Uber ups profit guidance as ride-hailing and food delivery continues to boom
Shares in Uber have climbed nearly four per cent in premarket trading this morning, with the tech giant raising its first-quarter profitability guidance thanks to a record number of cab journeys and booming food delivery orders.
Uber said in a filing that it now expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of $130m (£98m) to $150m (£114m) in the first three months of the year, up from $100m (£76m) to $130m (£98m) it previously predicted.
“Our mobility business is bouncing back from Omicron much faster than we expected,” Uber chief exec Dara Khosrowshahi said in a statement.
Indeed, this bounce back saw February mobility gross bookings recover to 95 per cent compared with February 2019, with ride-hail trips only 10 per cent below pre-pandemic 2019 levels in the same month.
On the delivery side, gross bookings reached an all-time high last month, despite many restaurants and bars being back open for business.
So whilst consumers are using Uber to travel on their nights out, they are also turning to Uber for foodie nights in.
Discussing the speedy recovery, Neil Campling, Head of TMT Research at the GTS Group, told City PM: “It’s a sign of normalisation, the faster than expected recovery from Omicron and likely a sign of pent-up demand with consumers wanting to get out and about, after two years of likely feeling trapped at home.”
“With that dynamic in play, there is every chance that we see a surge in ‘experiences over things’, like holidays, live media and travel, as we move towards, and over, summer.”
It comes as Uber Eats reported its first profit ever last month, with food delivery becoming a key element of the business since the start of the lockdown.
Uber’s revenue also grew 83 per cent to $5.8bn (£4.4bn) for the fourth quarter of 2021, beating analysts’ forecast of $5.36bn (£4.06bn).