Freelancer Stock Price, News & Analysis

Freelancer Limited (OTCQX: FRLCY) is a marketplace provider focused on freelancing and crowdsourcing. The company operates under the ticker symbol FRLCY in the United States over-the-counter (OTC) market and is also listed on the Australian Securities Exchange under the ticker ASX:FLN. According to company-provided information, Freelancer Limited is headquartered in Sydney, Australia and positions its core platform as a global online marketplace where users can post and complete projects and contests across many professional disciplines.

The company describes itself as the world's largest freelancing and crowdsourcing marketplace by total number of users and projects posted. It reports that more than 80 million registered users have posted over 25 million projects and contests in more than 3,000 areas. These areas span fields such as website development, logo design, marketing, copywriting, astrophysics, aerospace engineering and manufacturing. This breadth illustrates the platform's role in connecting businesses and individuals with specialized talent for both creative and highly technical work.

Core Marketplace and Business Focus

Freelancer Limited's primary business is operating an online marketplace that matches project owners with freelancers through projects and contests. Project owners can post work requirements, while freelancers submit bids or contest entries. The company highlights its history of running open innovation challenges, including work with organizations such as NASA and other U.S. government agencies. Through these challenges, the platform has been used to source solutions for technical and scientific problems, including machine learning models, water management algorithms and spacecraft-related designs.

In addition to general freelancing and crowdsourcing activity, Freelancer has been used as an open innovation platform for large-scale problem solving. For example, the company reports that it has delivered over 20,000 solutions to NASA and U.S. government agencies through its open innovation programs. These challenges have addressed subjects such as protecting space missions, improving simulation performance and designing spacecraft refueling concepts. This demonstrates how the marketplace can be applied to research, engineering and scientific domains as well as more conventional digital services.

Subsidiaries and Related Marketplaces

Freelancer Limited owns several related businesses that support its marketplace activities. The company owns Escrow.com, which it describes as a leading provider of secure online payments and online transaction management for consumers and businesses on the internet. Escrow.com has secured transactions totaling more than US$8 billion, according to company statements. By integrating secure payment and transaction management, this subsidiary supports trust and risk management for online commerce and project work.

Freelancer Limited also owns Loadshift, described as Australia's largest heavy haulage freight marketplace. The company reports that over 800 million kilometres of freight have been posted on Loadshift since inception. This platform focuses on connecting freight loads with transport providers in the heavy haulage segment, extending Freelancer Limited's marketplace model into logistics and transportation.

Global Reach and User Base

The company reports that its platform connects a global community of users. In one description, Freelancer notes that its open innovation platform connects complex problems with 85 million users across more than 200 countries and territories. In another, it cites more than 80 million registered users and over 25 million projects and contests posted. While specific user counts may evolve over time, these statements emphasize the scale and international footprint of the marketplace as described by the company.

Freelancer highlights recognition as a thirteen-time Webby Award winner, reflecting its positioning as a notable online service in the freelancing and crowdsourcing space. The company also emphasizes that its marketplace spans thousands of skill categories, from digital services like website development and marketing to specialized areas such as astrophysics and aerospace engineering.

Capital Markets and ADR Program

Freelancer Limited has established a sponsored Level 1 American Depositary Receipt (ADR) program in the United States. Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas acts as the depositary bank for this program. The ADRs trade on the U.S. OTC market under the symbol FRLCY, with each ADR representing 100 ordinary shares of Freelancer Limited. The program is structured to allow trading in U.S. dollars and to provide mechanisms for dividend distribution and shareholder voting, as described in company and depositary communications.

Information provided by Deutsche Bank indicates that the ADRs are Level I, have a current ratio of 1 American Depositary Share to 100 ordinary shares, and are eligible for settlement through DTC. The company identifies this ADR structure as a way to make investment in Freelancer Limited more accessible to U.S. investors by simplifying cross-border trading.

Partnerships and Open Innovation Challenges

Freelancer Limited's platform has been used in collaboration with public sector and international organizations. One example is a partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to run an open innovation challenge focused on detecting and marking underwater explosive ordnance. The challenge seeks affordable, community-accessible devices that can detect explosives within specified distance and depth parameters and mark locations on handheld GPS systems or mobile phones. The company notes that this initiative is intended to address underwater explosives in conflict and post-conflict regions, with a prize awarded for the winning solution.

In describing this and similar programs, Freelancer emphasizes the ability of open innovation to bring together expertise from many disciplines and locations. The company highlights that breakthroughs for complex problems may come from individuals with diverse backgrounds, such as materials science, sonar, or offshore engineering, who participate through the platform.

Industry Classification and Sector

Based on the information provided, Freelancer Limited operates in the online marketplace and platform sector, with a focus on freelancing, crowdsourcing, secure online payments and freight matching. Its activities span digital services, technology-enabled marketplaces and transaction management. The company’s listings on the Australian Securities Exchange and the U.S. OTC market position it within the broader technology and online services segment of public markets.

FAQs about Freelancer Limited (FRLCY)

• What does Freelancer Limited do?
  Freelancer Limited operates an online freelancing and crowdsourcing marketplace where users can post and complete projects and contests across thousands of skill categories. It also owns Escrow.com for secure online payments and Loadshift, a heavy haulage freight marketplace in Australia.
• How does Freelancer Limited describe its marketplace?
  The company describes its platform as the world's largest freelancing and crowdsourcing marketplace by total number of users and projects posted, with tens of millions of registered users and millions of projects and contests across more than 3,000 areas.
• On which exchanges does Freelancer Limited trade?
  Freelancer Limited is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange under the ticker ASX:FLN and trades in the United States over-the-counter market through a sponsored Level 1 American Depositary Receipt program under the symbol FRLCY.
• What is the FRLCY American Depositary Receipt (ADR)?
  The FRLCY ADR is a Level 1 American Depositary Receipt program administered by Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas. Each ADR represents 100 ordinary shares of Freelancer Limited and is designed to allow trading in U.S. dollars on the OTC market.
• Where is Freelancer Limited headquartered?
  According to information provided by the company, Freelancer Limited is headquartered in Sydney, Australia.
• What is Escrow.com and how is it related to Freelancer Limited?
  Escrow.com is a secure online payments and transaction management provider for consumers and businesses on the internet. Freelancer Limited owns Escrow.com and reports that the service has secured more than US$8 billion in transactions.
• What is Loadshift and how does it fit within Freelancer Limited?
  Loadshift is described as Australia's largest heavy haulage freight marketplace, with over 800 million kilometres of freight posted since inception. It is owned by Freelancer Limited and extends the company’s marketplace model into freight and logistics.
• How has Freelancer Limited used open innovation challenges?
  The company reports that it has delivered over 20,000 solutions to NASA and U.S. government agencies through open innovation challenges hosted on its platform. These challenges have included work on machine learning models, water management algorithms and spacecraft-related designs.
• What is the UNDP underwater explosive ordnance challenge on Freelancer?
  The United Nations Development Programme partnered with Freelancer to run an open innovation challenge seeking affordable tools to detect and mark underwater explosive ordnance. The challenge invites proposals for devices that meet specified cost and performance criteria, with a monetary award for the winning solution.
• How large is Freelancer Limited's user base?
  The company states that more than 80 million registered users have posted over 25 million projects and contests on its platform, and in another description notes that its open innovation platform connects complex problems with 85 million users across more than 200 countries and territories.