The soaring inflation ravaging the global economy, with no sign of slowing down, has no doubt put a strain on so many businesses, leading to massive layoffs of workers, loss of revenue, and a freeze in the hiring process.
With so many businesses struggling to keep their businesses afloat, few businesses have been able to weather the storm showing strong resilience against the inflation crisis.
Despite the high gas prices and soaring inflation, American mobility service provider, Uber on Tuesday, disclosed that its revenue hit $8.1 billion during the three months ending in June, more than doubling from the previous year as more customers turn to the ride-hailing service.
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The number of consumers of drivers using its platform is at an all-time high, as shown in the company’s quarterly earning report. Uber recorded 122 million people using its platform each month, up to 21% from the previous year.
The company is said to have outperformed analysts expectations, shaking off concerns over high inflation to post $8 billion in revenue, a 105% surge from last year. Its shares also jumped to about 11% in early trading.
Uber disclosed that it had become cash flow positive, making more money from its operations than it spent excluding capital expenditures, as the company disclosed its generation of $382 million in free cash flow during the first quarter.
Uber continues to offer a unique window into consumer trends more than two years into the pandemic, which initially decimated the demand for travel. Recall that the company launched its UberEats food delivery business in 2015, the update included new options to incentivize use, such as advanced scheduling of deliveries, live order tracking, and other product replacement recommendations.
Speaking on the revenue growth despite surging inflation, Uber’s CEO Dara Khoshrowshahi disclosed that the company delivered a balanced growth on a very large platform which saw the number of consumers and earners using Uber now both at-all time highs.
In his words, “Uber delivered balanced growth and did so on a platform that’s larger than ever, with the number of consumers and earners using Uber now both at all-time highs. No one wishes for a tough economic environment or elevated inflation that is affecting so many of us, including Uber drivers, but the economic environment has allowed Uber to show its strengths”.
He further disclosed that Uber not only benefits from its size, but also from its range of business offerings. Mr. Dara reveals that Uber has been able to apply discipline as it makes an improvement on the platform to serve drivers better, which includes better onboarding to make it easier for workers to sign up and an easier way to toggle between driving and delivering.
Looking at all these reasons aforementioned by Uber’s CEO, that helped the company stay afloat despite inflation, there was something fascinating about what he said that Uber benefits not only from its size but also from the range of business offerings.
One thing I discovered that really helped Uber in this uncertain period, is that the company used its large platform to include other ranges of businesses which boosted its revenue. Apart from its ride-hailing services, it adopted UberEats, an online food delivery business and the company has also announced a new grocery ordering service.
On June 30, Uber reported gross bookings, which encompass ride-hailing, food delivery, and freight, increased 33% to an all-time high of $29.1 billion. Its global driver and courier base grew 31% from last year to almost 5 million.
Customers kept hailing rides and ordering takeout food as the business hit on all cylinders, in a dual mission of carrying people and making deliveries that benefited the company, and would no doubt set it apart from its peers in the event of an economic downturn.