Uber Focuses on 2023 Profits as Pandemic Pain Eases

Uber Technologies said on Wednesday it would focus on delivering profits this year, rounding off earnings for 2022 as growth in demand for airport and office rides helped the company recover from the pandemic.

Uber shares rose nearly 4 percent after the rideshare giant reported a surprise fourth-quarter profit and Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi reassured investors that the pandemic’s impact was “well and truly behind the company.” Was.

“Despite any macroeconomic uncertainty, I am more confident than ever in our prospects,” he said.

Uber forecast adjusted EBITDA, a profitability metric excluding certain costs, of between $660 million  and $700 million  for the first quarter, which averaged $593.06 million. Well above analyst estimates, according to Refinitiv data.

Tejas Desai, an analyst at Global X ETF, said, “They absolutely hit it out of the park … Profitable growth is very important in this environment.”

The rideshare market is benefiting from normalization and rising car ownership costs, which is driving many people to opt for cab rides. Plus, more drivers are signing up as they look for new sources of income.

Khosrowshahi said active drivers on the platform reached an all-time high in the fourth quarter and continued to rise in January, leaving behind concerns of a lack of drivers signing up as demand surged.

“We clearly separated ourselves from our competitors on driver preference,” Khosrowshahi said.

Shares of smaller rival Lyft, which is scheduled to report results on Thursday, were down more than 4 percent.

Uber’s revenue rose 49 percent to $8.61 billion in the fourth quarter, beating the average analyst estimate of $8.49 billion. Rideshare revenue increased by 82 percent.

February 09, 2023