Freelance marketplace Fiverr posted a 6.3% year-on-year (y-o-y) rise in revenue in Q1, to reach $93.5 million, in what it described as a “strong start to the year with Q1 results ahead of expectations.”

The revenue gain came despite the number of active buyers as of Mar. 31 dropping 6% to 4 million y-o-y, although spend per buyer (SPB) grew 8% to $284 over the period — the strongest growth in more than a year.

Take rate stood at 32.3% at the end of Q1, up from 30.4% on the year before.

GAAP net income in Q1 stood at $0.8 million, versus a net loss of $4.3 million in Q1 2023.

Non-GAAP net income was $21.7 million, compared to $14.6 million in the year-ago period.

Q1’s adjusted EBITDA came to $16.0 million, up from $11.3 million in Q1 2023, while the adjusted EBITDA margin worked out at 17.1%, compared to 12.8% in Q1 of last year.

“While we continue to operate in a very challenging macro with a weak hiring environment and the lowest SMB sentiment in over a decade, our efforts in going upmarket and driving growth in complex services are paying off,” said founder and CEO Micha Kaufman.

“As we think about building the next leg of growth for Fiverr, we are putting trust as our north star, and embracing AI to deepen our relationship with our customers and deliver the next-gen matching experience on our marketplace.”

The company said that strong execution on Fiverr Business Solutions and its push into complex services had enabled it to drive gross merchandise value (GMV) acceleration amid a difficult hiring environment.

“Our financial performance this quarter reflects the strength of our underlying business and the discipline and efficiency in our execution strategy,” said president and CFO Ofer Katz.

“We also announced our first-ever share repurchase program as we optimize our capital allocation strategy to deliver shareholder value while investing into the long-term growth of the company. For the remainder of 2024, we look to build on the momentum across our product portfolio and are on track to deliver on our full year guidance.”

Israel-based Fiverr is the world’s largest freelance marketplace by visits, with 50.7 million in April, according to Similarweb. It runs six country-specific domains for freelancing jobs.

Listed on the NYSE, it was established in 2010 by CEO Micha Kaufman and Shai Wininger. Headquartered in Tel Aviv, the company also has offices in Berlin, London, Miami, New York City, Phoenix and San Francisco.

Source: LinkedIn

Maurice Acker, erstwhile director of business customers at SMG Swiss Marketplace Group, has struck out in an entrepreneurial direction following his departure from his management role at SMG, as co-founder of a software engineering outsourcing startup.

Freelancer marketplace Pink Zebra, which will operate in Switzerland and South Africa, offers to “source and hire for our customers remote software developers, data analysts and digital specialists.”

In a LinkedIn post, the former director said the startup’s goal was “reshaping the future of software engineering outsourcing.”

Acker had held his role at SMG Swiss Marketplace Group, formerly Scout24 AG, for close to four and a half years.

He was replaced by Matthias Bischof, who took up the role of director of business clients at SMG Automotive on May 1.

SMG Automotive is part of the SMG Swiss Marketplace Group, a JV founded in 2021 by TX Group, Ringier, Mobiliar and General Atlantic. Its automotive portfolio includes AutoScout24 and MotoScout24.

Following the Apr. 1 announcement, Israeli law gives the company’s creditors the right to object to the share repurchase program until May 4, in which case, it would be subject to a court approval.

If no objection is filed, the share repurchase program will then become effective.

“We are pleased to announce the authorization of our first-ever stock repurchase program. This program reflects our confidence in the long-term opportunity for Fiverr and our commitment to creating shareholder value,” said president and CFO Ofer Katz.

“We have built a healthy balance sheet enabling us to continue to invest in our strategic initiatives while also returning capital to shareholders. We believe that our current stock price represents an attractive opportunity for a repurchase.”

Fiverr was established in 2010 by CEO Micha Kaufman and Shai Wininger. Headquartered in Tel Aviv, the company also has offices in Berlin, London, Miami, New York City, Phoenix and San Francisco.

It posted a 10.1% increase in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2023, taking the total to $91.5 million.

California-based freelance marketplace Upwork posted a 14% year-on-year rise in revenue to reach $184 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. Of that sum, marketplace revenue comprised $157 million, and enterprise revenue $26.4 million.

Full-year revenue in 2023 was up by 11% to stand at $689 million.

Net income in Q4 came to $17.4 million, versus a net loss of $16.5 million in Q4 2022. Net income for the whole of 2023 stood at $46.9, compared to a net loss of $89.9 million in 2022.

Upwork’s adjusted EBITDA totaled $30.5 million in Q4, compared to $1.1 million in the year-ago period. Adjusted EBITDA for 2023 was $73.1 million, against an adjusted EBITDA loss of $4.0 million in 2022.

The number of active clients rose by 5% y-o-y to 851,000 at the end of 2023, an all-time high.

Announcing its quarterly and full-year results, the company said that in 2023 it had “advanced Upwork as the premier destination for AI-related talent and work, with GSV from AI-related work growing 70% year-over-year.”

It noted that it had acquired the AI startup Headroom and appointed Andrew Rabinovich, formerly of Google and Magic Leap, as its head of AI and machine learning.

AI tools and customer experience innovations launched last year included Upwork chat pro, job post generator and proposal tips.

Upwork added that its enhanced suite of ads and monetization products were its fastest-growing revenue stream in 2023.

“Last year proved Upwork’s continued growth momentum and strong profitability. Our business is flexible and resilient, as the skilled talent on Upwork are a critical resource to businesses small and large,” said president and CEO Hayden Brown.

“Fueled by our continued investments in human-centered AI and innovation, growing advertising and subscription products, our differentiated enterprise offering, and new integrations with marquee partners, we are confident in and excited about our long-term strategic plan to drive growth and transform work in 2024 and beyond.”

The company is projecting revenue of between $183 million and $188 million in Q1 2024.

“In 2023, we proved our ability to produce profitable growth in a dynamic macro environment. The speed with which we strategically shifted to mid-teens adjusted EBITDA margins — taking just two quarters — reflects the strong operating leverage and agility of our business,” said CFO Erica Gessert.

“We have made great strides in the early innings of our AI journey, and we’re confident that we will continue to produce growing profit margins and free cash flow each year going forward.”

Founded in 2015, San Francisco-based Upwork describes itself as “the world’s largest work marketplace.” Its users earned over $3.8 billion on the site in 2023, according to company data.

According to its LinkedIn post, “The board works closely with our leadership team to improve our community’s overall experience. They leverage their invaluable insights and experiences and provide constructive feedback to help address freelancer challenges and anticipate industry trends or developments, keeping Malt at the forefront of innovation.”

The company adds that the 17-member board represents seven countries, encompassing eight job categories with a cumulative involvement in more than 500 projects on Malt.

Malt was founded in 2013 by Vincent Huguet and Hugo Lassiège. It operates across most of Western Europe and in the UAE. According to its LinkedIn page, it has worked with a total of 550,000 freelancers and 70,000 clients to date.

Cash receipts at Freelancer.com rose by 2.0% in Q3 to AUD11.4 million. Freelancer Limited said that Freelancer.com was EBITDA positive for the quarter but didn’t provide a specific figure.

Q3 saw the marketplace gain 1.6 million new users and 208,000 new projects. Average revenue per project size stood at $273 in the quarter, up by 1.9% y-o-y.

Overall, Freelancer Limited saw GMV fall by 3.0% to AUD222 million in Q3, weighed down by the 4.8% decline posted by Escrow.com, which accounts for the bulk of its revenue.

“Marketplace liquidity remains strong, with an average of 43 bids per project ([approximately] flat on pcp [prior calendar period]), and average entries per contest now at 335 (up 20.5% on pcp). Contests continue to be an exemplary method for accomplishing tasks,” the company stated.

It also noted the impact of AI: “We are observing a notable shift in the marketplace, where our users are rapidly embracing AI tools,” it noted.

“This adoption is considerably amplifying the pool of skilled labor in the marketplace, thereby boosting value and competitiveness. This is evident across areas including, but not limited to, copywriting, design, translation and video production, and we expect to see significant advances in AI tooling for software development and almost every other online profession.”

On the product and engineering side, the company said its focus this year had been on user-facing product, including personalization to drive core marketplace conversion via AI; collaborative features to drive retention, engagement and growth; improving acquisition through organic channels; and enhancing user experience and design.

Australia-based Freelancer.com was founded in 2009 and has been listed on the ASX since 2013.

According to a post on the website of the freelancer marketplace operator, this will “deliver a more comprehensive and unified approach to workforce management.”

The company also announced a set of integrations and APIs it said would “enable the Upwork Enterprise Suite to work seamlessly across an enterprise’s entire workforce ecosystem.”

It expects these partnerships and integrations to help its enterprise customers to scale and optimize their workforce by giving them direct access to over 10,000 skills in more than 180 countries and enabling them to centralize and streamline workforce management, onboarding and payment into existing workflows.

“Upwork’s dynamic synergy with VMS and MSP partners tackles many age-old challenges in our work ecosystem, revolutionizing project visibility, quality assurance, and industry standards adherence,” commented Christopher J. Dwyer, senior vice president of research at Ardent Partners and managing director of the Future of Work Exchange, in the post.

“The seamless integration of VMS and MSP services on Upwork is a game-changer, providing a holistic solution for businesses hungry for agile, on-demand talent. This not only ensures robust project oversight and compliance but also sparks a new, transformative era of workforce solutions collaboration.”

Upwork also unveiled a new enterprise dashboard, an AI-powered job post generator and Managed Services, a “high-touch, service-led program-management and full-project-lifecycle solution.”

“Our latest partnerships, integrations and enterprise product enhancements aim to streamline and elevate the entire work process and drive unmatched efficiency and productivity,” said Zoë Diamadi, general manager of enterprise at Upwork.

Founded in 2015, Upwork describes itself as “the world’s work marketplace.” Freelancers earned more than $3.8 billion on the site last year, according to the company.

Israel-based freelance marketplace Fiverr posted $92.5 million U.S. in revenue in the third quarter of 2023, up 12.1% ear-on-year (y-o-y).

The number of active buyers as of Sept. 30 was unchanged at 4.2 million versus a year ago. Spend per buyer rose by 4% y-o-y during the same period, to $271 from $262.

The company’s take rate (revenue as a proportion of gross merchandise value) stood at 31.3%, up from 30.0% over the year-earlier period.

Fiverr posted Q3 GAAP net income of $3.0 million, compared to a loss of $11.4 million in Q3 2022, while non-GAAP net income came to $22.6 million, versus $8.6 million in the year-earlier period.

Its adjusted EBITDA in Q3 2023 was $16.5 million, against $6.6 million in Q3 2022, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 17.9%, up from 7.9% in Q3 2022.

“We continue to innovate our offerings to help our community of businesses and freelancers,” said founder and CEO Micha Kaufman, in the company’s results announcements.

“We are making great progress with our new Fiverr Business Solutions and see healthy expansion in our seller tools,” added CFO Ofer Katz. “We look to finish the year strong and strategically drive growth and shareholder value.”

“We are pleased with our financial results, as our balance sheet remains strong and our adjusted EBITDA margin improved to 17.9% this quarter,” said. “We continue to scale our business and are focused on moving upmarket to serve higher lifetime value customers.”

Kaufman also touched on the humanitarian situation in Fiverr’s home market.

“The unexpected and appalling atrocities that happened in Israel on October 7 and the ongoing war triggered by the event have unavoidably impacted the region and the world,” he said.

“As a company, we are doing everything we can to help our employees, their families and the Fiverr community to safety and to support those who have been impacted by the attack and the war. We continue to operate at the highest level of focus and discipline, given the hybrid operation that’s already in place.”

The marketplace added that its Q4 2023 outlook and updated full year 2023 guidance would reflect the “volatility we experienced in our marketplace following the onset of the war in our region and the potential for increased volatility through the remainder of the year.”

Fiverr was established in 2010 by Kaufman and Shai Wininger. Headquartered in Tel Aviv, the company also has offices in Berlin, London, Miami, New York City, Phoenix and San Francisco.