Fresh off his legal win that allows him to avoid classifying drivers as employees in California, on Thursday, Uber Technologies Inc. (Uber shares - ticker: UBER) reported that its business is continuing to recover from the pandemic-induced slowdown.
The situation of the company
Third quarter gross bookings fell only 6% from the same period a year ago as pandemic-related lockdowns eased and many people returned to work and travel.
Meanwhile, Uber's delivery business continued to outperform its business, which was down 50% from the previous year but doubled from the previous quarter.
"All the early evidence is making it increasingly clear that it is a question of when, not if, our business will recover," said CEO Dara Khosrowshahi during the company's earnings call, although she noted that segment performance continues to decline. be correlated with lockdowns.
Khosrowshahi said, for example, that the company has seen a slight contraction in travel in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in the past month, as COVID-19 cases have increased in some areas.
After the California lawsuit was won, the CEO said Uber will now support a driver handling system similar to an outsourced procurement model, and that he plans to export this model to other states as well.
The numbers of Uber shares
Uber reduced its third quarter loss to just over $ 1 billion, or $ 0,62 per share, compared to a loss of nearly $ 1,2 billion, or $ 0,68 per share, over a one-year period. does. Analysts surveyed by FactSet on average expected Uber to post a loss of 60 cents per share, or $ 1 billion, compared to the company's loss of nearly $ 1,2 billion in the same period a year ago.
They expected an adjusted loss of 50 cents per share. Revenue fell to $ 3,13 billion from $ 3,8 billion in the quarter a year ago. According to FactSet, analysts expect an average revenue of $ 3,07 billion.
"The delivery is benefiting from a massive shift in consumer behavior," Khosrowshahi said. “People won't stop using Amazon. They won't stop using Uber Eats. We are one of the few companies that can take advantage of this historic moment ”.
He also said there is plenty of room for deliveries growth, stating that in some markets Uber only had 10% to 20% of restaurant affiliates. The company is also doubling down on grocery delivery and has launched pilot projects for prescription delivery in Dallas and Seattle. Shares of Uber have risen 41% so far this year and are quoted at around $ 42 at press time.
