Uber Technologies Inc. posted a robust third-quarter performance, reporting its strongest growth since late 2023 and the largest trip volume increase in its history outside the post-COVID rebound, but shares fell about 4% in premarket trading as investors weighed the company’s heavy reliance on one-off accounting gains for its headline profit.
The San Francisco-based ridesharing giant reported revenue of $13.47 billion, beating the $13.28 billion expected by LSEG analysts. Earnings per share came in at $3.11, although it was not immediately clear if that figure was directly comparable to the 68 cents expected by Wall Street.
Revenue rose 20% year-on-year from $11.2 billion, driven by growth across both the mobility and delivery segments. Gross bookings climbed 21% to $49.74 billion, surpassing StreetAccount’s estimate of $48.95 billion.
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Uber’s net income nearly tripled to $6.6 billion, compared with $2.6 billion in the same quarter last year. However, a large portion of that profit came from a $4.9 billion tax valuation benefit and a $1.5 billion gain from reevaluations of equity investments. Excluding those one-time items, adjusted EBITDA rose 33% to $2.26 billion, roughly in line with expectations.
“This was our strongest growth since the end of 2023,” CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in prepared remarks, adding that Uber’s focus on “innovation and affordability” had driven record trip volume and solid gross bookings across both rides and deliveries.
Record Trips and Expanding User Base
The company reported 3.5 billion trips for the quarter, a 22% increase from a year earlier, and said monthly active platform consumers rose 17% to 189 million. The growth reflects Uber’s continued global expansion and consumer shift toward on-demand mobility services despite broader economic uncertainty.
Khosrowshahi told CNBC’s Squawk Box that the company is operating with “blue skies ahead,” though he acknowledged that Uber is keeping an eye on potential headwinds from global economic volatility.
“At this point, the business continues to hit on all cylinders,” he said.
Segment Breakdown
Uber’s mobility segment — its core ride-hailing business — saw gross bookings of $25.11 billion, up 20% from the previous year. Mobility revenue rose to $7.68 billion, slightly above StreetAccount’s forecast of $7.63 billion.
The delivery segment, which includes Uber Eats, posted $23.32 billion in gross bookings, up 25% year over year. Delivery revenue reached $4.48 billion, beating the $4.31 billion projected by analysts.
The company also highlighted strong growth in Uber for Business, its enterprise logistics arm, and in its advertising business, which now reaches millions of users across its app ecosystem.
AI Partnerships and Innovation Push
Khosrowshahi emphasized Uber’s growing use of artificial intelligence to streamline logistics, improve driver dispatching, and enhance customer experiences. He confirmed that the company is collaborating with OpenAI and other large language model developers to build new tools that can optimize operations for drivers and couriers.
He suggested that AI-driven efficiencies will be a key driver of future growth alongside strategic acquisitions and internal innovations.
For the fourth quarter, Uber forecast gross bookings between $52.25 billion and $53.75 billion, ahead of the $52.10 billion expected by analysts. Adjusted EBITDA is projected to range between $2.41 billion and $2.51 billion, compared with StreetAccount’s $2.47 billion consensus.
Despite the upbeat outlook and record performance, investor reaction was muted, with shares down before the bell. Analysts said the pullback likely reflects concerns over the sustainability of Uber’s earnings given the significant one-time gains in the quarter, as well as the broader tech market’s caution amid rising interest rates.
Even so, Uber’s solid operational performance, marked by record bookings, expanding consumer engagement, and a growing AI footprint, suggests the company is well-positioned to sustain momentum into 2025.