Uber shares drop after revenue miss, despite first operating profit

Shares of Uber rose 4% in premarket trading Tuesday after the company reported second-quarter results that missed analysts’ expectations for revenue but offered rosy guidance.

Here’s how the company did:

• Earnings per share: 18 cents vs. 1 cent loss expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.
• Revenue: $9.23 billion vs. $9.33 billion expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.

Revenue for the quarter was up 14% from the same quarter last year.

Uber reported a net income of $394 million, or 18 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $2.6 billion, or $1.33 per share, in the same quarter last year.

In a prepared statement, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the company achieved two major milestones during the quarter: its first quarter of free cash flow over $1 billion and its first GAAP operating profit.

“Both of these milestones were achieved through a combination of disciplined execution, record audience and strong engagement,” Khosrowshahi said.

The company reported adjusted EBITDA of $916 million, up 152% year over year. Gross bookings for the quarter came in at $33.6 billion, up 16% year over year.

For the third quarter of 2023, Uber said it expects to report gross bookings between $34 billion to $35 billion and an adjusted EBITDA of $975 million to $1.025 billion, both ahead of analysts’ expectations, according to StreetAccount.

Here’s how Uber’s largest business segments performed:

Mobility (gross bookings): $16.73 billion, up 25% year-over-year

Delivery (gross bookings): $15.60 billion, up 12% year-over-year

Uber’s mobility segment reported $4.89 billion in revenue, compared with delivery’s $3.06 billion. Its freight business booked $1.28 billion in sales for the quarter, down from the $1.83 billion it reported for the same quarter last year.

The number of Uber’s monthly active platform consumers reached 137 million in the second quarter, up 12% year over year. There were 2.3 billion trips completed on the platform during the period, up 22% year over year.

Uber will hold its quarterly call with investors at 8:00 a.m. ET Tuesday.