What Happened?
A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after investors grew increasingly concerned about persistent inflation and rising bond yields, raising worries about future Federal Reserve policy.
The pressure on equities became more pronounced following a significant move in the U.S. bond market, where the 10-year Treasury yield held near 4.60% and the 30-year yield pushed past 5.1%, a level not seen since 2007. These higher yields reflect investor anxiety that stubborn inflation, potentially worsened by geopolitical tensions, could force the Federal Reserve to delay anticipated interest rate cuts.
Higher rates make bonds more attractive relative to stocks and reduce the present value of future corporate earnings, which weighs on stock valuations, particularly for the technology sector. Investors are now looking ahead to the upcoming release of the Fed's minutes for further guidance.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.
Among others, the following stocks were impacted:
- Online Marketplace company Etsy (NYSE: ETSY) fell 3.2%. Is now the time to buy Etsy? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Online Retail company Coupang (NYSE: CPNG) fell 3%. Is now the time to buy Coupang? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Gig Economy company Upwork (NASDAQ: UPWK) fell 4.1%. Is now the time to buy Upwork? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On Upwork (UPWK)
Upwork’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 33 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 11 days ago when the stock dropped 19.6% on the news that the company’s weak revenue guidance for the upcoming quarter and full year overshadowed a strong first-quarter 2026 profit beat.
The company reported revenue of $195.5 million, up 1.4% year-over-year, which was in line with Wall Street’s expectations. Adjusted earnings per share of $0.35 comfortably beat analyst estimates by 29%. Despite the current quarter's solid profitability, investors focused on the weaker outlook. Upwork guided for second-quarter revenue of $190 million at the midpoint, falling nearly 7% below consensus. Furthermore, the company lowered its full-year revenue forecast by 8% to $775 million, signaling concerns about future growth and prompting a significant sell-off in its shares.
Upwork is down 57.8% since the beginning of the year, and at $8.38 per share, it is trading 62.1% below its 52-week high of $22.11 from January 2026. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Upwork’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at only $205.93.
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