- Uber reported that total bookings for its ride-service and food-delivery businesses rose 45% from 2017
- The company generated $11.3B in revenue by taking its cut, but it failed to show a profit
Uber Technologies Inc had $50 billion in total bookings for its ride-service and food-delivery businesses last year, up 45% over 2017. Uber’s full-year revenue for 2018 was $11.3 billion, up 43 percent.
Even with the impressive top-line growth, the company reported losses before taxes, depreciation and other expenses of $1.8 billion, an improvement over the $2.2 billion loss posted in 2017. With an IPO planned in 2019, analysts have projected that Uber’s valuation can top $100B.
Many investors are overlooking Uber’s lack of profits for top-line growth, betting that Uber can turn a profit with enough of a presence globally. Currently Uber is subsidizing ride costs to compete with alternative services such as Lyft and Ola in India. Still, Uber critics question whether the company’s business model is broken and if it can ever operate a profitable business.
Article by: Mick Ross
Mick is currently a full-time investor and formerly a buy-side analyst (2yrs) covering healthcare companies. Before that, he was a salesperson at a bulge-bracket firm, based in Dallas, Texas. Mick blogs to clarify and synthesize his investment thought process and to elicit feedback; additionally he likes to connect with other investors and swap ideas.