Total revenue rose 72 percent to $ 4.8 billion, but losses remain high due to the company’s Didi stake.
Uber Technologies Inc reported its first profitable quarter on an adjusted basis on Thursday since it launched more than a decade ago, with its two main segments, ride-hailing and restaurant delivery, both of which are around the corner.
Uber said consumers were out in greater numbers and drivers returned to its platform in the third quarter, suggesting the massive payments as an incentive for drivers have paid off.
The California-based company reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, a measure that excludes one-time costs, primarily stock-based payments, of $ 8 million on a basis of $ 625 million for the quarter ended September 30 Dollars a year ago.
However, Uber recorded a growing net loss of $ 2.4 billion, largely due to a depreciation of its stake in Chinese driver service Didi and stock-based compensation. Total revenue rose 72 percent to $ 4.8 billion, which is above an average analyst estimate of $ 4.4 billion, according to Refinitiv’s IBES data.
Sales of its mobility unit, which also includes the ride, rose 62 percent year-on-year to $ 2.2 billion. Sales rose 36 percent on a quarterly basis and unit margins returned to pre-coronavirus pandemic levels.
Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s chief executive, said in a statement that this year’s Halloween weekend exceeded 2019 levels, suggesting Americans were eager to go out.
U.S. airport travel, which is among the industry’s most profitable routes, has been on the rise in recent weeks, up 20 percent since early September, while business travel is up 60 percent, Uber said. Nelson Chai, Uber’s chief financial officer, said in a statement that the company’s core restaurant delivery business was profitable for the first time on an adjusted EBITDA basis in the third quarter.
Uber’s monthly active driver and courier base in the US has grown nearly 640,000 since January, but the company has not provided any data on how driver numbers compare to pre-pandemic levels.
Uber’s delivery unit, which consists primarily of the company’s Eats business, continued its hit streak, but gross bookings were largely unchanged from the second quarter.
Delivery, which includes restaurant and store deliveries, posted an overall adjusted EBITDA loss of $ 12 million, which is close to breakeven for the unit.
Delivery has emerged as Uber’s pandemic backbone. Steady delivery bookings signal that the recovery in journeys has not come at the expense of grocery deliveries, as consumers cling to the service even as the economy reopens.
Uber’s earnings follow the stellar results of smaller U.S. rival Lyft Inc, which reported its second straight quarterly adjusted profit on Tuesday and outlined its path to sustainable profitability.
