UPDATED 22:09 EDT / AUGUST 06 2020

EMERGING TECH

Uber delivers mixed earnings as Eats business surges past ride-hailing service

Shares in Uber Technologies Inc. dipped in after-hours trading today after the company delivered mixed second-quarter earnings results as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to hurt its business.

For the quarter ended June 30, Uber reported overall gross bookings of $10.2 billion, down 35% year-over-year, while revenue slumped 27%, to $3.166 billion. Adjusted net revenue came in at $2.24 billion, ahead of analysts’ average prediction of $2.18 billion, while it lost $1.02 a share versus the 86 cents share predicted by analysts.

As expected, Uber’s ride-hailing business continues to be hammered by the pandemic with “mobility” gross bookings down 73% in the quarter, to $3.046 billion. The standout business unit for Uber continues to be its Uber Eats food delivery service, which booked $6.96 billion in revenue in the quarter, up 113% year-over-year. Uber’s freight business also saw healthy growth, up 27%, to $212 million.

For all intents and purposes, Uber is now primarily a food delivery business versus a ride-hailing one and that’s before the integration of delivery company Postmates Inc., which Uber acquired for $2.65 billion July 6.

“Our team continues to move at Uber speed to respond to the pandemic’s impact on our communities and on our business, leading our industry forward with new products and safety technologies and harnessing the strong tailwinds driving exceptional growth in Delivery,” Dara Khosrowshahi, chief executive officer of Uber, said in a statement. “We are fortunate to have both a global footprint and such a natural hedge across our two core segments: As some people stay closer to home, more people are ordering from Uber Eats than ever before.”

As it did after reporting its first quarter results, Uber once again declined to provide guidance for the following quarter.

Uber’s earnings report comes a day after the company announced that it had acquired Autocab, a U.K.-based provider of booking and dispatch software for independent taxi companies for an undisclosed price.

Founded in 1989, Autocab offers its product on a software-as-a-service basis and currently facilitates more than 1 million bookings per day around the world. The acquisition is said to allow Uber to expand its presence in the U.K. from 40 locations to up to 170. Users eventually will be able to book local taxis through the Uber app once Autocab’s service is integrated into Uber’s platform.

Through Autocab, Uber also gains exposure to 29 global markets, including some it previously operated in and then exited, including Singapore.

The mixed earnings results prompted a mixed reaction from investors. Uber shares were down 2.7% as of 8 p.m. EDT.

Photo: Yuya Tamai/Flickr

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