Uber Q1: Revenue Up 15% to $10.13B, Widens Loss to $654M

Key Takeaway

• Uber's Q1 revenue rose 15% to $10.13 billion, beating forecasts, but net loss widened to $654 million due to unrealized losses on equity investments.
• Mobility segment outperformed with a 25% increase in gross bookings and a 30% rise in revenue; delivery segment's growth was below expectations.
• Despite a wider net loss, Uber projects Q2 gross bookings of $38.75-$40.25 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $1.45-$1.53 billion, signaling continued optimism.

Quarterly Performance Overview

Uber Technologies Inc. reported its first-quarter financial results, revealing a mix of achievements and challenges. The company's revenue saw a 15% increase from the previous year, totaling $10.13 billion, slightly surpassing the $10.11 billion analysts had anticipated according to LSEG. This growth comes from a year-ago figure of $8.82 billion. However, Uber encountered a setback with its net loss widening to $654 million, or a 32 cent loss per share, compared to a loss of $157 million, or an 8 cent loss per share, in the same quarter last year. The company attributed this increased net loss to a $721 million net headwind from unrealized losses related to the reevaluation of its equity investments. Despite this, Uber's adjusted EBITDA stood at $1.38 billion, marking an 82% increase year over year and slightly above the $1.31 billion analysts had forecasted.

Segment Performance Insights

Uber's business is segmented into mobility, delivery, and freight, each contributing differently to the company's overall performance. The mobility segment, which includes ride-sharing services, reported gross bookings of $18.67 billion, a 25% increase year over year, generating $5.63 billion in revenue. This revenue figure represents a 30% increase from the previous year and exceeded analysts' expectations of $5.52 billion. However, Uber noted that "business model changes" negatively impacted its mobility revenue margin by 180 basis points during the period.

The delivery segment, encompassing food and other item deliveries, saw gross bookings of $17.7 billion, up 18% year over year, with revenue reaching $3.21 billion. This is a 4% increase from the previous year but fell short of the $3.28 billion analysts had predicted. Similar to the mobility segment, delivery revenue margin was negatively impacted by 230 basis points due to "business model changes."

Uber's freight business, which connects shippers with truckers, booked $1.28 billion in sales for the quarter. This represents a decrease of 8% year over year and remained flat quarter over quarter.

Future Outlook and Growth Strategies

Looking ahead to the second quarter, Uber has set its gross bookings forecast between $38.75 billion and $40.25 billion, which is slightly below the StreetAccount estimates of $40 billion. The company also anticipates adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $1.45 billion to $1.53 billion, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi expressed optimism about the company's trajectory, citing robust demand across Uber's platform. He attributed this to an improving marketplace experience, a shift in consumer spending from goods to services, and a trend towards on-demand transportation and delivery. Khosrowshahi emphasized Uber's focus on increasing penetration of core use cases and expanding into new consumer segments to drive user growth and capture more daily trips.

Management Quotes

• Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber:

  "Demand for Uber remains robust across our platform, supported by our improving marketplace experience, the continued shift of consumer spending from goods to services, and the secular trend towards on-demand transportation and delivery." "To drive user growth and win more of their daily trips, we are focused on increasing our penetration of core use cases, while also expanding into new consumer segments."