Automatic Data Processing vs Upwork
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The short version
- Automatic Data Processing is the larger business, with $21.9B of revenue in fiscal 2026 against $788M for Upwork, about 28 times as much.
- Automatic Data Processing grew revenue faster (6.7%, against 2.4%).
- Upwork turned more of its sales into free cash flow (30.8% FCF margin, against 23.9%).
- Automatic Data Processing earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (68.8%, against 31.0%).
| Latest fiscal year | ADP Β· FY26 | UPWK Β· FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $122.7B | $1.2B |
| Revenue | $21.9B | $788M |
| Free cash flow | $5.2B | $242M |
| Net income | $4.4B | $115M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 6.7% | 2.4% |
| 5-year growth | 7.9% | 16.1% |
| Share count change | β1.3% | β1.7% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 46.4% | 77.8% |
| Operating margin | β | 16.4% |
| Net margin | 20.1% | 14.7% |
| FCF margin | 23.9% | 30.8% |
| Return on capital | 68.8% | 31.0% |
| Return on equity | 72.2% | 19.2% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $734M | β$313M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.1x | β2.0x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $4.7B | $136M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | β | 12.3x |
| Piotroski F-score | 9 | 6 |
Revenue
FY17
ADP $12.4B
UPWK $203M
FY18
ADP $13.3B
UPWK $253M
FY19
ADP $14.1B
UPWK $301M
FY20
ADP $14.6B
UPWK $374M
FY21
ADP $15.0B
UPWK $503M
FY22
ADP $16.5B
UPWK $618M
FY23
ADP $18.0B
UPWK $689M
FY24
ADP $19.2B
UPWK $769M
FY25
ADP $20.6B
UPWK $788M
FY26
ADP $21.9B
UPWK β
ADP
UPWK
Operating margin
FY17
ADP β
UPWK β1.5%
FY18
ADP β
UPWK β4.6%
FY19
ADP β
UPWK β6.2%
FY20
ADP β
UPWK β6.0%
FY21
ADP β
UPWK β10.8%
FY22
ADP β
UPWK β15.0%
FY23
ADP β
UPWK β1.6%
FY24
ADP β
UPWK 8.5%
FY25
ADP β
UPWK 16.4%
FY26
ADP β
UPWK β
ADP
UPWK
Free cash flow
FY17
ADP $1.9B
UPWK β$5.8M
FY18
ADP $2.3B
UPWK $10.7M
FY19
ADP $2.5B
UPWK β$9.7M
FY20
ADP $2.9B
UPWK $16.0M
FY21
ADP $2.9B
UPWK $9.8M
FY22
ADP $2.9B
UPWK $10.3M
FY23
ADP $4.0B
UPWK $52.0M
FY24
ADP $3.9B
UPWK $150M
FY25
ADP $4.8B
UPWK $242M
FY26
ADP $5.2B
UPWK β
ADP
UPWK
Return on capital
FY17
ADP β
UPWK β
FY18
ADP β
UPWK β15.5%
FY19
ADP β
UPWK β10.5%
FY20
ADP β
UPWK β12.5%
FY21
ADP 44.4%
UPWK β31.0%
FY22
ADP β
UPWK β55.7%
FY23
ADP β
UPWK β6.9%
FY24
ADP β
UPWK 26.2%
FY25
ADP 78.2%
UPWK 31.0%
FY26
ADP 68.8%
UPWK β
ADP
UPWK
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.