to buy Fiverr? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.
Best Q3: 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 $201.7 million, up 4.1% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 4.3%. The business had a strong quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and full-year EBITDA guidance exceeding analysts’ expectations.
Upwork delivered the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. On a dimmer note, the company reported 794,000 active customers, down 7.1% year on year. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 11.4% since reporting. It currently trades at $17.40.
Is now the time to buy Upwork? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.
Weakest Q3: 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 $265.6 million, down 10.5% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 1.2%. It was a slower quarter as it posted a decline in its requests and a significant miss of analysts’ number of service requests estimates.
Angi delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates and slowest revenue growth in the group. The company reported 4.14 million service requests, down 7.7% year on year. As expected, the stock is down 11.3% since the results and currently trades at $11.42.
Read our full analysis of Angi’s results here.
Uber (NYSE: UBER)
Notoriously funded with $7.7 billion from the Softbank Vision Fund, Uber (NYSE: UBER) operates a platform of on-demand services such as ride-hailing, food delivery, and freight.
Uber reported revenues of $13.47 billion, up 20.4% year on year. This result surpassed analysts’ expectations by 1.5%. More broadly, it was a satisfactory quarter as it also produced strong growth in its users but a slight miss of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.
The company reported 189 million users, up 17.4% year on year. The stock is down 5.7% since reporting and currently trades at $94.14.
Read our full, actionable report on Uber here, it’s free for active Edge members.
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 $3.45 billion, up 27.3% year on year. This number beat analysts’ expectations by 2.6%. Zooming out, it was a slower quarter as it recorded EBITDA guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations significantly.
DoorDash delivered the fastest revenue growth among its peers. The company reported 776 million service requests, up 20.7% year on year. The stock is down 14.2% since reporting and currently trades at $204.08.
Read our full, actionable report on DoorDash here, it’s free for active Edge members.
Market Update
As a result of the Fed’s rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has come down from frothy levels post-pandemic. The general rise in the price of goods and services is trending towards the Fed’s 2% goal as of late, which is good news. The higher rates that fought inflation also didn't slow economic activity enough to catalyze a recession. So far, soft landing. This, combined with recent rate cuts (half a percent in September 2024 and a quarter percent in November 2024) have led to strong stock market performance in 2024. The icing on the cake for 2024 returns was Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. Presidential Election in early November, sending major indices to all-time highs in the week following the election. Still, debates around the health of the economy and the impact of potential tariffs and corporate tax cuts remain, leaving much uncertainty around 2025.
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