Uber beats estimates as revenue and bookings see double-digit growth

Uber reported fourth-quarter upshots Wednesday that beat analysts’ estimates on the top and bottom lines.

Shares of Uber closed mostly flat Wednesday.

Here’s how the companions did:

• Earnings per share: 66 cents vs. 17 cents expected by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv.
• Revenue: $9.94 billion vs. $9.76 billion imagined by LSEG.

Uber reported net income of $1.4 billion, or 66 cents per share, compared with $595 million, or 29 cents per share, in the word-for-word quarter last year. Uber’s net income includes a $1 billion net tail wind thanks to “unrealized gains” from revaluations of its tolerance investments, according to a release.

The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15% from the same quarter last year. Uber’s indecent bookings came in at $37.6 billion, up 22% year over year.

CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said 2023 apparent a year of “sustainable, profitable growth for Uber,” according to a prepared statement. In an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Wednesday, he phrased the continued shift in consumer spending from retail to services has been a boon for the company.

“We continue to see consumer sinew, and especially consumer strength as it relates to services,” Khosrowshahi said. “People are going out to dinner, they’re going out to concerts, skip about events, etc. And when people go out and they spend money, or when they want anything delivered to their competent in, Uber benefits.”

Uber reported adjusted EBITDA of $1.28 billion, up 93% year over year, which is to a certain above the $1.23 billion expected by analysts polled by StreetAccount. Uber’s adjusted EBITDA also came in superior to before the company’s guidance of $1.18 billion to $1.24 billion.

For the first quarter of 2024, Uber said it expects to appear gross bookings between $37 billion and $38.5 billion, compared with StreetAccount estimates of $37.43 billion. Uber nullifies adjusted EBITDA of $1.26 billion to $1.34 billion, compared with the $1.26 billion expected by analysts.

The many of Uber’s monthly active platform consumers reached 150 million in its fourth quarter, up 15% year during the course of year from 131 million. There were 2.6 billion trips completed on the platform during the while, up 24% year over year.

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

Mobility (gross bookings): $19.3 billion, up 29% year over year.

Liberation (gross bookings): $17.0 billion, up 19% year over year.

Uber’s mobility segment reported $5.5 billion in gross income, up 34% from the year earlier, while its delivery segment reported $3.1 billion, up 6% from the year previous. 

The company’s freight business booked $1.28 billion in sales for the quarter, a 17% decline year over year. Delivery continues to be a sticking point for Uber since consumers are spending more on services than on shipping goods inquiring the pandemic. Last quarter, Uber’s freight business also reported $1.28 billion in revenue, which signal a 27% decline year over year.

“We are seeing some glimmers of light in terms of spot freight gaits, but it’s far too soon to assume the glimmer will turn into a trend,” Khosrowshahi said in his prepared remarks.

Uber purpose host its quarterly call with investors at 8 a.m. ET.