Uber is still burning cash at an alarming rate

[Shawn Knight]

In context: Uber’s monthly active platform consumers (MAPCs), defined as the number of unique consumers who completed a ride or received an Eats meat at least once in a given month, climbed to 103 million for the quarter – up 26 percent from 82 million in the year-ago period.

Uber for the third quarter of 2019 reported revenue of $3.8 billion, an increase of 30 percent year-over-year, as gross bookings climbed 29 percent to $16.5 billion. Trips were also on the rise, from 1.3 billion in the year-ago period to 1.8 billion through the three-month period ending September 30 – an increase of 31 percent.

Despite the growth, however, Uber is still hemorrhaging money at an alarming rate. The company posted a net loss of $1.2 billion for the quarter, or roughly 18 percent more than it burned during the same period in 2018. That’s the third largest loss for Uber since the company started reported earnings in 2017 according to The Wall Street Journal.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in an interview after the earnings release that his company expects to reach adjusted EBITDA profitability in 2021.

Even still, Uber’s shareholders aren’t responding to the news favorably. As of writing, the stock is down 8.77 percent to $28.36 after closing at $31.08 yesterday afternoon.

Masthead credit: Uber app by Daniel Fung

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https://www.techspot.com/news/82635-uber-burning-cash-alarming-rate.html

 

[Mr Majestyk]

Great news, the gig economy is a blight on society and it would be a wonderful if the entire concept failed miserably and disappeared forever.

 

[p51d007]

I don't live in a small town, nor, do I live in a large metropolitan city. 200k population, 400k for the area.
I've never needed or understood the whole "Uber" concept because we drive anywhere we want.
I suppose in a super large city where everyone commutes, but seems like a waste of time.
But, free country (so far), do what you want...capitalism at its finest.

 

[Ravey]

I try to avoid Uber... I have noticed that a lot of small taxi firms now have similar apps that work in much the same way that Uber does. So the market is more competitive now than it was when Uber was first launched.

 

[Trapped Nowhere]

I try to avoid Uber... I have noticed that a lot of small taxi firms now have similar apps that work in much the same way that Uber does. So the market is more competitive now than it was when Uber was first launched.

what are the rates like for taxi companies? last time I took a taxi, they charged me $60 for a trip that Uber and even charged me $20 for. Is this also why they're losing money?

 

[Ravey]

what are the rates like for taxi companies? last time I took a taxi, they charged me $60 for a trip that Uber and even charged me $20 for. Is this also why they're losing money?

The local companies around where I live are a lot cheaper

 

[Vanderkaum037]

As a consumer, I welcome companies that are willing to subsidize drivers with loss-leading sales in perpetuity. By the time they become profitable some new hype machine will come along and undercut them and the consumer wins... until either one of them gets a monopoly or the venture capital dries up, whichever happens first. I guess this is how trickle down economics works in practice--cheap taxi rides and half price sandwich delivery.