Uber’s self-proclaimed “strongest quarter ever” doesn’t come close to satisfying investors
The ride-hailing company is trading lower after its results fell short of Wall Street estimates.
Uber’s share price slid after it missed Wall Street expectations despite what it said were its strongest quarterly and full-year results in its history.
The company reported an operating income of $770 million, well bellow the $1.2 billion analysts were expecting. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said its operating income was “partially offset by discrete legal and regulatory related matters.” The company has been fighting off lawsuits over how it pays its drivers, among other issues.
Uber also said it expects its gross bookings — an industry metric that measures how much customers spend on its platform — for the first three months of 2025 to be between $42 billion and $43.5 billion. Analysts had forecast $43.4 billion, according to FactSet.
The company reported a net income of $6.9 billion for its fourth quarter of 2024, way above the $1 billion the Street expected. But that’s not because its business suddenly became more profitable: Uber noted that figure included $6.4 billion from a tax valuation release and $556 million of unrealized gains on its equity investments.
Still, the company reported its “strongest quarter ever,” Khosrowshahi said. It was Uber’s second full year as a profitable company, and it has consistently grown its gross bookings.
The company also announced on Wednesday that it would open a waitlist for customers in Austin to indicate interest in Waymo, an autonomous driving venture backed by Alphabet that Uber has a partnership with.
