Uber stock surges after earnings report shows 72% revenue jump

Uber (UBER) announced its Q3 earnings before the opening bell on Tuesday, missing on expectations for gross bookings and reporting greater losses per share than Wall Street had anticipated. Revenue, however, rose 72% year-over-year. Shares were up nearly 13% when the market opened.

Here are the most important numbers from the report compared to what analysts were expecting of the ride sharing giant in the quarter.

Gross bookings: $29.11 billion versus $29.63 billion expected
Mobility bookings: $13.68 billion versus $13.86 billion expected
Delivery bookings: $13.68 billion versus $13.86 billion expected
Freight bookings: $1.75 billion versus $1.89 billion expected
Losses per share: $-0.61 versus $-0.17 expected

While the company missed on earnings per share expectations, it did manage to beat on revenue, which came in at $8.34 billion versus an anticipated $8.13 billion.

The company also announced it expects gross bookings to jump 23% to 27% year-over-year in Q4.

“Our global scale and unique platform advantages are working together to drive more profitable growth, with Gross Bookings growth of 32% and record Adjusted EBITDA of $516 million,” CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, said in a statement. “Even as the macroeconomic environment remains uncertain, Uber’s core business is stronger than ever.”

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

Uber’s report follows its announcement that it is no longer facing driver shortages. In October, Andrew Macdonald, Uber’s head of mobility, told the Financial Times that global driver supply is up 70% year-over-year.

Drivers initially left the Uber app during the pandemic, as ride requests collapsed amid lockdowns. As the world started to reopen, though, there weren’t enough drivers to fulfill the spike in demand. That forced riders to deal with excessive wait times, higher prices, and a general lack of available rides.

Uber and its cohort of gig economy companies are also facing the prospect of having their workers reclassified as employees. Last month, the Department of Labor released a proposed rule change that could make Uber’s drivers employees entitled to minimum wage and other benefits.

The company, and rivals Lyft (LYFT) and DoorDash (DASH), have been fighting legislation to reclassify workers as employees for years. In 2020, the companies ran a successful campaign in support of California’s Proposition 22, which exempted gig workers from being considered employees.

The Labor Department’s rule change isn’t a sure bet, and still needs to go through the standard regulatory process. Uber and its competitors will also challenge the rule if it does change worker status.

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