Upwork Inc (UPWK) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Upwork fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.

您好，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加 Upwork 2024 年第四季和全年財報電話會議。（操作員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄音。

I will now hand the conference over to your speaker today, Samuel Meehan, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

現在，我將會議交給今天的發言人、投資者關係副總裁 Samuel Meehan。請繼續。

Thank you, and welcome to Upwork's discussion of its fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 financial results. Joining me today are Hayden Brown, Upwork's President and Chief Executive Officer; and Erica Gessert, Upwork's Chief Financial Officer. Following management's prepared remarks, they will be happy to take your questions. But first, I'll review the Safe Harbor statement. During this call, we may make statements related to our business that are forward-looking statements under federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements include all statements other than statements of historical fact. These statements are not guarantees of future performance, but rather are subject to a variety of risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. Our actual results could differ materially from expectations reflected in any forward-looking statements. For a discussion of the material risks and other important factors that could affect our actual results, please refer to our SEC filings available on the SEC website and on our Investor Relations website as well as the risks and other important factors discussed in today's earnings press release. Additional information will also be set forth in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, when filed.

謝謝，歡迎參加 Upwork 對其 2024 年第四季和全年財務表現的討論。今天與我一起參加的是 Upwork 總裁兼執行長海登布朗 (Hayden Brown)；以及 Upwork 的財務長 Erica Gessert。在管理層發表準備好的發言後，他們會很樂意回答您的問題。但首先，我將回顧安全港聲明。在本次電話會議中，我們可能會做出與我們的業務相關的聲明，這些聲明根據聯邦證券法屬於前瞻性聲明。前瞻性陳述包括除歷史事實陳述之外的所有陳述。這些聲明並不能保證未來的表現，而是會受到各種風險、不確定性和假設的影響。我們的實際結果可能與任何前瞻性陳述所反映的預期有重大差異。有關可能影響我們實際結果的重大風險和其他重要因素的討論，請參閱美國證券交易委員會網站和投資者關係網站上提供的美國證券交易委員會文件以及今天的收益新聞稿中討論的風險和其他重要因素。其他資訊也將在我們提交的截至 2024 年 12 月 31 日的 10-K 表年度報告中列出。

In addition, reference will be made to certain non-GAAP financial measures. Information regarding non-GAAP financial measures, including reconciliations to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures can be found in the press release that was issued this afternoon on our Investor Relations website at investors.upwork.com.

此外，也將參考某些非公認會計準則財務指標。有關非 GAAP 財務指標的信息，包括與最直接可比較的 GAAP 財務指標的對賬，可在今天下午在我們投資者關係網站 investors.upwork.com 上發布的新聞稿中找到。

Unless otherwise noted, reported figures are rounded, comparisons of the fourth quarter of 2024 are to the fourth quarter of 2023, and comparisons of the full year 2024 are to the full year 2023. Adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, and free cash flow are non-GAAP financial measures and all other financial measures are GAAP unless cited as non-GAAP.

除非另有說明，報告的數字均經過四捨五入，2024 年第四季與 2023 年第四季進行比較，2024 年全年與 2023 年全年進行比較。調整後的 EBITDA、調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率和自由現金流是非 GAAP 財務指標，所有其他財務指標均為 GAAP，除非註明為非 GAAP。

Now I'll turn the call over to Hayden.

現在我將電話轉給海登。

Good afternoon, and welcome to Upwork's fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 earnings call. Upwork had a record year in 2024 with all-time highs for full-year revenue, adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted EBITDA margin. The strategic foundation for Upwork has never been stronger nor more timely. As the AI work tide builds, organizations of all sizes are seeking out more flexible talent models that match their needs for new and emerging skills with partners who integrate cutting-edge AI technology and valued human workers seamlessly and at scale to rapidly deliver on their priorities. At the same time, professionals across geographies, specialties, and industries want digitally powered ways of working that give them easy access to more autonomy, flexibility, and earning power. Upwork is uniquely positioned to capitalize on these massive work trends. We are delivering new and exciting ways for businesses to access the expert global talent and work outcomes they need and for highly skilled professionals to find lucrative work opportunities and grow their independent careers.

下午好，歡迎參加 Upwork 2024 年第四季和全年財報電話會議。2024 年，Upwork 創下了創紀錄的全年營收、調整後 EBITDA 和調整後 EBITDA 利潤率的歷史新高。Upwork 的策略基礎從未如此強大且及時。隨著人工智慧工作潮流的興起，各種規模的組織都在尋求更靈活的人才模式，以滿足他們對新興技能的需求，並與合作夥伴無縫、大規模地整合尖端人工智慧技術與有價值的人類員工，以快速實現他們的優先事項。同時，不同地區、專業和行業的專業人士都希望透過數位化的工作方式，輕鬆獲得更多的自主權、靈活性和獲利能力。Upwork 擁有獨特的優勢，可以利用這些大規模的工作趨勢。我們正在為企業提供全新且令人興奮的方式，幫助他們獲得所需的全球專業人才和工作成果，並幫助高技能專業人士找到豐厚的工作機會並發展他們的獨立職業生涯。

Last year was a year of transformation for Upwork. We achieved a record performance in the face of a challenging macroeconomic environment. We optimized the organization to increase efficiency and execution velocity, creating a leaner, more agile company that is moving faster and operating more profitably than ever before. We gained market share and substantially outperformed the incumbent staffing industry, a testament to the inherent advantages of our business model, the resilience of our platform, and Upwork's industry-leading innovation and scale. We grew revenue 12% year over year in 2024 compared to an estimated 9% in year-over-year decline in the broader staffing industry. This was the sixth consecutive year of double-digit growth outperformance for Upwork compared to the staffing industry, and we expect the strategic moves we made in 2024 to fuel our continued industry outperformance this year.

去年是 Upwork 轉型的一年。面對嚴峻的宏觀經濟環境，我們取得了創紀錄的表現。我們優化了組織結構，提高了效率和執行速度，創造了一個更精簡、更敏捷的公司，其發展速度和獲利能力比以往任何時候都要高。我們獲得了市場份額，並且大幅超越了現有的人員配備行業，這證明了我們商業模式的固有優勢、我們平台的彈性以及 Upwork 行業領先的創新和規模。到 2024 年，我們的收入將年增 12%，而整個人力資源產業的收入預計將年減 9%。這是 Upwork 連續第六年實現高於人力資源產業的兩位數成長，我們預計 2024 年採取的策略性舉措將推動我們今年繼續超越產業。

2025 will be a year of accelerated execution around our focused portfolio of growth catalysts: AI, Enterprise, and ads and monetization. I'll discuss each of these catalysts and how they load the spring for 2026, setting us up for long-term success.

2025 年將是我們加速執行重點成長催化劑組合的一年：人工智慧、企業、廣告和貨幣化。我將討論每個催化劑以及它們如何為 2026 年的春天做好準備，為我們的長期成功做好準備。

First, AI. We've rapidly unlocked demand for AI-related work on our platform. GSV from AI-related work grew 60% year over year in 2024, lifted by subsets of AI work like prompt engineering, which was up 93% year over year in the fourth quarter. AI-related work is substantially higher paying with freelancers working on AI-related projects, earning 44% more per hour than those working on non-AI-related projects across the platform in 2024. And the number of Upwork clients engaging in AI-related projects grew 42% year over year in 2024, an encouraging signal about the ability of our model and the talent on Upwork to continuously address critical skill gaps and business needs at the most advanced technology frontiers.

首先，人工智慧。我們迅速釋放了平台上對人工智慧相關工作的需求。2024 年，人工智慧相關工作產生的 GSV 將年增 60%，這得益於人工智慧工作子集（如即時工程）的推動，該子集在第四季度同比增長 93%。從事人工智慧相關專案的自由工作者的人工智慧相關工作薪資要高得多，到 2024 年，整個平台上從事非人工智慧相關專案的自由工作者的每小時收入比從事非人工智慧相關專案的自由工作者高出 44%。2024 年，參與人工智慧相關專案的 Upwork 客戶數量年增 42%，這是一個令人鼓舞的訊號，表明我們的模式和 Upwork 上的人才能夠不斷解決最先進技術前沿的關鍵技能差距和業務需求。

We're also leveraging AI on our platform to underpin the evolution of predictive and delightful conversational customer experiences. In 2024, we improved customer productivity, engagement, and work outcomes with Uma, Upwork's Mindful AI. For example, more than 70% of new clients are opting into using our Uma-powered job post generator, and its use is increasing job post activity, job post quality and job fill rates. For example, our high-value jobs from new clients are filling at an 8% higher rate since the introduction of Uma. We added additional capabilities to Uma over the course of 2024 such as proposal writing for talent, which lifted bid volumes by 2.5%.Our fourth-quarter acquisition of objective AI and AI-native search as a service company is already enhancing our search and match results, helping us end the year with all-time high fill rates. As we accelerate execution of our AI road map in 2025, Uma and our other AI innovations will continue to drive our flywheel with even better matching experiences, more productivity for customers, and higher quality work outcomes.

我們也利用平台上的人工智慧來支援預測性和令人愉悅的對話式客戶體驗的發展。2024 年，我們藉助 Upwork 的 Mindful AI Uma 提高了客戶生產力、參與度和工作成果。例如，超過 70% 的新客戶選擇使用我們由 Uma 提供支援的職位發布產生器，並且它的使用正在提高職位發布活動、職位發布品質和職位填充率。例如，自從推出 Uma 以來，來自新客戶的高價值工作填補率提高了 8%。2024 年，我們為 Uma 增加了其他功能，例如為人才撰寫提案，這使投標量增加了 2.5%。收購客觀人工智慧和人工智慧原生搜尋即服務公司已經增強了我們的搜尋和匹配結果，幫助我們在今年年底實現歷史最高填充率。隨著我們在 2025 年加速實施我們的 AI 路線圖，Uma 和我們的其他 AI 創新將繼續推動我們的飛輪，提供更好的匹配體驗、更高的客戶生產力和更高品質的工作成果。

Second, Enterprise. In Q4, we outperformed our Enterprise targets, which was one of the main reasons for our overperformance in the quarter compared to our overall revenue guidance. We saw increased engagement from retained customers in the quarter with GSV per active enterprise account growing year over year for the first time in recent quarters. Managed services revenue also grew 12% year over year in 2024, reflecting increasing demand for delivery of fully managed work outcomes among some of our largest clients. Overall, Enterprise was a $107 million business for us in 2024, growing 4% year over year against an incredibly challenging macroeconomic environment in which Enterprise companies were trimming budgets across the board.

第二、企業。在第四季度，我們超額完成了企業目標，這也是我們本季表現超出整體營收預期的主要原因之一。我們看到本季留存客戶的參與度有所提高，每個活躍企業帳戶的 GSV 在最近幾季首次較去年同期成長。2024 年託管服務收入也較去年同期成長 12%，反映出我們一些最大的客戶對提供全面託管工作成果的需求不斷增加。總體而言，到 2024 年，Enterprise 對我們來說是一項價值 1.07 億美元的業務，在極具挑戰性的宏觀經濟環境下，Enterprise 公司全面削減預算，但這項業務仍同比增長 4%。

We have taken further steps to capture the Enterprise opportunity with the announcement of Upwork Business Plus in October. Business Plus is a premium plan that provides a smoother glide path for larger clients and is closing the gap between our current Marketplace and Enterprise offerings. The launch of Business Plus is unlocking a higher velocity approach to the enterprise market with both sales and self-service channels working in tandem to activate and retain high-value clients. We acquired over 1,000 active users of Business Plus since launch and are seeing higher conversion rates of clients using Business Plus, moving from registration to job post and registration to project start when compared to our overall Marketplace clients. Business Plus is just one of multiple expansion opportunities underway for us to take increased wallet share in Enterprise, including ongoing product work and integrations with several partners as we pursue new growth opportunities.

隨著 10 月 Upwork Business Plus 的發布，我們已採取進一步措施抓住企業機會。Business Plus 是一項高級計劃，它為大客戶提供了更順暢的滑行路徑，並縮小了我們當前的市場和企業產品之間的差距。Business Plus 的推出為企業市場開闢了更快速的方法，透過銷售和自助服務管道協同工作來啟動和留住高價值客戶。自推出以來，我們獲得了超過 1,000 名 Business Plus 活躍用戶，與我們的整體 Marketplace 客戶相比，使用 Business Plus 的客戶轉換率更高，從註冊到發布職位，從註冊到專案開始。Business Plus 只是我們正在進行的多個擴展機會之一，可以幫助我們在企業中增加錢包份額，其中包括正在進行的產品工作以及與多個合作夥伴的整合，以尋求新的成長機會。

Finally, our ads and monetization business continued to provide a substantive revenue tailwind while enhancing Marketplace quality, efficiency, and take rate. Ads and monetization of revenue grew 51% year over year in 2024 with Freelancer Plus revenue increasing 58% year over year as we further augmented the value of that subscription package for talent. We continue to introduce new ads and monetization products and capabilities and make our existing options more effective for customers. We expect ads and monetization to drive continued take rate increases in 2025, albeit at a more modest pace as we let changes made in 2024 continue to settle and optimize current ads and monetization products.

最後，我們的廣告和貨幣化業務持續提供實質的收入順風，同時提高市場品質、效率和接受率。2024 年，廣告和營收貨幣化年增 51%，其中 Freelancer Plus 營收年增 58%，因為我們進一步提升了該人才訂閱方案的價值。我們將繼續推出新的廣告和貨幣化產品和功能，並使我們現有的選擇對客戶更有效。我們預計，廣告和貨幣化將在 2025 年推動收費率持續上漲，儘管速度會比較溫和，因為我們會讓 2024 年所做的改變繼續穩定和優化當前的廣告和貨幣化產品。

2024 was a transformational year for Upwork as we injected further discipline and agility into the business. 2025 will be marked by accelerated execution as we build on last year's progress, executing with the speed of a start-up and the scale of a market leader to deliver record profitability now and durable growth in the years ahead.

2024 年是 Upwork 轉型的一年，我們為業務注入了進一步的紀律和敏捷性。 2025 年將以加速執行為標誌，因為我們將在去年進展的基礎上再接再厲，以新創企業的速度和市場領導者的規模執行，以實現當前創紀錄的盈利能力和未來幾年的持久增長。

This year, we intend to gain further market share from traditional staffing firms, leveraging our competitive edge as a source for the most in-demand talent, including those with AI skills, and notching bigger wins for our Enterprise business. We are investing in AI innovation to rapidly reimagine the way our business operates, every corner of our platform experience and how our customers achieve outcomes with our continued advances of Uma as an always-on work agent and integration of Objective AI's AI-first search technology, serving as prime examples.

今年，我們打算從傳統人力資源公司手中奪取更多的市場份額，利用我們的競爭優勢，吸引最搶手的人才，包括擁有人工智慧技能的人才，為我們的企業業務取得更大的勝利。我們正在投資人工智慧創新，以快速重塑我們的業務運作方式、我們平台體驗的每個角落以及我們的客戶如何透過我們不斷改進的 Uma 作為永遠在線的工作代理和整合 Objective AI 的人工智慧優先搜尋技術來取得成果，這些都是最佳範例。

These accelerated priorities, combined with the inherent size, scale and yield advantages of our business will allow us to continue to lead our category. As we build the future of human and AI-powered work, we are excited about the strategic plan we are rapidly executing to deliver a powerful combination of growth, profitability, and shareholder value in the quarters and years ahead.

這些加速的優先事項，加上我們業務固有的規模和收益優勢，將使我們能夠繼續保持行業領先地位。在我們建立人類和人工智慧工作的未來時，我們對正在迅速執行的戰略計劃感到非常興奮，該計劃將在未來幾個季度和幾年內實現強大的增長、盈利能力和股東價值的組合。

With that, I'll turn the call over to our CFO, Erica Gessert.

說完這些，我將把電話轉給我們的財務長 Erica Gessert。

Thanks, Hayden. Upwork finished 2024 in a position of strength within a tough operating environment. Our pace of execution continues to accelerate. And despite the headwind environment over the past couple of years, our financial position has never been stronger. For the full year and the fourth quarter of 2024, we delivered record revenue and profitability, and our growing free cash flow profile and strong balance sheet give us tremendous flexibility, even as the operating environment for our industry remains challenging and unpredictable. The strong profitability characteristics of our marketplace model give us confidence that we will continue to increase margins and generate value for our customers and shareholders while investing in growth over the next few years.

謝謝，海登。2024 年，Upwork 在艱困的營運環境中維持了強勁發展動能。我們的執行步伐不斷加快。儘管過去幾年環境不利，但我們的財務狀況從未如此強勁。2024 年全年和第四季度，我們實現了創紀錄的收入和盈利能力，即使我們行業的營運環境仍然充滿挑戰且難以預測，我們不斷增長的自由現金流狀況和強勁的資產負債表也為我們提供了極大的靈活性。我們的市場模式強大的獲利特徵使我們有信心在未來幾年繼續提高利潤率並為我們的客戶和股東創造價值，同時投資於成長。

We have been building the growth levers Hayden just outlined to be catalysts for our business over the medium to long term. And when macroeconomic conditions improve, these catalysts will be additional growth drivers for us. As we head into 2025, our outlook reflects our caution with regard to the current macroeconomic environment. While some of the indicators we watch for our business, such as the JOLTS report and other macro data, showed signs of stabilization in Q4, they remain at multi-year lows. Historically, these indicators tend to have a six- to nine-month lag effect on our business. The current macro uncertainty makes us cautious about the outlook for 2025. But despite that, Upwork continues to perform well, and we are executing across every area of our business.

我們一直在建立海登剛才概述的成長槓桿，以作為中長期業務發展的催化劑。當宏觀經濟條件改善時，這些催化劑將成為我們的額外成長動力。當我們邁入 2025 年時，我們的展望反映了我們對當前宏觀經濟環境的謹慎態度。雖然我們關注的一些業務指標（例如 JOLTS 報告和其他宏觀數據）在第四季度顯示出穩定的跡象，但仍處於多年來的低點。從歷史上看，這些指標往往會對我們的業務產生六到九個月的滯後效應。目前的宏觀不確定性使我們對 2025 年的前景持謹慎態度。但儘管如此，Upwork 仍然表現良好，並且我們在業務的各個領域都表現良好。

Now on to our results. As I mentioned, we are ending the year with record-high revenue and profitability. Our gross margin was 77.7% for Q4 and 77.4% for the full year 2024. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 26.2% for Q4 and 21.8% for the full year 2024, both all-time highs. Our adjusted EBITDA margins have expanded by 26 points in the last eight quarters, and we remain on track to hit our five-year 35% adjusted EBITDA margin target. Revenue grew 4% year over year to $191.5 million in the quarter and 12% for the full year to a record $769.3 million, above our previous guidance and driven by stronger-than-expected engagement from retained Enterprise and Marketplace clients. When normalized for the Sunday effect, Q4 revenue growth was 8% year over year. As a reminder, GSV and revenue growth rates were impacted by fewer Sundays in the fourth quarter in 2024 versus 2023. Excluding the Sunday effect, GSV declined 3.6% year over year in Q4 and has been relatively stable for three quarters now, following the top-of-funnel pressure we experienced in the second quarter. In Q4, we drove better-than-expected performance across both our Marketplace and our Enterprise business units.

現在來看看我們的結果。正如我所提到的，我們以創紀錄的收入和利潤結束了今年的財年。我們的第四季毛利率為 77.7%，2024 年全年毛利率為 77.4%。2024 年第四季調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 26.2%，全年調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 21.8%，均創歷史新高。在過去八個季度中，我們的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率擴大了 26 個百分點，我們仍有望實現五年內 35% 的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率目標。本季營收年增 4% 至 1.915 億美元，全年成長 12% 至創紀錄的 7.693 億美元，高於我們先前的預期，這得益於保留的企業和市場客戶的參與度強於預期。考慮到週日效應後，第四季營收年增 8%。提醒一下，與 2023 年相比，2024 年第四季的周日數量減少對 GSV 和收入成長率產生了影響。除去週日的影響，GSV 在第四季度同比下降了 3.6%，並且在第二季度經歷漏斗頂部壓力之後，已經連續三個季度保持相對穩定。在第四季度，我們的市場和企業業務部門的業績均優於預期。

Fourth-quarter Marketplace revenue was $163.7 million, a 4% increase compared to $157.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. And we continue to grow our Enterprise business in a challenging market with total Enterprise revenue increasing 5% year over year to $27.8 million in Q4 and 4% year over year to $107.2 million for the full year. As I mentioned last quarter, Business Plus is reported as Marketplace revenue, and we expected our traditional Enterprise plan deal number to decline in the fourth quarter as we shifted our focus to the growth of Business Plus and higher value, more strategic accounts. During the fourth quarter, we closed 21 traditional enterprise deals. Managed Services revenue grew 8% year over year for the fourth quarter and 12% to $59.4 million for the full year, reflecting steady demand for outcome-based delivery of work and our focus on expanding share of wallet amongst our largest enterprise clients.

第四季 Marketplace 營收為 1.637 億美元，較 2023 年第四季的 1.575 億美元成長 4%。我們在充滿挑戰的市場中持續發展企業業務，第四季企業總營收年增 5% 至 2,780 萬美元，全年成長 4% 至 1.072 億美元。正如我上個季度提到的，Business Plus 被報告為市場收入，我們預計傳統企業計畫交易數量將在第四季度下降，因為我們將重點轉移到 Business Plus 的成長和更高價值、更具策略性的帳戶。第四季度，我們完成了 21 筆傳統企業交易。第四季託管服務收入年增 8%，全年增長 12%，達到 5,940 萬美元，這反映了對基於成果的工作交付的穩定需求，以及我們對擴大最大企業客戶錢包份額的關注。

Our active client base at the end of 2024 was 832,000 and reflecting top-of-funnel weakness experienced earlier in the year. Our average spend or GSV per active client showed continued strength in the fourth quarter, increasing sequentially across every business segment for the second consecutive quarter. We are very pleased with this progress, which is a reflection of the substantial customer experience improvements we've invested in over the past several quarters, including the launch of Uma and the AI enablement of our platform.

截至 2024 年底，我們的活躍客戶群為 832,000 人，反映出今年稍早經歷的漏斗頂端疲軟。我們每位活躍客戶的平均支出或 GSV 在第四季度繼續保持強勁勢頭，連續第二個季度在所有業務部門實現環比增長。我們對這一進展感到非常高興，這反映了我們在過去幾季中對客戶體驗改進的大量投入，包括 Uma 的推出和我們平台的 AI 支援。

Our marketplace take rate was 18.1% in Q4 2024 compared to 15.9% in the fourth quarter of 2023, driven by pricing improvements and continued growth in our ads and monetization business. In 2025, we expect more modest take rate accretion driven by the ongoing growth in our ads and monetization businesses rather than wholesale pricing changes. We continue to focus on introducing new and innovative ways to bring value to our customers in our marketplace, and we expect to continue to launch new experiences that will drive meaningful take rate expansion in 2026 and beyond.

2024 年第四季度，我們的市場接受率為 18.1%，而 2023 年第四季為 15.9%，這得益於定價改善以及廣告和貨幣化業務的持續成長。到 2025 年，我們預計收費率將出現更溫和的成長，這主要得益於我們的廣告和貨幣化業務的持續成長，而非批發價格的變化。我們將繼續專注於推出新的創新方式，為我們市場上的客戶帶來價值，並期望繼續推出新的體驗，以推動 2026 年及以後有意義的費率擴張。

Non-GAAP gross margin reached a record high of 78% as we continue to execute disciplined cost management across every part of our business. Non-GAAP operating expense was $102.7 million in the fourth quarter. For the full year, non-GAAP operating expense was $442.3 million or 57% of revenue, a 9-percentage-point improvement over 2023. This reflects our continued focus on cost management, and we expect to see additional cost savings in our operating expenses in 2025 as the actions taken at the end of last year flow through to our full-year results.

由於我們繼續在業務的各個環節執行嚴格的成本管理，非公認會計準則毛利率達到了 78% 的歷史新高。第四季非公認會計準則營業費用為 1.027 億美元。全年非公認會計準則營業費用為 4.423 億美元，佔收入的 57%，比 2023 年提高了 9 個百分點。這反映了我們對成本管理的持續關注，並且隨著去年年底採取的行動滲透到我們的全年業績中，我們預計 2025 年我們的營運費用將進一步節省成本。

Adjusted EBITDA was $50.2 million in the fourth quarter, representing adjusted EBITDA margin of 26.2%. Adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter excludes the impact of a $19.2 million charge associated with the operational realignment that we announced in October. For the full year, adjusted EBITDA was a record $167.6 million and well ahead of our guidance range of $155 million to $159 million, reflecting our commitment to prudent cost management and profitable growth. In the coming years, we will continue to raise the bar on our yield expectations for this business.

第四季調整後 EBITDA 為 5,020 萬美元，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 26.2%。第四季度的調整後 EBITDA 不包括我們 10 月宣布的營運調整相關的 1,920 萬美元費用的影響。全年調整後的 EBITDA 達到創紀錄的 1.676 億美元，遠高於我們 1.55 億美元至 1.59 億美元的預期範圍，反映了我們對審慎成本管理和獲利成長的承諾。未來幾年，我們將繼續提高該業務的收益預期。

We reported GAAP net income of $147.2 million for the fourth quarter, which included a $140.3 million tax benefit due to a valuation allowance release. Excluding this benefit, we reported non-GAAP net income of $42.4 million for the fourth quarter. For the year, non-GAAP net income was $147.1 million, a historic high.Stock-based compensation of $68.4 million in 2024 declined 8% from the year prior and was well below our guidance of less than $20 million per quarter for the year. This decline is a result of the proactive steps we have taken to reduce stock-based compensation. These actions will have a lasting benefit on our recorded stock-based compensation and GAAP profitability.

我們報告第四季度的 GAAP 淨收入為 1.472 億美元，其中包括因釋放估值準備金而產生的 1.403 億美元的稅收優惠。除這項收益外，我們報告第四季非公認會計準則淨收入為 4,240 萬美元。全年非公認會計準則淨收入為 1.471 億美元，創歷史新高。這一下降是我們採取主動措施減少股票薪酬的結果。這些舉措將對我們記錄的股票薪酬和 GAAP 獲利能力產生持久的益處。

Free cash flow for the fourth quarter was $34.7 million, including the impact of restructuring-related charge of $17.1 million. Excluding this charge, free cash flow was $51.8 million, an all-time high. We generated $139.1 million in free cash flow in the full year, which we expect to strategically use to drive long-term shareholder value by supporting the development of our business and share buybacks in 2025.

第四季自由現金流為3,470萬美元，其中包括重組相關費用1,710萬美元的影響。除去這項費用，自由現金流為5,180萬美元，創歷史新高。我們全年創造了 1.391 億美元的自由現金流，我們預計將透過支持業務發展和 2025 年的股票回購，策略性地利用這筆資金來推動長期股東價值。

Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities were approximately $622 million at the end of the fourth quarter.

第四季末，現金、現金等價物及有價證券約 6.22 億美元。

Now turning to guidance. For the first quarter of 2025, we expect to produce revenue in the range of $186 million to $191 million. For adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter, we are guiding to a range of $46 million to $50 million, which represents an adjusted EBITDA margin of 25.5% at the midpoint of the range. Our disciplined execution in 2024 gives us high confidence that we will make strong and steady progress on our 35% margin goal over the next few years, while investing in important growth levers that will reignite top line growth in our business.

現在轉向指導。我們預計 2025 年第一季的營收將在 1.86 億美元至 1.91 億美元之間。對於第一季的調整後 EBITDA，我們預計範圍為 4,600 萬美元至 5,000 萬美元，這代表範圍中間值的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 25.5%。我們在 2024 年的嚴格執行使我們充滿信心，我們將在未來幾年內朝著 35% 的利潤率目標取得強勁而穩定的進展，同時投資於重要的成長槓桿，重新點燃我們業務的營收成長。

For the full year 2025, we anticipate revenue between $740 million and $760 million. We are investing in growth catalysts, including the continued AI enablement of our platform, the advancement of premium products like Business Plus and new strategies in Enterprise and ad and monetization, which we expect to bear fruit in 2026. Our pace of execution and the multiple growth levers that we have give us confidence that we will resume revenue growth next year.

我們預計 2025 年全年營收將在 7.4 億美元至 7.6 億美元之間。我們正在投資成長催化劑，包括繼續支援我們平台的人工智慧、推動 Business Plus 等高端產品以及企業、廣告和貨幣化領域的新策略，我們預計這些投資將在 2026 年取得成果。我們的執行速度和多種成長槓桿使我們有信心明年恢復收入成長。

Stock-based compensation is expected to be approximately $15 million per quarter in 2025, a significant reduction to 2024 levels. We reduced stock-based compensation in 2024 and our results for the full year were well below our guidance range, reflecting our disciplined approach to SBC and our reduction in force. We have taken proactive steps to adjust the balance between stock-based and cash compensation, and this will result in beneficial trends on stock-based compensation going forward.

預計 2025 年股票薪酬將達到每季約 1,500 萬美元，較 2024 年的水準大幅下降。我們在 2024 年減少了股票薪酬，全年業績遠低於我們的指導範圍，這反映了我們對 SBC 的嚴謹態度和裁員。我們已經採取積極措施調整股票薪酬和現金薪酬之間的平衡，這將導致未來股票薪酬呈現有利的趨勢。

As a result of our ongoing discipline and the strength of our business model, we expect our full-year adjusted EBITDA will be in the range of $180 million to $190 million or 25% adjusted EBITDA margin at the midpoint. Our ability to meaningfully expand margins, even in a tough operating environment, reflects our commitment to profitability and driving shareholder value. We expect Q1 to be the high point for adjusted EBITDA margin in 2025 as we make some minor additional investments in growth levers throughout the year. We expect full-year 2025 non-GAAP diluted EPS to be between $1.05 and $1.10, up from our 2024 results. For the full year, we expect weighted average shares outstanding between 138 million to 142 million, excluding any potential impacts from stock repurchases.

由於我們持續的紀律和我們商業模式的實力，我們預計全年調整後的 EBITDA 將在 1.8 億美元至 1.9 億美元之間，或中間值調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率為 25%。即使在艱難的經營環境下，我們仍能大幅提高利潤率，這反映了我們對獲利能力和推動股東價值的承諾。我們預計，由於我們全年都會對成長槓桿進行一些小幅額外投資，因此第一季將成為 2025 年調整後 EBITDA 利潤率的最高點。我們預計 2025 年全年非 GAAP 稀釋每股收益將在 1.05 美元至 1.10 美元之間，高於 2024 年的業績。就全年而言，我們預計加權平均流通股數在 1.38 億至 1.42 億股之間（不包括股票回購的潛在影響）。

A bit more on our share count outlook as it relates to our repurchase authorization and capital allocation strategy. Given the durable profitability and strong cash generation of our business, we have a capital allocation strategy in place that is intended to fully offset dilution from stock-based compensation through stock repurchases. And with continued confidence in our ability to execute on our long-term plan, we intend to opportunistically utilize share repurchases to reduce our total share count over time.

關於我們的股票數量前景，以及與我們的回購授權和資本配置策略的關係，我們還有更多內容。鑑於我們業務持久的獲利能力和強勁的現金創造能力，我們制定了資本配置策略，旨在透過股票回購來完全抵消股票薪酬帶來的稀釋。並且由於我們對執行長期計劃的能力持續充滿信心，我們打算趁機利用股票回購來逐漸減少我們的總股票數量。

I'll close by saying that we are excited about the opportunities for this business, and we are very proud of our ability to execute strongly in this challenging environment. 2024 was a record year for Upwork in terms of revenue, GAAP net income, and adjusted EBITDA. We ended the year with all-time-high adjusted EBITDA margins, and we are well on our way to our 35% adjusted EBITDA margin target. We have been hyper-focused on cost discipline and have successfully taken the opportunity to expand our profitability. We delivered growth well in excess of traditional staffing firms, and we continue to take market share from them.

最後，我想說，我們對這項業務的機會感到非常興奮，我們為自己能夠在這個充滿挑戰的環境中強勁執行的能力感到非常自豪。 2024 年是 Upwork 收入、GAAP 淨收入和調整後 EBITDA 創紀錄的一年。我們以歷史最高的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率結束了這一財年，並且我們正在順利實現 35% 的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率目標。我們一直高度重視成本控制，並成功把握機會擴大獲利能力。我們的成長遠遠超過傳統的人力資源公司，並且繼續從他們手中奪取市場份額。

Looking ahead, we are investing in the right growth levers that we expect will pay off in accelerated GSV and revenue growth with an even greater velocity when the macro headwinds subside. As always, I want to close by thanking our incredible team at Upwork for their contributions this quarter and their unparalleled creativity, focus, and pace of execution.

展望未來，我們正在投資正確的成長槓桿，我們預計，當宏觀逆風消退時，GSV 和收入將以更快的速度加速成長。像往常一樣，最後我要感謝 Upwork 出色的團隊本季的貢獻以及他們無與倫比的創造力、專注力和執行速度。

With that, we'd be happy to take your questions.

我們很樂意回答您的問題。

Thank you. (Operator Instructions)

謝謝。（操作員指令）

Maria Ripps, Canaccord.

瑪麗亞·里普斯 (Maria Ripps)，Canaccord。

Great. Thanks so much for taking my questions. First, just in terms of your revenue guidance, it looks like your full-year outlook implies modestly higher revenue declines after Q1. Can you maybe just talk about some of the dynamics driving that?

偉大的。非常感謝您回答我的問題。首先，僅就您的收入指引而言，您的全年展望似乎意味著第一季後的營收下降幅度會略有增加。您能否談談推動這現象的一些動力？

Yeah. Sure, Maria. Thanks for the question. Obviously, 2024 was a really record year for us with huge all-time-highs in revenue, adjusted EBITDA. But as we know, we, as a business, have encountered cumulative years of macro headwinds. And right now, as we enter 2025, I'd say that the dynamics on the top of the funnel haven't really changed, unfortunately.

是的。當然，瑪麗亞。謝謝你的提問。顯然，2024 年對我們來說是創紀錄的一年，收入和調整後 EBITDA 都創下歷史新高。但眾所周知，作為一家企業，我們已經遭遇了多年的宏觀阻力。而現在，當我們進入 2025 年時，我想說，不幸的是，漏斗頂部的動態並沒有真正改變。

It's important to note, of course, also that there's a six- to nine-month lag in our business when the macro starts to change. So there's a lot of uncertainty out there, and our 2025 guidance reflects that.

當然，還要注意的是，當宏觀經濟開始改變時，我們的業務會有六到九個月的延遲。因此存在著許多不確定性，我們的 2025 年指引也反映了這一點。

Got it. That's helpful. And then secondly, appreciate all the detail on Uma, but can you maybe share a little bit more color on AI and impact on your business, especially kind of in light of the recent industry developments? And I guess, what are some of the building blocks to perhaps accelerate AI-related GSV spend on the platform from 60% you reported last year?

知道了。這很有幫助。其次，感謝您提供有關 Uma 的所有細節，但您能否分享更多關於人工智慧及其對您業務的影響，特別是考慮到最近的行業發展？我想問一下，有哪些基礎要素可以加速該平台上與人工智慧相關的 GSV 支出（您去年報告的數字是 60%）？

Sure, Maria. We are really excited about the advancements in AI and all of the new technology that's coming forward at such an incredible pace, because we see that Upwork really benefits from this broader AI trend. Our platform is infinitely flexible and what we've seen is that it takes shift to whatever customer demand for work looks like including whatever combination of humans and technology are working together to deliver great outcomes for customers.

當然，瑪麗亞。我們對人工智慧的進步以及所有以如此驚人的速度發展的新技術感到非常興奮，因為我們看到 Upwork 確實受益於這一更廣泛的人工智慧趨勢。我們的平台具有無限的靈活性，我們看到的是，它能夠適應客戶對工作的任何需求，包括人力和技術的任何組合，共同為客戶提供出色的成果。

In the past, we've seen Upwork shape shift very naturally and rapidly as work itself has evolved. So if you look back to the early 2000s, we had no social media managers or marketers then. Before the launch of the iPhone, there were very few mobile developers on our platform. But those roles and categories of today are thriving on our platform, because Upwork grew rapidly when customer demand appeared.

過去，我們看到隨著工作本身的發展，Upwork 的形態也發生了非常自然且快速的變化。如果回顧 21 世紀初期，當時我們還沒有社群媒體經理或行銷人員。在 iPhone 推出之前，我們平台上的行動開發者非常少。但如今這些角色和類別在我們的平台上蓬勃發展，因為當客戶需求出現時，Upwork 迅速發展。

So what we're seeing today is a similar shape shifting as AI is evolving with the talent mix on Upwork really being remade before -- as AI skills are emerging. This is evident from the GSV that we saw in profit sharing grow 90% (technical difficulty) or, the AI-related work growing 60% year over year in 2024. And this shift is really happening across not just the AI categories themselves we report on, but also in all 125 categories and 10,000 skill areas, where workers are really adopting these new technologies and improving their value proposition to customers, delivering better, faster, and more compelling work to customers at the rate of these technology changes.

因此，我們今天看到的是類似的變化，因為人工智慧正在不斷發展，Upwork 上的人才組合實際上正在被重塑——因為人工智慧技能正在湧現。從我們看到的利潤分享中的 GSV 增長 90%（技術難度）或 2024 年與人工智慧相關的工作同比增長 60% 可以看出這一點。這種轉變不僅發生在我們所報導的人工智慧類別本身，也發生在所有 125 個類別和 10,000 個技能領域，這些領域的工作者正在真正採用這些新技術並改進他們向客戶提出的價值主張，以這些技術變革的速度為客戶提供更好、更快、更引人注目的工作。

So this is a very positive trend for us. We're clearly benefiting already, and we're excited about what this unlocks even as we ourselves are innovating on our own platform with the launch of Uma and the AI capabilities that Uma has that were advanced over 2024 and coming forward even more in 2025. So this is a fun and exciting thematic for us.

所以這對我們來說是一個非常積極的趨勢。我們顯然已經受益匪淺，而且我們對這項技術將帶來的變化感到興奮，同時我們也在自己的平台上進行創新，推出了 Uma，Uma 的 AI 功能在 2024 年得到了改進，並在 2025 年得到了進一步發展。所以這對我們來說是一個有趣且令人興奮的主題。

Andrew Boone, Citizens.

安德魯·布恩，公民。

Thanks so much for taking my questions. I wanted to go to Marketplace take rates. There was a sequential decline from 3Q to 4Q. Can you guys just help explain that? And then talk about the trajectory of Marketplace take rates as we think about 2025. Is there any reason to think that that would step down again? Or should we see more stability there?

非常感謝您回答我的問題。我想去市場了解利率。從第三季到第四季度，出現了連續下降。你們能幫忙解釋一下嗎？然後我們來談談 2025 年市場接受率的走勢。有什麼理由認為會再下台嗎？或者我們應該看到那裡更加穩定？

And then thinking more broadly about Uma and the potential to improve liquidity on the platform, can you just speak to that? What does AI unlock as you basically improve the contextualization of matching freelancers to demand? Thanks so much.

然後更廣泛地考慮 Uma 以及改善平台流動性的潛力，您能談談這個嗎？當你從根本上改善自由工作者與需求匹配的環境時，人工智慧會解鎖什麼？非常感謝。

Hey, Andrew. I'll take the take rate question first. Yes, when we reported Q3 results, we actually did give an indication that we'd be doing some testing in Q4, that they could kind of have some effect on the sequential take rate accretion. But that's one-time in nature. We've been running some of this on the platform, and we fully expect take rate to continue to grow as we go into 2025.

嘿，安德魯。我先回答一下接受率的問題。是的，當我們報告第三季業績時，我們確實表示我們將在第四季度進行一些測試，它們可能會對連續的接受率成長產生一定影響。但從本質上來說，這是一次性的。我們已經在平台上運行了其中的一些功能，我們完全預計，進入 2025 年，接受率將繼續增長。

That'd be it, albeit at a much more modest rate than, of course, the 260 basis points that we saw in 2024. We do -- take rate overall, we have a lot of headroom to go but the strategies that we do within for take rate take time to test and to learn and to release on the platform.

就是這樣，儘管其成長率比我們在 2024 年看到的 260 個基點要溫和得多。我們確實——總體而言，我們的接受率還有很大的提升空間，但我們為提高接受率而製定的策略需要時間去測試、學習並在平台上發布。

So 2025 should be sort of a modest year, but we fully expect that some of the kind of promising take rate strategies that we've got that we're in development right now, will be ready to launch in kind of late-2025 and early-2026.

因此，2025 年應該是一個平淡的一年，但我們完全預計，我們目前正在開發的一些有前景的接受率策略將準備在 2025 年底或 2026 年初推出。

Andrew, on the side of Uma and what it unlocks through better matching, let me give you a little color there. So our ability to invest into the AI thematic and launch AI work companion, Uma, last year in April and then enhanced the capabilities over the course of the year, including with our October release, is a big differentiator. The way it attracts and really drive better matching on the platform is, as an example, when we launched Uma capabilities with the job post generator, we've seen tremendous adoption of that. More than 70% of new clients are using the Uma power job post generator, which is then turning into more job posts per client, is turning to more job post quality, so better quality post coming into our Marketplace and is increasing our fill rates.

安德魯，關於烏瑪 (Uma) 以及它透過更好的匹配可以解鎖什麼，讓我給你一些資訊。因此，我們有能力投資人工智慧主題並於去年 4 月推出人工智慧工作伴侶 Uma，然後在一年的時間裡增強了其功能，包括今年 10 月的發布，這是一個很大的區別。例如，當我們推出具有職位發布生成器的 Uma 功能時，它吸引並真正推動平台上更好匹配的方式已經看到了廣泛的採用。超過 70% 的新客戶正在使用 Uma 強力職位發布生成器，這為每個客戶生成了更多的職位發布，提高了職位發布質量，因此更高質量的職位發布進入了我們的市場，並提高了我們的填充率。

Matching specifically and fill rates specifically are moving because of things like the quality of the posts that are being written. And on the other side of the equation, freelancers who have adopted Uma with the proposal writing capability are actually bidding at a higher rate. So their bid volumes are up 2.5%.

具體匹配率和填充率的變化是因為帖子的品質等因素。而從另一個角度來看，採用了具有提案撰寫功能的 Uma 的自由工作者實際上正在以更高的價格出價。因此他們的出價量上漲了2.5%。

So in the first phase of this work, we've basically been enhancing core matching components of our ecosystem with Uma capabilities. We're seeing the adoption. We're seeing that translate into gains on things like 80% of our -- 80% higher fill rates on our highest value jobs for new clients, which is again another great outcome of this.

因此，在該工作的第一階段，我們基本上一直在利用 Uma 功能來增強我們生態系統的核心匹配組件。我們看到了它的採用。我們看到，這意味著我們的新客戶最高價值工作的完成率提高了 80%，這也是另一個很好的結果。

In the second phase of work, what you're going to see from us is Uma, the work companion, evolving much more into a fully blown AI agent. And that's where Uma will be able to take on even more tasks and work from our customers that they can offload to Uma to execute more for Upwork. But we're already seeing the wins from the first phases of this work and are excited about how we're accelerating that with the acquisition we made last year and with the road map that we have ahead.

在第二階段的工作中，您將看到我們的工作夥伴 Uma 進一步進化成為一個成熟的人工智慧代理。這樣，Uma 將能夠承擔更多客戶的任務和工作，客戶可以將這些工作交給 Uma，以便 Upwork 執行更多工作。但我們已經看到了這項工作第一階段的勝利，並對我們如何透過去年的收購和未來制定的路線圖來加速這一進程感到興奮。

Bernie McTernan, Needham.

伯尼·麥克特南，尼德姆。

Hi. This is Stefanos Crist calling in for Bernie. Just wanted to ask on the $60 million of cost savings. I think they were announced mid-Q4, so it should be more room in '25. What areas can we expect to see those?

你好。我是 Stefanos Crist，代表 Bernie 打電話。只是想問一下 6000 萬美元的成本節省。我認為它們是在第四季度中期宣布的，因此 25 年應該還有更多空間。我們可以在哪些領域期待看到這些？

And then, you also mentioned some minor investments to '25. Can you also just provide some more color there? Thank you.

然後，您還提到了對 25 年的一些小額投資。您還能提供更多顏色嗎？謝謝。

Yeah, sure. When we announced the cost reductions in October of last year, we outlined them -- they were sort of across our business. We really took several quarters to think through the cost reductions that we made and is really an operational realignment of the business. The places that we're focused were on the Enterprise business and kind of the new bifurcated strategy that we've got, focusing on our largest Enterprise accounts for acquisition and then launching Business Plus in the Marketplace, which, of course, opened up part -- some of the Enterprise value prop to our Marketplace customers. So that has greatly reduced both our cost to acquire and our cost of serve on the Enterprise side.

是的，當然。當我們去年十月宣布成本削減計劃時，我們對其進行了概述——這涉及我們整個業務。我們確實花了幾個季度的時間來仔細考慮我們所做的成本削減，這實際上是業務的營運調整。我們的重點是企業業務和我們所採用的新分叉策略，專注於我們最大的企業帳戶的收購，然後在市場上推出 Business Plus，這當然為我們的市場客戶開闢了部分企業價值主張。這大大降低了我們的採購成本和企業方面的服務成本。

And then we did also rationalize our R&D portfolio and really take a much more focused approach to R&D. G&A has relatively lesser benefits on a year-over-year basis than those two categories. However, we do see longer -- kind of longer-term opportunities in G&A as well.

然後，我們也合理化了我們的研發組合，並採取了更專注的研發方法。與上述兩個類別相比，一般及行政開支的年比收益相對較低。然而，我們確實看到了 G&A 領域中更長期的機會。

And what was the second question? Oh, (multiple speakers) investments in 2025?

第二個問題是什麼？哦，（多位發言者）2025 年的投資？

Yes.

是的。

In terms of the investments in 2025, this is really the three growth catalysts that -- investment areas that Hayden outlined on the call. We're very, very focused on additional investments in AI enabler of the platform and in the advancement of our Enterprise strategy. So some minor investments there. But these are relatively minimal, and we'll just have a little bit -- slightly lower margin in Q2 and Q3 versus Q1.

就 2025 年的投資而言，這實際上是海登在電話會議上概述的三個成長催化劑——投資領域。我們非常非常注重對平台人工智慧推動力和企業策略推進的額外投資。因此在那裡進行一些小額投資。但這些相對較小，與第一季相比，第二季和第三季的利潤率會略低一些。

Brad Erickson, RBC Capital Markets.

加拿大皇家銀行資本市場 (RBC Capital Markets) 的布拉德‧艾瑞克森 (Brad Erickson)。

Hi, thanks for taking the questions. First for Erica. I guess with the GSV declines you've been seeing lately, obviously, you mentioned kind of no changes to the top of the funnel headwind. There's a lot of what's behind that. But maybe speak to things that might be in your control for trying to get that GSV back to growth versus what's out of your control.

嗨，感謝您回答這些問題。對 Erica 來說這是第一次。我想，您最近看到的 GSV 下滑，顯然，您提到了漏斗頂部逆風沒有變化。這背後有很多事情。但也許可以談談在嘗試使 GSV 恢復增長時您可以控制的事情以及您無法控制的事情。

And then second for Hayden. You guys are talking about contemplating, call it, other products and services that could expand take rate over time. I wonder if you just could expand on that a bit. Obviously, we have ads and managed services and then the newer launches like Business Plus. Just curious to learn maybe a bit more about some of the adjacencies, where you see opportunities for that as a driver? Thanks.

海登獲得第二名。你們正在考慮所謂的其他產品和服務，這些產品和服務可以隨著時間的推移而擴大接受率。我想知道您是否可以稍微詳細闡述這一點。顯然，我們有廣告和託管服務，然後還有像 Business Plus 這樣的新產品推出。只是想好奇地多了解一些鄰接關係，作為一名司機，您認為有哪些機會？謝謝。

Yeah. Brad, thanks for the question. In terms of GSV trends, we are seeing some ongoing capital funnel weakness that kind of we highlighted last year coming into 2025, and that gives us some caution on our outlook. Now that said, we have some very positive signals in our retained client base. In our Enterprise customers, Q4 saw increased engagement. GSV for active Enterprise increased 2% year over year in the quarter, and that's after multiple quarters of negative growth.

是的。布拉德，謝謝你的提問。就 GSV 趨勢而言，我們看到 2025 年將出現一些持續的資本漏斗弱點，就像我們去年強調的那樣，這讓我們對前景持謹慎態度。話雖如此，我們在保留的客戶群中發現了一些非常正面的訊號。在我們的企業客戶中，第四季度的參與度有所提高。本季活躍企業的 GSV 年比成長 2%，而先前連續多個季度出現負成長。

We also saw our overall retained client base grew 9% year over year in Q4. And also, as I highlighted, GSV per active client increased across all business segments in the quarter for the second quarter in a row. So we're really pleased with some of the dynamics we're seeing under the covers there.

我們也發現，第四季我們的整體保留客戶群年增了 9%。而且，正如我所強調的，本季度所有業務部門的每位活躍客戶的 GSV 連續第二季實現成長。因此，我們對在那裡看到的一些動態感到非常高興。

And in terms of what we can control, we've outlined the kind of strategic investments we're making. I would add to that that in terms of our asset monetization strategies, we have multiple take rate strategies that we can deploy, including some that are very GSV beneficial like the Business Plus strategy of launching this tapering accretive product with enhanced value proposition in the marketplace. And there's more to come there as we develop kind of new strategies, new tiers for this going into 2026.

就我們能夠控制的範圍而言，我們已經概述了我們正在進行的策略投資類型。我想補充一點，就我們的資產貨幣化策略而言，我們有多種可以部署的接受率策略，其中包括一些對 GSV 非常有利的策略，例如 Business Plus 策略，即在市場上推出這種具有增強價值主張的逐漸減少的增值產品。隨著我們制定新的策略和新的層次，邁向 2026 年，我們也將迎來更多的發展。

Sure. And on the product and services on the take rate area, we grew take rate 260 basis points in 2024 to an all-time high of 19.4%. So we feel good about the pace of our execution and expansion in this area and are taking, of course, a more measured approach this year, but there is a big portfolio of opportunity here and a long runway.

當然。在產品和服務的接受率方面，我們在 2024 年將接受率提高了 260 個基點，達到 19.4% 的歷史新高。因此，我們對我們在該領域的執行和擴張速度感到滿意，當然，今年我們將採取更加謹慎的方式，但這裡有大量的機會和漫長的路要走。

So some of the specific opportunities for us are around, first of all, subscriptions. We launched the Business Plus subscription last year. And today, we have basically one subscription plan on the Marketplace upgrade side for clients and one on the [filter] side. So there's more opportunity for us to both enhance those plans, the value props, continue to refine pricing of those plans and add more subscription tiers over time.

因此，對我們來說，一些具體的機會首先在於訂閱。我們去年推出了 Business Plus 訂閱服務。今天，我們基本上在市場升級方面為客戶提供一個訂閱計劃，在[過濾器]方面也提供一個訂閱計劃。因此，我們有更多機會增強這些計劃和價值主張，繼續優化這些計劃的定價，並隨著時間的推移增加更多的訂閱層級。

And another big opportunity for us is around our current advertising products. Just in Q4, we launched some client-side advertising products for the first time that were new, and there's more things we can do because we have so much audience inside of our Marketplace on both the client side and the advertising side. So there's more runway there as well.

我們面臨的另一個巨大機會是圍繞著我們目前的廣告產品。就在第四季度，我們首次推出了一些新的客戶端廣告產品，而且我們可以做更多的事情，因為我們在客戶端和廣告端的市場中擁有如此多的受眾。所以那裡也有更多的跑道。

The final thing I'd mention is there are places where we can monetize kind of ad hoc value propositions and paid services, either offered by us or our third-party partners. We've done a little bit of experimentation with this to date, but certainly, it's not something that is mature at this time. And so there's a runway of opportunity there.

我最後要提到的是，我們可以將某種臨時的價值主張和付費服務貨幣化，這些服務要麼由我們自己提供，要麼由我們的第三方合作夥伴提供。到目前為止，我們已經對此進行了一些實驗，但可以肯定的是，它目前還不夠成熟。因此，那裡充滿著機會。

So when we look at all of this together, we feel great about what the opportunity is ahead, even though we're going to be more in some of the development phase on some of these things in this year and take the opportunity for our customers to absorb some of the price changes we've made over the last 1.5 years.

因此，當我們把所有這些放在一起看時，我們對未來的機會感到非常高興，儘管今年我們將在某些方面處於開發階段，並藉此機會讓我們的客戶吸收我們在過去1.5年中所做的一些價格變化。

Josh Chan, UBS.

瑞銀的 Josh Chan。

Hi, good afternoon. Thanks for taking my questions. I guess on the Enterprise side, it sounds like that things are turning a corner a bit there. So I was wondering if you could give a little bit more color on why you think you're seeing the improvements that you are, and kind of what's driving the improved trajectory there? Thank you.

嗨，下午好。感謝您回答我的問題。我想，從企業方面來看，聽起來事情正在發生一些轉變。所以我想知道您是否可以更詳細地解釋為什麼您認為您看到了這些改進，以及是什麼推動了這種改進的軌跡？謝謝。

Sure, Josh. I'd say we've been focusing more of our resources in the Enterprise area on our top biggest clients, where they're really looking to expand wallet share of these customers. That was part of the focus in reorganization work we did in Q4, and that is certainly paying off, which I would note is remarkable given the amount of change that the team absorbed in the fourth quarter.

當然，喬希。我想說，我們一直將更多的資源集中在企業領域我們最大的客戶身上，他們確實希望擴大這些客戶的錢包份額。這是我們在第四季度進行的重組工作重點的一部分，而且這項工作確實取得了成效，考慮到團隊在第四季度吸收的變化量，我認為這一點非常了不起。

We've also seen just these kind of signifiers here, and our managed services offering continue to really resonate with customers. It grew 12% year over year in the quarter. We saw higher year-end spend in the quarter in terms of customers kind of running through the end of the year wanting to spend more with us as the year was closing out.

我們也在這裡看到了這種跡象，我們提供的託管服務繼續真正引起客戶的共鳴。本季年增12%。我們發現本季的年終支出有所增加，因為客戶們都希望在年底之際在我們這裡花更多的錢。

And then we also saw one trend that was interesting. Our GSV per active enterprise account actually did grow on a year-on-year basis for the first time in recent quarters. So we feel good about where this business is as we enter this year, building on that momentum and the Business Plus side of things where, again, there's a lot of activity happening, a lot of clients in the funnel. But again, this is kind of a year where we're building into these new strategies, and we're really expecting a bigger growth for us in 2026 and beyond.

然後我們也看到了一個有趣的趨勢。我們的每個活躍企業帳戶的 GSV 實際上在最近幾個季度首次實現了同比增長。因此，我們對今年的業務狀況感到很滿意，在這股勢頭和 Business Plus 業務的基礎上，我們再次看到很多活動正在發生，許多客戶正在湧入。但同樣，今年是我們實施新策略的一年，我們確實期待在 2026 年及以後實現更大的成長。

Great. Yeah. Thanks for the color there. Great. And then maybe one on margin. I guess you achieved 26% margin in Q4 with not much help probably from the streamlining initiatives. So I guess was there anything one-timey in there? Or I guess, could there be some upside to what you're guiding for '25 because of the flowing through of the cost savings in '25? Thanks for the color.

偉大的。是的。感謝那裡的色彩。偉大的。然後也許還有一個邊緣。我想你們在第四季實現了 26% 的利潤率，但這很可能不是得益於精簡舉措。所以我猜測這裡面是否有一次性的東西？或者我猜，由於 25 年成本節約的流入，您對 25 年的預期是否會出現一些上行空間？謝謝你的顏色。

Thanks, Josh. No. So in Q4, yeah, I mean, we did -- we actually executed a little bit faster than we expected to in some of the cost savings in Q4 to get to that 26% margin. In 2025 -- our guide is our guide at this point. I think we are constantly looking at cost optimization opportunities in this business.

謝謝，喬希。不。所以在第四季度，是的，我的意思是，我們確實——我們在第四季度的部分成本節約上執行得比預期要快一點，達到了 26% 的利潤率。2025 年－目前的指南就是我們的指南。我認為我們一直在尋找這個業務中的成本優化機會。

And we are obviously very, very committed to the kind of margin progress that we talked about and growing margins each and every year to the 35%. So we do see additional cost opportunities across the business. They are a little bit longer term in nature. So by and large, we expect this to hit 2026. I would just remind you as well that we did make the Objective acquisition at the end of Q4, and that also has a slight impact on offset on R&D in 2025.

我們顯然非常致力於我們所談論的利潤率成長，並且每年將利潤率提高到 35%。因此，我們確實看到了整個業務中的額外成本機會。從本質上來說，它們的期限有些較長。所以總的來說，我們預計這個數字將達到 2026 年。我還要提醒你，我們確實在第四季末進行了 Objective 收購，這也對 2025 年的研發抵銷產生了輕微影響。

Rohit Kulkarni, Roth Capital Partners.

羅斯資本合夥公司 (Roth Capital Partners) 的 Rohit Kulkarni 。

Thank you. This is Jared on for Rohit Kulkarni. How would you anticipate your capital allocation philosophy to evolve now that you might be generating $25 million to $30 million in free cash flow every quarter going forward?

謝謝。這是 Jared 為 Rohit Kulkarni 主持的節目。鑑於你們今後每季可能會產生 2,500 萬到 3,000 萬美元的自由現金流，你們預期你們的資本配置理念將如何演變？

And secondly, from an end-market standpoint and with the macro stabilization seen in Q4, how would you characterize your visibility and your confidence in annual guidance? Thank you.

其次，從終端市場的角度來看，鑑於第四季度的宏觀穩定，您如何描述您的可見度和對年度指引的信心？謝謝。

Sure. On capital allocation, I would say, overall, our capital allocation strategy is to very judiciously invest in this very focused set of organic growth opportunities that we've been talking about on the call. But you're right, as we've really accelerated the profitability and free cash flow gains in this business, we're now able to drive long-term shareholder return with a very proactive capital allocation strategy.

當然。關於資本配置，我想說，總的來說，我們的資本配置策略是明智地投資於我們在電話會議上討論的這組非常集中的有機成長機會。但您說得對，由於我們確實加速了這項業務的獲利能力和自由現金流成長，我們現在能夠透過非常積極的資本配置策略來推動長期股東回報。

So we have now a track record of taking action on these kind of smaller tech and talent acquisitions. And so we'll continue to look for M&A to enhance our road map and accelerate our strategic path as a market leader.

因此，我們現在已經對此類小型技術和人才收購採取行動了。因此，我們將繼續尋求併購來增強我們的路線圖並加速我們作為市場領導者的策略道路。

And lastly, I'd say we're very, very focused on returning capital to shareholders. In 2024, we deployed our first-ever $100 million share repurchase that we used 72% of our free cash flow last year to repurchase shares. Going forward, we intend to fully offset dilution from stock-based compensation, and we also plan to opportunistically repurchase shares over time.

最後，我想說，我們非常非常注重向股東回報資本。2024 年，我們首次實施了 1 億美元的股票回購計劃，以去年 72% 的自由現金流回購股票。展望未來，我們打算完全抵消股票薪酬帶來的稀釋，並且我們還計劃隨著時間的推移適時回購股票。

In terms of visibility and the confidence in guidance given the macro, we talked a lot about the macro, I think, even this morning's inflation worries point to the fact that we won't see, unfortunately, interest rates coming down anytime soon. We're really focused on what we can control, and we're very, very confident in the guidance that we've given, that we should be able to perform as long as the macro kind of remains as it is.

在宏觀層面的可見性和指導信心方面，我們討論了很多宏觀問題，我認為，即使是今天早上的通膨擔憂也表明，不幸的是，我們不會看到利率在短期內下降。我們真正專注於我們能夠控制的事情，並且我們對我們給予的指導非常有信心，只要宏觀保持現狀，我們就應該能夠表現出色。

If there are shocks to the system, of course, that would affect all businesses. That said, if the macros were to start to improve, of course, we would expect that our business would follow that on a kind of six- to nine-month lag.

當然，如果系統受到衝擊，將會影響所有企業。話雖如此，如果宏觀經濟開始改善，我們當然預計我們的業務將會在六到九個月的延遲後跟上。

John Byun, Jefferies.

傑富瑞 (Jefferies) 的約翰‧拜恩 (John Byun)。

Thank you. This is John Byun for Brent Thill at Jefferies. A couple of questions. First, I wanted to see if you can maybe talk about what you saw in terms of linearity on month-to-month trends. And related to them, I don't know if you saw any pause or acceleration around elections or inauguration, either positive or negative?

謝謝。我是 Jefferies 的 Brent Thill 的 John Byun。幾個問題。首先，我想看看您是否可以談談您所看到的月度趨勢的線性情況。與此相關，我不知道您是否看到選舉或就職典禮期間有任何停頓或加速，無論是積極的還是消極的？

And then second one on the numbers. A big step down in sales and marketing in Q4 and I guess it was post restructuring, but wondering if there was any other factors behind that, because they had been running over $40 million for five quarters in a row. Thank you.

第二個是關於數字。第四季的銷售和行銷大幅下滑，我猜是重組後的結果，但我想知道這背後是否還有其他因素，因為他們已經連續五個季度經營超過 4,000 萬美元。謝謝。

Yeah. In terms of the month-to-month linearity, I would say that broadly, our month-on-month trends in Q4 and coming into Q1 have followed our sort of normal seasonality. We did see some unexpected strength as we've outlined in -- towards the end of Q4, really in our GSV per active client. But like I said, both on the Enterprise and on the Marketplace side. So we've seen growth in both business units. And that's kind of sequential growth that we have in -- or year-over-year growth that we haven't seen in several quarters. But I don't think there's anything particular of note.

是的。就月度線性而言，我想說，總體而言，我們第四季度和第一季的月度趨勢遵循了正常的季節性。正如我們在第四季度末所概述的那樣，我們確實看到了一些意想不到的優勢，這實際上是我們每個活躍客戶的 GSV 的成長。但就像我說的，無論是在企業方面還是在市場方面。因此我們看到兩個業務部門都在成長。這是我們在過去幾季中未曾見過的連續成長或年成長。但我不認為有什麼特別值得注意的地方。

In terms of impacts of the election and other things, we haven't seen a particular change in behavior within our client base coming from that. And I think it remains to be seen what will happen given all the pace of the policy decisions coming out of the administration. And then on the big step down for sales and marketing, I mean, this really is the cost reductions that we've talked about, focused on the Enterprise business.

就選舉和其他因素的影響而言，我們並沒有看到客戶群的行為因此而發生特別的變化。我認為，考慮到政府推出的政策決定的速度，最終結果還有待觀察。然後關於銷售和行銷的大幅縮減，我的意思是，這確實是我們談論過的專注於企業業務的成本削減。

And we also did take some cost reductions. We talked about this on the Q3 call. We reduced non-working marketing spend. We have not reduced spend on performance marketing, which remains a good channel -- acquisition channel for us and a high ROI channel.

而且我們也確實削減了一些成本。我們在第三季電話會議上討論了這個問題。我們減少了非工作性行銷支出。我們並沒有減少在效果行銷上的支出，這對我們來說仍然是一個很好的管道——獲取管道和高投資回報率的管道。

Marvin Fong, BTIG.

BTIG 的 Marvin Fong。

Alright. Great. Thank you for taking my question. Pretty much all have been asked here. I'd just like to maybe ask one on that increase we're seeing in the GSV per client. Could you maybe break that down a step further in terms of what's the component driving that? Is it hours per project, hourly rate? And relatedly, are you kind of assuming like whatever you're seeing in terms of trends kind of persisting in 2025? Or what's sort of underpinning your expectations for your guidance with respect to those items? Thanks

好吧。偉大的。感謝您回答我的問題。幾乎所有問題都已在這裡被問過。我只是想問一下我們看到的每位客戶的 GSV 的成長情況。您能否進一步分析一下，看看是什麼組件在驅動它？是每個項目的小時數還是小時費率？與此相關的是，您是否認為您所看到的趨勢將會持續到 2025 年？或者您對這些項目的指導期望是基於什麼？謝謝

Thanks. Sure. In terms of drivers, we have not seen an increase in hourly rate. That's been consistent over the last couple of years. And I think that that's very much kind of a macro -- part of the macro headwind.

謝謝。當然。就司機而言，我們沒有看到小時費率增加。過去幾年來，情況一直如此。我認為這在很大程度上是一種宏觀因素——宏觀逆風的一部分。

I would note that there are certain categories on our platform, including our very highest growth AI category, that do get a higher rate within that category. So AI work gets about a 44% wage accretion versus non-AI work on the platform. So to the extent that that continues to grow as it has been the fastest-growing category in the platform, we should continue to see benefits there.

我要指出的是，我們平台上的某些類別，包括成長最快的人工智慧類別，在該類別中確實獲得了更高的比率。因此，與平台上非人工智慧工作相比，人工智慧工作的薪資成長了約 44%。因此，鑑於它已成為該平台成長最快的類別，並且繼續成長，我們應該繼續看到其帶來的好處。

Now for the remainder of the year, like I've said, given the macro headwinds -- the multiple years of macro headwinds that we've been kind of enduring, we are looking with caution just simply because I think the future is a bit unpredictable with the macro environment. So right now, I think we're sort of looking at a relatively steady GSV per active client going forward for the rest of the year. And also, you have to take into account we do have seasonality in our business with Q2 and Q3 being relatively lower than Q1.

對於今年剩餘的時間，正如我所說，考慮到宏觀逆風——我們已經忍受了多年的宏觀逆風，我們會謹慎行事，因為我認為宏觀環境的未來有點難以預測。所以現在，我認為我們預計今年剩餘時間內每位活躍客戶的 GSV 將相對穩定。另外，你必須考慮到我們的業務確實具有季節性，第二季和第三季相對低於第一季。

Thank you. This concludes our Q&A for today. Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does include the program. You may not disconnect.

謝謝。今天的問答到此結束。感謝大家參加今天的會議。這確實包括該程式。您不能斷開連線。