On Wednesday, people from Uber Technologies became a bit busy since there was an expected yet surprising stock dip, and they had to work their way to regulate it again. In a previous report here on Ridesharing Forum, Uber shares fell about seven percent today.
However, the company buckled up by saying it has beaten fourth-quarter revenue targets despite the dip in stocks.
Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s chief executive officer, said in a release, “Our performance has been powered by rapid innovation and execution across multiple priorities, including the massive opportunity presented by autonomous vehicles. We enter 2025 with clear momentum and will continue to be relentless against our long-term strategy.”
Revenue growth
The ride-hailing giant’s revenue grew by 20 percent during the last quarter of last year, to $9.9 billion, up from $9.9 billion in 2023.
Furthermore, the company also reported a net income of $6.9 billion, of $3.21 for each share, up from $1.4 billion or 66 cents for each share during the same period in 2024. This net income already includes a $6.4 billion benefit from a tax valuation release, and a $556 million pretax benefit, thanks to revaluation gains from equity investments.
The company reported gross bookings at $44.2 billion, still above the $43.49 billion that analysts had predicted.
Congratulations, Uber!
Now, it is up to your perspective where you want the vantage point from, since there are also several media who say Uber’s stocks dipped and fell beyond targets. But, the arguments above are talking about their achievements compared to the previous few years.
Also, today, Uber announced new projects underway. For one, there’s the public launch of robotaxi rides in Texas, via its partnership with Waymo from Alphabet.
Starting today as well, riders in Austin can launch the Uber app and join the “Interest List” to increase their chances of getting paired with a Waymo at launch. The partnership was first announced in September.
“We have the conviction that Uber will be the indispensable go-to-market partner for AV players,” the CEO said. “This is undoubtedly one of our top priorities, and we’re investing a lot of technical, strategic, and management attention to this topic, with lots more to come.”
This new project can be anchored upon the 3.1 billion trips completed on the Uber platform during the fourth quarter last year, which is also an added achievement since this is up 18 percent year over year. Today, there are a whopping 171 million monthly active users in the fourth quarter, up 14 percent year over year from 150 million users.
However, Khosrowshahi clarified with investors that while autonomous vehicle technologies are progressing, commercialization will take a while, in part because of complex regulatory hurdles.
Uber is the go-to platform globally for ride-hailing, courier, food delivery, and freight transport needs.