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UPWORK INC (UPWK)

Industrials · Talent marketplace and contingent workforce platform · NASDAQ

Upwork is a global AI-powered talent marketplace and enterprise workforce platform connecting millions of independent professionals and businesses across 180+ countries.

What UPWORK INC does

Upwork connects businesses with global talent across multiple work types—freelance, agency, fractional, and payrolled—through its AI-enabled marketplace and enterprise workforce platform. The company operates the Upwork Marketplace, a human and AI-powered work marketplace linking clients with independent talent across 10,000+ skills, and Lifted, an enterprise platform for sourcing, contracting, managing, and paying contingent workers. Revenue is generated through talent service fees, client marketplace fees, ads and monetization products, and enterprise solutions serving clients ranging from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies.

Themes: Freelance / gig work platform, Enterprise contingent workforce management, AI-powered talent matching, Remote work infrastructure, SMB workforce solutions

Fundamentals

  • Price$8.61 as of 2026-08-21 close
  • Market cap$1.1B as of 2026-08-21
  • 1-year return-41.8% 2025-08-21 close $14.79 → 2026-08-21 close $8.61
  • P/E9.32 as of 2026-08-24
  • Net margin+13.8% as of 2026-08-24
  • Gross margin+77.5% as of 2026-08-24
  • ROE+17.9% as of 2026-08-24
  • Debt / equity0.63 as of 2026-08-24
  • Revenue growth (YoY)+2.5% as of 2026-08-24
  • Revenue CAGR (3y)+8.4% SEC XBRL
  • Beta1.06 as of 2026-08-24
  • Last reported earnings2026-08-10 SEC EDGAR Form 8-K (Item 2.02)

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How UPWK compares in its sector

  • price-to-earnings ratiobottom 10% 357 covered Industrials peers, as of 2026-08-24
  • net profit margintop 25% 457 covered Industrials peers, as of 2026-08-24
  • operating margintop 25% 457 covered Industrials peers, as of 2026-08-24
  • gross margintop 10% 455 covered Industrials peers, as of 2026-08-24
  • return on equitymiddle range 460 covered Industrials peers, as of 2026-08-24
  • 3-year revenue CAGRmiddle range 426 covered Industrials peers
  • free cash flow (absolute dollars, latest fiscal year)middle range 414 covered Industrials peers, as of FY2025

Position among covered Industrials companies that report each metric (minimum 5 peers). A relative position within our covered catalog — not a valuation, quality, or investment judgment. A higher percentile is simply a higher value (for P/E, more expensive on earnings — never "better"). Informational only.

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How UPWORK INC looks technically

UPWORK INC (UPWK) is trading 35.9% below its 200-day average, the long-term trend line — a long-term downtrend. Its 50-day average crossed below its 200-day average about 103 trading days ago — a "death cross", a bearish long-term signal. There is no clear trend right now — the price is choppy (ADX, a 0–100 trend-strength gauge, is 15, below the 25 that marks a real trend). Momentum is neutral — its 14-day RSI (a 0–100 momentum gauge) is 46, neither overbought (above 70) nor oversold (below 30). MACD, a trend-momentum gauge, turned bearish about 9 trading days ago (its momentum flipped negative). It made a new 20-day low about 5 trading days ago. It is 62.3% below its highest point of the past year. Trading volume is unusually light — only about 45% of its 30-day average.

Trend

7
Distance from the 200-dayit is trading 35.9% below its 200-day average, the long-term trend line — a long-term downtrend-35.9%
50-day moving averageits average price over the last 50 trading days — a short-term trend line — is $8.83$8.83
200-day moving averageits average price over the last 200 trading days — the long-term trend line — is $13.43$13.43
Swing structureits recent peaks and dips disagree — one of them is rising while the other is not, so there is no clean up or down pattern in the swingsmixed — one of the two is not confirming
Last swing turnits last significant turn was a swing low 10 calendar days ago — the swings before that are what the structure reading is measured on10 sessions
Since the 50/200 crossits 50-day average crossed below its 200-day average about 103 trading days ago — a "death cross", a bearish long-term signal103 sessions
Trend strength (14-day ADX)there is no clear trend right now — the price is choppy (ADX, a 0–100 trend-strength gauge, is 15, below the 25 that marks a real trend)14.6

Momentum

3
14-day RSImomentum is neutral — its 14-day RSI (a 0–100 momentum gauge) is 46, neither overbought (above 70) nor oversold (below 30)45.6
Position in its 14-day rangeit is trading in the lower half of its 14-day range ($7.90 to $9.91) — its "stochastic" reading is 35 out of 100, where 0 would mean closing exactly at the 14-session low and 100 exactly at the high. This measures WHERE the price sits inside its recent range, which is a different question from the RSI beside it: RSI is a momentum gauge, measuring how FAST the price has been moving, so a stock can drift quietly to the bottom of its range with an ordinary RSI, or fall sharply and still sit in the middle. It has been slipping within that range over the last few sessions.35.3
Since the MACD crossed zeroMACD, a trend-momentum gauge, turned bearish about 9 trading days ago (its momentum flipped negative)9 sessions

Range

12
52-week highits highest closing price over the past year (about 252 trading days) was $22.84$22.84
From the 52-week highit is 62.3% below its 52-week high (its highest price of the past year)-62.3%
Above the 52-week lowit is 15.7% above its 52-week low (its lowest price of the past year)+15.7%
Below the 52-week highit is 62.3% below its highest point of the past year62.3%
Since a 20-day breakoutit made a new 20-day low about 5 trading days ago5 sessions
Since a 55-day breakoutit made a new 55-day high about 10 trading days ago10 sessions
All-time highits highest closing price on record is $64.49 (set on 2021-07-13)$64.49
Given back of the 52-week moveover the past year its closes ranged ($7.84 to $22.11), and it has recovered only a small part of its fall from last year’s high — 5% of it. Chart-watchers call 61.8%-65% given back the "golden pocket" — for this company that is $16.66 to $17.12. It is watched widely enough that orders cluster there, which is the honest reason it matters; it is not a forecast.5.4%
From the all-time highit is 86.6% below its all-time high-86.7%
Nearest price levelit is trading 8.4% below a resistance level at $9.34 — a price it turned at twice since 2026-06-01, most recently on 2026-07-02. Since 2024-08-21 it has 0 such levels below the current price and 15 above. Levels like these describe where the price has reversed or paused before; they are not a forecast of where it will go.+8.4%
All-time lowits lowest closing price on record is $5.14 (set on 2020-03-18)$5.14
Above the all-time lowit is 67.5% above its all-time low+67.5%

Volatility

5
Band width vs its own 6 monthsday-to-day price swings are about average versus its own recent 6-month history66th percentile
Typical daily rangein a typical session it travels about $0.4642 between its high and its low — about 5.4% of its price. That is its "average true range" over the last 14 sessions, which also counts the distance from the previous close, so a day that opens well away from yesterday counts as the large move it was$0.4642
Bollinger bands (20-day, ±2σ)most of its recent trading has stayed between about $7.98 and $10.15 — the "Bollinger bands", a range drawn two standard deviations either side of its 20-day average price, which widens when the stock gets more volatile and narrows when it settles$7.98 – $9.06 – $10.15
Typical daily range (% of price)its price moves about 5.4% in a typical session — about typical for the companies we cover. This is the average gap between a session's high and low over the last 14 sessions, counting overnight moves, expressed against the current price so it can be compared with companies trading at any price5.4%
Stretch from the 200-day averageit is trading 10.4 daily ranges below its 200-day average price (35.9% below it in plain percentage terms) — a way of asking how far it has stretched from its own average in units of how far it normally moves in a day, so a calm company and a jumpy one can be compared on the same scale10.4 daily ranges below its 200-day average

Volume

1
Volume vs its 30-day averagetrading volume is unusually light — only about 45% of its 30-day average0.45×

Analyst

2
Change in the average price targetanalysts have cut their average price target by 16.6% since the prior reading-16.6%
Change in the consensus ratingnot available for this company yetn/a

Candlestick patterns

1
Since a dojitoday it opened and closed at almost the same price after trading through a wider range — a "doji", the classic picture of buyers and sellers finishing the session leveltoday

Price gaps

3
Gap at the openit opened on 2026-08-21 0.6% below the previous session's close — an overnight gap, the part of the move that happened while the market was shut, and traded back through that level before the close-0.6%
Open gapit gapped 18.2% below the previous close 8 sessions ago and has not traded back through the level it left behind at 9.83 — an "unfilled gap", which describes a price range no trade has since crossed and is not a forecast that it will be crossed-18.2%
Gap filleda 2.1% gap up opened on 2026-08-07 has been "filled" 8 sessions ago — price traded back through the level the gap left behind, and it took 2 sessions to close8 sessions ago

Price streaks

1
Closing streakit has closed lower 2 sessions in a row, a -0.92% move over the run — an unbroken run of down days, which describes what has already happened and says nothing about the next session2 sessions down

Relative strength

4
vs market, 1 monthover the past 1 month this stock lagged the market by 8.6 percentage points (the stock lost 6.3% while the market gained 2.3%)-8.6%
vs market, 3 monthsover the past 3 months this stock lagged the market by 1.1 percentage points (the stock gained 2.0% while the market gained 3.1%)-1.1%
vs market, 6 monthsover the past 6 months this stock lagged the market by 45.7 percentage points (the stock lost 34.6% while the market gained 11.1%)-45.7%
vs market, 12 monthsover the past 12 months this stock lagged the market by 62.3 percentage points (the stock lost 41.8% while the market gained 20.5%)-62.3%

Signal agreement

2
Bullish technical signals0 of the 9 technical signals we can compute for it are currently in a bullish state — these describe past price behaviour, not a forecast0 of 9
Bearish technical signals5 of the 9 technical signals we can compute for it are currently in a bearish state: a "death cross" — its 50-day average is below its 200-day, trading below its 200-day average, MACD momentum is negative, lagging the market over 6 months, trading below the Ichimoku cloud — these describe past price behaviour, not a forecast5 of 9

Trend (Ichimoku cloud)

1
Vs the Ichimoku cloudtrading 2.7% below the Ichimoku cloud — a band drawn from where its own highs and lows sat up to 2026-07-16 and projected forward over today's price, the side traders read as an established downtrend, with the band above acting as the level that would have to be cleared. The band itself is moderate, spanning 4.1% of the share price.-2.7%

Volume-weighted price

2
Vs this year’s average price paidthe price is 25% below the average price paid so far this year, so the typical buyer over that stretch is under water. That average is $11.42 — a volume-weighted average of daily closes over 155 sessions, not a true tick-by-tick VWAP.-24.6%
Vs the average paid since it last reportedthe price is 1% below the average price paid since it last reported on 2026-08-10 (its 10-Q), so the typical buyer over that stretch is under water. That average is $8.66 — a volume-weighted average of daily closes over 10 sessions, not a true tick-by-tick VWAP.-0.6%

Price levels it has turned at before

UPWK last closed at $8.61 on 2026-08-21. Since 2024-08-21 it has turned at 0 prices below its last close and 15 above; the 3 nearest above are listed, nearest first.

LevelSideDistanceEvidence
$9.34Resistance8.4% above the last closeturned there twice · 2026-06-01 to 2026-07-02
$9.92Resistance15.3% above the last closeturned there four times · 2024-10-03 to 2026-08-10
$10.91Resistance26.7% above the last closeturned there three times · 2024-09-20 to 2026-05-01

A level is a price this company reversed or paused at more than once — they describe past behaviour, not a forecast of where the price will go.

Wave structure

No Elliott-wave labelling currently fits its swings: the recent highs and lows do not satisfy the three rules a five-wave count has to obey, so there is no count to show rather than a count we are unsure about.

Read from daily closes as of 2026-08-21.

An Elliott-wave count describes the swings already printed and the level that would disprove it. It is not a forecast, a target, or advice.

Based on daily closing prices as of 2026-08-21. Describes past price behavior only — informational, not financial advice.

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Analyst consensus

  • Consensus ratingBuy (2.50 mean, 1=Strong Buy…5=Strong Sell) — 8 analysts
  • Mean price target$10.38 range $8.00 – $18.00; median $9.00

Analyst estimates, as of 2026-08-17. These are third-party analyst opinions and price targets, aggregated — not a recommendation, prediction, or advice from stocks-llm. Informational only.

Analyst EPS estimate for UPWK

  • Consensus EPS estimate$0.3424 next reporting period, as of 2026-08-17

Change over time is not available yet: it needs two readings of the same reporting period at least 30 days apart, and we have been recording these estimates since 2026-08-04. An estimate for a DIFFERENT quarter is not a revision, so a reading from before the last report is never compared with one after it.

The consensus estimate for the next reporting period, and how it has moved between readings of that SAME period. A change is measured only between readings estimating one period — when a company reports, the consensus moves to the next quarter and the two numbers are not comparable. Informational only, not a forecast and not advice.

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Key risks (from latest filing)

["Marketplace revenue growth slowed to 3% YoY; enterprise revenue declined 6% in Q1 2026 due to reduced customer acquisition efforts during Lifted platform transition","Dependence on continued monetization expansion through ads products and pricing optimization; potential for client or talent base resistance to fee increases","Market exposure to economic downturns that reduce business hiring activity and discretionary spending on freelance talent"]

See UPWK's biggest risks from its latest 10-Q →

What changed in the latest 10-Q

AI-assisted comparison of UPWK's 10-Q filed 2026-05-07 against the prior one filed 2025-11-04.

Management's Discussion & Analysis (MD&A)

  • Added:
    • In newer filing (2026-05-07): 'agency' added as work type in Overview section ('freelance, agency, fractional, and payrolled')
    • In newer filing (2026-05-07): Specific financial results for Q1 2026 (three months ended March 31, 2026) with Marketplace revenue of $170.7M, take rate of 19.4%, net income of $31.5M, and Adjusted EBITDA of $57.4M
    • In newer filing (2026-05-07): Reference to reduced customer acquisition efforts as prioritizing Enterprise client transition to Lifted platform
    • In newer filing (2026-05-07): Financial metrics table comparing Q1 2026 to Q1 2025 (March 31 periods)
  • Removed:
    • Older filing (2025-11-04) contained: 'Recent Developments' section with August 2025 Ascen acquisition details ($42.2 million purchase price)
    • Older filing (2025-11-04) contained: Nine-month period financial data and comparisons (nine months ended September 30)
    • Older filing (2025-11-04) contained: Nine-month GSV ($3,008,054 thousand), Marketplace revenue ($511.5M), net income ($99.8M), and Adjusted EBITDA ($172.7M)
    • Older filing (2025-11-04) contained: Description of Uma as 'proprietary AI assistant' rather than 'proprietary AI work agent'
    • Older filing (2025-11-04) contained: Forward-looking statements about Marketplace take rate expectations ('expect Marketplace take rate to remain relatively constant throughout the remainder of 2025')
  • Reworded:
    • Overview platform definition: Older text said 'deliver services on either the Upwork Marketplace or Lifted platforms or our other workforce solutions' changed to newer simpler 'deliver services through the Upwork Marketplace, Lifted, or other Upwork workforce solutions'
    • Overview client definition: Similar simplification from 'seek and engage with talent through the Upwork Marketplace or Lifted platforms or our other workforce solutions' to 'seek and engage with talent through these platforms and other workforce solutions'
    • GSV definition: Older text said 'as well as other client and talent value-added services' changed to newer 'GSV also includes other client and talent value-added services'
    • Financial Highlights introduction: Older text said 'These initiatives centered around' changed to newer 'These initiatives have centered around'
    • Enterprise description: Older text said 'or SMB' changed to newer 'which we refer to as SMB'
    • Uma description: Changed from 'proprietary AI assistant' (older) to 'proprietary AI work agent' (newer)
    • Financial context: Older discussed 'three and nine months ended September 30, 2025'; newer discusses 'three months ended March 31, 2026'
  • Notes:
    • The two filings are for different fiscal periods (Q1 2026 vs. Q3 2025), so some changes reflect period-specific content rather than policy changes
    • The document appears truncated in both versions at similar points, limiting full assessment of all changes
    • Different reporting periods make year-over-year comparisons non-equivalent between the two filings

Risk Factors

  • Added:
    • Newer filing (2026-05-07) adds: 'References to past events are provided by way of example only and are not intended to be a complete listing of such events or a representation as to whether or not such factors or similar events have occurred in the past or their likelihood of occurring in the future.' to the introductory Risk Factors section.
    • Newer filing (2026-05-07) adds risk bullet point: 'We cannot guarantee that the 2026 Share Repurchase Authorization will be fully consummated or that share repurchases will enhance long-term stockholder value. Share repurchases could also increase the volatility of the trading price of our common stock and diminish our cash reserves.' (updated year reference from 2025 to 2026)
    • Newer filing (2026-05-07) adds risk bullet point: 'If we are not able to develop and release new offerings and services or successful enhancements to our existing offerings and services, our business could be adversely affected.' (appears to be reordered in summary)
  • Removed:
    • Older filing (2025-11-04) contains text about geopolitical events: 'there may be impediments to talent who would like to provide services to clients through our platforms and other workforce solutions, including geopolitical events such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which resulted in immediate reductions in activity from customers in the region.' This text does not appear in the newer filing.
    • Older filing (2025-11-04) contains text about specific client concentration: 'Additionally, we had two clients that accounted for more than 10% of Trade and client receivables as of December 31, 2024.' This text does not appear in the newer filing (text is truncated at similar point).
    • Older filing (2025-11-04) states 'Talent have many different ways of marketing their services, securing clients, and obtaining payments from clients, and the competition from offline and online models is significant. Likewise,' before discussing Clients' options. This ordering is reversed in newer filing.
  • Reworded:
    • Older filing (2025-11-04) bullet states: 'Customers circumvent the Upwork Marketplace, which adversely impacts our business.' Newer filing (2026-05-07) states: 'Customers circumvent our platforms and other workforce solutions, which adversely impacts our business.' (Changed from 'the Upwork Marketplace' to 'our platforms and other workforce solutions')
    • Older filing (2025-11-04) states: 'We have a history of net losses, may increase our operating expenses in the future, and may not be able sustain profitability.' Newer filing (2026-05-07) states: 'We have a history of net losses, may increase our operating expenses in the future, and may not be able to sustain profitability.' (Added 'to' between 'able' and 'sustain')
    • Older filing (2025-11-04) states: 'We cannot guarantee that the 2025 Share Repurchase Authorization will be fully consummated or that repurchases made under our share repurchase authorizations will enhance long-term stockholder value.' Newer filing (2026-05-07) states: 'We cannot guarantee that the 2026 Share Repurchase Authorization will be fully consummated or that share repurchases will enhance long-term stockholder value.' (Changed year from 2025 to 2026 and simplified language from 'repurchases made under our share repurchase authorizations' to 'share repurchases')
    • Newer filing (2026-05-07) reorders the risk factors summary and rearranges presentation of risks about developing new offerings and search engine traffic compared to older filing (2025-11-04).
  • Notes:
    • The newer filing text appears to be truncated at the end of the provided excerpt, ending mid-sentence in the detailed risk description section.
    • The older filing text is also truncated at the end, making complete comparison of the full detailed risk descriptions impossible.
    • Comparison is limited to the portions of text provided; full Risk Factors sections may contain additional changes not visible in these excerpts.

AI-assisted comparison of two SEC filing sections. It describes wording and theme changes only, makes no materiality, legal, or investment judgement, and is not financial advice. Informational only — not financial advice.

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Insider activity (SEC Form 4)

0 open-market purchases and 4 open-market sales by insiders in the last 90 days.

  • Last 90 days0 buys · 4 sells ($281468) — 4 selling insiders
  • Last 180 days0 buys · 8 sells ($1M) — 4 selling insiders

Activity heuristic: net selling (a transparent product heuristic from the counts above, not a prediction or advice)

Most recent open-market transaction: 2026-07-18. As of 2026-08-24.

View full insider trading history → View SEC Form 3/4/5 filings

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Only open-market purchases (SEC code P) and sales (code S) are counted here. Option exercises, vesting/awards, gifts, and shares withheld for taxes are excluded — they are compensation or mechanical, not open-market conviction. Sales may be planned and non-discretionary (e.g. a Rule 10b5-1 plan) and are not necessarily bearish; open-market buying is not a recommendation to buy. Informational only — not financial advice.

Institutional ownership (13F)

5 institutional 13F filers reported holding UPWK as of 2026-03-31 (quarter-end position, filed within 45 days).

  • Distinct 13F filers 5
  • Reported shares held 29,792,039
  • Reported value $326,520,750

reported quarterly holdings change (2025-12-31 → 2026-03-31): 0 new, 3 increased, 2 decreased, 1 exited. Change counts cover only managers that filed 13F reports in BOTH quarters, derived between two quarter-end snapshots — not same-day trades; a single manager is never said to have "bought" or "sold".

Institutional holdings are quarter-end long positions reported on SEC Form 13F-HR, filed up to 45 days after the quarter ends — they are delayed, are not real-time trades, exclude short positions and most non-US securities, and are not investment advice. Any increase/decrease is a reported change between two quarterly snapshots, not a same-day purchase or sale. These are quarter-end snapshots from the 13F filings on SEC EDGAR, filed within 45 days — not real-time, and any change is a difference between two quarterly reports, not a same-day trade. Informational only — not financial advice.

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Short interest (FINRA)

UPWK had 22,888,926 shares of reported short interest as of the 2026-07-31 FINRA settlement date (delayed, bi-monthly; not real-time).

UPWK had 18.3% of its shares outstanding sold short as of the 2026-07-31 FINRA settlement date (percent of FLOAT would be higher — float is not disclosed in the source). FINRA reported 6.75 days to cover at the same settlement.

  • Reported short interest (shares) 22,888,926
  • Short interest (% of shares outstanding) 18.3%
  • Prior settlement (shares) 25,619,592
  • Reported change -10.66%
  • Days to cover (reported) 6.75

Reported to FINRA as of the 2026-07-31 settlement date. Short interest is reported to FINRA and published on a delayed, bi-monthly schedule (as of a settlement date, disseminated roughly eight business days later) — it is NOT real-time, does not cover every venue or all US trading, and is not a short-squeeze prediction or investment advice. Days-to-cover is the value FINRA reports; percent of float is not shown because the source file carries no share-count denominator — where a percent appears it is of shares OUTSTANDING, the larger base, and is therefore a floor on percent of float. Informational only — not financial advice.

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Competitors & peers

  • Fiverr (FVRR)
  • Toptal
  • PeoplePerHour
  • Guru
  • Freelancer.com
  • LinkedIn (Microsoft)

AI-enriched competitor set. Linked names are companies covered by stocks-llm; other named peers are shown for reference only.

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Frequently asked questions

What does UPWORK INC (UPWK) do?

Upwork connects businesses with global talent across multiple work types—freelance, agency, fractional, and payrolled—through its AI-enabled marketplace and enterprise workforce platform. The company operates the Upwork Marketplace, a human and AI-powered work marketplace linking clients with independent talent across 10,000+ skills, and Lifted, an enterprise platform for sourcing, contracting, managing, and paying contingent workers.

What sector is UPWORK INC (UPWK) in?

UPWORK INC (UPWK) is classified in the Industrials sector. Its industry is Talent marketplace and contingent workforce platform. It trades on NASDAQ.

Who are UPWORK INC's (UPWK) competitors?

Notable peers of UPWORK INC (UPWK) include Fiverr, Toptal, PeoplePerHour, Guru and Freelancer.com. This peer set is informational only — not financial advice.

Is UPWORK INC (UPWK) overbought or oversold right now?

UPWORK INC (UPWK) is currently neither overbought nor oversold — its 14-day RSI (a 0–100 momentum gauge) is 46, in the neutral middle (as of 2026-08-21). RSI describes recent price momentum, not a forecast — informational only, not financial advice.

Where does stocks-llm's data on UPWK come from?

Fundamentals and prices come from market data, as of 2026-08-24; company filings and profile facts come from SEC EDGAR. All figures are delayed daily-close data shown with their as-of date — informational only, not financial advice.

Fundamentals: market data, as of 2026-08-24. Filings: SEC EDGAR. Prices are delayed daily-close data.

Last updated 2026-08-21.

Informational only — NOT financial advice. All figures are delayed daily-close data from SEC EDGAR & market data, shown with their as-of date.

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