Uber Q4 2022 Earnings

Uber reported Wednesday fourth-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates. Shares rose more than 8% in premarket trading.

Here’s how the company did it:

• Earnings per share: 29 cents versus 18 cents expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.
• income: $8.6 billion, versus the $8.49 billion expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.

Revenue for the quarter was up 49% year-over-year. Earnings of 29 cents per share include a large investment return. Uber said net income for the quarter was $595 million, of which $756 million was a net gain due to unrealized gains on equity investments.

In a prepared statement, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said Uber ended 2022 with its “strongest quarter ever,” capping its “strongest year yet.” He said the impact of the pandemic on the company’s mobile business was “now behind us” and that active drivers were at their highest level for the quarter. He noted that the company also achieved a new milestone of reaching 2 billion trips in one quarter for the first time, averaging about 1 million trips per hour.

“Importantly, we achieved these results while maintaining or improving our competitive position in key markets,” he said in a statement.

The company reported adjusted EBITDA of $665 million, beating analysts’ expectations of $620 million, according to StreetAccount. Gross bookings for the quarter were $30.7 billion, a 19% year-over-year increase.

In the first quarter of 2023, Uber expects gross bookings to grow 20% to 24% year-over-year in constant currency and adjusted EBITDA to be between $660 million and $700 million.

Here’s how Uber’s biggest business segments fared in the quarter:

Mobility (gross bookings): $14.9 billion versus the $14.8 billion expected by analysts, according to StreetAccount

Shipping (booking amount): $14.3 billion versus the $14.3 billion analysts were expecting, according to StreetAccount.

Uber relied heavily on growth in its Eats delivery business during the Covid pandemic, but its mobility segment surpassed Eats’ revenue in the first, second and third quarters of 2022 as riders began taking more trips. That trend continued through the fourth quarter, when the company’s mobility segment reported revenue of $4.1 billion, while shipping reported $2.9 billion.

Uber’s cargo business posted $1.5 billion in sales for the quarter.

The platform’s monthly active users grew to 131 million in the fourth quarter, up 11% year over year. During this period, 2.1 billion trips were made on the platform, which is up 19% year-on-year.

Khosrowshahi said Wednesday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that Uber sees no signs of weakness in consumer spending. He said the company could benefit from a shift from retail to services after the pandemic.

“We looked and looked,” he said. “At this point, we don’t see any signs of consumer weakness.”

However, Khasrowshahi said about 70% of drivers say inflation is a factor in their decision to switch to the Uber platform.

“Maybe we will benefit from this trend, we will see where it takes us,” he said.

Uber will hold its quarterly call with investors on Wednesday at 8:00 a.m. ET.