Uber beats expectations on Q1 earnings, revenue

The firm reported a first-quarter net loss of $157m, or eight cents per share, ahead of consensus forecasts for a nine-cent-per-share loss for the period.

That was also a significant narrowing from its loss of $5.9bn, or $3.04 a share, year-on-year.

Revenue, meanwhile, rose to $8.82bn, ahead of the $8.7bn consensus forecast reported by FactSet.

The company’s revenue in the same period last year totalled $6.85bn.

“We significantly accelerated first quarter trip growth to 24% from 19% last quarter, with mobility trip growth of 32%, as a result of improved earner and consumer engagement,” said chief executive officer Dara Khosrowshahi.

“Looking ahead, we are focused on extending our product, scale and platform advantages to sustain market-leading top and bottom-line growth beyond 2023.”

Uber said gross bookings increased 19% on the year to $31.4bn, or 22% on a constant currency basis, with mobility gross bookings rising 40% to $15bn, and delivery gross bookings advancing 8% to $15bn.

Trips during the quarter grew 24% year-on-year to 2.1 billion, or around 24 million trips per day on average.

Adjusted EBITDA totalled $761m, up $593m year-on-year, with an adjusted EBITDA margin as a percentage of gross bookings of 2.4%, up from 0.6% in the first quarter of 2022.

Incremental margin as a percentage of gross bookings was 12.0% on the year.

Net cash from operating activities was $606m, and free cash flow, defined as net cash flows from operating activities less capital expenditures, was $549m.

Unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totalled $4.2bn at the end of the first quarter.

“We delivered record profitability and free cash flow in the first quarter, and we are poised to expand profitability again in the second quarter,” said chief financial officer Nelson Chai.

“We continued to actively manage our balance sheet, exiting our equity position in Yandex Taxi and refinancing our term loans, and remain focused on disciplined capital allocation over the coming years.”

At 0747 EDT (1247 BST), shares in Uber Technologies were up 8.86% in pre-market trading in New York, at $35.57.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.