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Uber Technologies Inc. shares rose more than 6% in after-hours trading Thursday after the ride-hailing company beat analysts’ predictions in its fourth-quarter earnings while also bringing forward its profitability forecast.

For the quarter ended Dec. 31, Uber booked revenue of $4.07 billion, up 37% from the same quarter of 2018 and a touch higher than analysts’ predictions of $4.06 billion. Gross bookings rose 28%, to $18.1 billion, on 1.907 billion trips, also up 28%.

The company lost $1.1 billion or 64 cents per share, higher than a loss of $887 million for the fourth quarter of 2018 but lower than the 68-cent expected by analysts. Notably, the loss included $243 million from stock-based compensation.

The improved figures were reflected in improving returns on Uber’s core ride-hailing service, which by itself booked a $742 million profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Uber Eats, by contrast, booked an adjusted loss of $461 million.

For the full year, Uber reported gross bookings of $65 billion, up 31% year-over-year on revenue of $14.14 billion, up 26%. The company is still bleeding money, however, with an adjusted loss for the year of $2.73 billion, 48% higher than the $1.85 billion booked in 2018. The net loss for 2018 came in at $8.5 billion.

Looking forward, Uber is forecasting a $1.35 billion adjusted loss in 2020, half that of the $2.83 billion predicted by analysts.

“2019 was a transformational year for Uber and I’m gratified by our progress, steadily delivering against the commitments we’ve made to our shareholders on our path to profitability,” Uber Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi said in a statement. “We recognize that the era of growth at all costs is over. In a world where investors increasingly demand not just growth, but profitable growth, we are well-positioned to win through continuous innovation, excellent execution and the unrivaled scale of our global platform.”

He expanded on that emphasis on profitability in an investor call. Khosrowshahi said that though Uber was still targeting 2021 as its first profitable year, he was challenging employees to move that target to the fourth quarter of 2020.

Investors liked what they heard. Uber’s stock price rose as much as 10% in after-hours trading before settling to a gain of 6.3%. Update: On Friday, shares rose more than 9%.

Photo: Pixabay