Is Upwork Stock Halal?
Table of Contents
How much of Upwork’s revenue comes from haram?
Upwork earns its revenue from the following revenue sources:
- Marketplace:
Upwork provides a platform for connecting businesses with independent professionals, freelancers, and agencies for their hiring needs.
In exchange for supplying its platform, Upwork takes a percentage of the total amount that freelancers charge clients for services.
In addition, Upwork earns revenue from providing escrow services and charging payment processing, subscription, and administration fees to clients using its platform.
- Managed Services:
Upwork hires some experienced freelancers to perform services for clients on its behalf and assumes responsibility for the work performed.
The contributions from each of Upwork’s revenue segments in their Q1 2021 report were as follows:
Practical Islamic Finance concludes:
None of Upwork’s revenue comes from anything inherently haram.
Does Upwork rely on interest to operate?
Upwork reports its Interest Income & Expenses as a net value.
For the Trailing Twelve Months as of March 31, 2021 (Numbers in thousands, U.S. Dollars):
Interest Expense (net): $747
Total Expenses: $425,105
Interest Expense / Total Expense: 0.18%
Practical Islamic Finance concludes:
Riba is used but not relied upon in Upwork’s operations.
What is Upwork’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) impact?
Environment
In 2019, Upwork achieved carbon neutrality, which according to Upwork, was primarily due to its employees working remotely and avoiding over one million commuting miles.
Social
Upwork has a high Glassdoor rating of 4.1 out of 5.0 from over 500 current and previous employees compared to a 3.3 average for all other Glassdoor rated companies.
Governance
No notable governance highlights.
Practical Islamic Finance concludes:
Upwork has a net positive ESG impact.
Comfort Rating
From Upwork’s business, financial, and ESG reviews, Practical Islamic Finance rates Upwork stock as: