Uber doubles Q2 revenue to $8.1 billion as ridership surges

Uber Technologies Inc.'s second-quarter results were boosted by resilient demand from customers who continued to hail rides and order takeout food despite rising inflation.

Revenue more than doubled to $8.1 billion in the second quarter, the company said Tuesday in a statement.

“Last quarter I challenged our team to meet our profitability commitments even faster than planned -- and they delivered,” CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in the statement.

In the three months ended June 30, Uber reported gross bookings, which encompass ride hailing, food delivery and freight, increased 33 percent to an all-time high of $29.1 billion. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization rose $873 million to $364 million, far exceeding Wall Street expectations.

The company said it posted a net loss of $2.6 billion compared with net income of $1.1 billion during the same quarter last year. About $1.7 billion of the second-quarter loss was related to losses from Uber's equity investments.

Uber reported 122 million people used the platform monthly, surpassing the 120.5 million analysts expected. Khosrowshahi said the number of consumers and earners using Uber are both now at a record.

Uber and gig-economy peers like Lyft Inc. and DoorDash Inc. are confronting inflation levels that are the highest in four decades and the specter of an economic downturn that could damp demand, just as it was starting to recover after the rocky months of Covid shutdowns. At the same time, aggressive interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve have made unprofitable companies like these very much out of favor with investors.

Khosrowshahi said in May the company is “recession resistant,” but it has still taken steps to keep costs in check, by treating “hiring as a privilege.” Lyft also said it plans to significantly slow hiring and cut expenses.

Uber, which has struggled with a persistent shortage of drivers over the past year, has gradually decreased the extra spending on bonuses and incentives it was forced to offer to lure people back.

Instead, the company has focused on improving its app by unlocking drivers’ ability to see a fare and a passenger’s destination. The imbalance between drivers and passengers has led to longer wait times and higher fares for customers. Rising fuel prices have led drivers to cut down on the number of hours they are on the road.

The company saw an acceleration in active and new driver growth, Khosrowshashi said on a conference call on Tuesday, adding that its global driver and courier base grew 31 percent from last year to almost 5 million.

A key advantage against rival Lyft is Uber’s food-delivery business Uber Eats, which boomed during the pandemic just as ride-hailing demand cratered.

Uber’s delivery arm, including restaurant, grocery items and alcohol, saw bookings increase 7 percent from a year ago to $13.9 billion.

That missed the $14.4 billion analysts were expecting. Khosrowshahi cautioned that delivery bookings are expected to be “roughly flat” in the current period compared to the second quarter. Still, Uber is making more money from delivery than ever, in part because of contributions from its higher-margin advertising business.

Uber projected gross bookings of $29 billion to $30 billion in the third quarter and adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of $440 million to $470 million. That beat expectations of $391.6 million.