Ajit Karn
Uber Technologies said on Wednesday that it would focus on making money this year. The company ended 2022 with huge profits thanks to a rise in demand for rides to and from the airport and the office, which helped the company get back on its feet after the pandemic.
At noon, Uber’s shares were up nearly 4% after the rideshare giant reported a surprise profit for the fourth quarter and CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told investors that the company was “well and truly” over the effects of the pandemic.
“I’m more optimistic than ever about our future, even though the macroeconomy is uncertain,” he said.
Uber predicted that its adjusted EBITDA, a measure of profitability that leaves out some costs, would be between $660 million (nearly Rs. 5,450 crore) and $700 million (nearly Rs. 5,790 crore) for the first quarter. This was well above the average analyst estimate of $593.06 million (nearly Rs. 4,900 crore), according to data from Refinitiv.
“They really hit the ball out of the park… In this situation, it’s very important to grow in a way that makes money “Analyst Tejas Dessai from Global X ETFs, which has Uber in a few of its funds, said this.
The rideshare market is getting better because things are getting back to normal and car ownership costs are going up, which makes more people want to take cabs. At the same time, more drivers are joining because they want to find new ways to make money.
Khosrowshahi said that the number of active drivers on the platform hit an all-time high in the fourth quarter and kept going up in January, putting to rest fears that there wouldn’t be enough drivers to meet rising demand.
Khosrowshahi said, “We are clearly different from our competitors when it comes to what drivers want.”
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Shares of Lyft, a smaller competitor that will report earnings on Thursday, were down more than 4%.
In the fourth quarter, Uber’s sales went up 49% to $8.61 billion (nearly Rs. 71,170 crore), which was more than the average analyst prediction of $8.49 billion (nearly Rs. 70,170 crore). Rideshare revenue surged 82 percent.
