Ridesharing service Uber, Inc. is going gangbusters according to a new leak of their financials Friday that shows that while the company continues to burn money like there is no tomorrow, the concept that you spend money to eventually make money, be it over a period of time, may actually work.

According to a report at Reuters, Uber’s global bookings are projected to rise nearly threefold to $10.84 billion this year and reach $26.12 billion the next, even with the burn rate from one of the world’s biggest startups, a staggering figure.

Given that projection, Uber would deliver potentially positive income of roughly $2 billion in 2015, not bad for a unicorn that doesn’t own one car.

According to the same report, bookings reached $2.91 billion last year and $687.8 million in 2013, although those figures are not net and do not feature expenses or say whether Uber is profitable.

The figures were reported to have been presented to potential investors in a fund holding shares in Uber Global and Uber China, both subsidiary divisions that cater to the Chinese market where Uber is rapidly growing, but faces serious competition from KuaiDi Dache, the now combined main entity in mainland China that taps into existing taxi services, as well as rideshares and more, versus Uber’s far more limited, and often banned (although rarely enforced) P2P services.

IPO

Of note, some reports around the latest Uber leak suggest that the company is seriously looking at going public with an initial public offering (IPO) in the next 12-18 months.

According to TechCrunch that IPO could occur later this year (the clock is ticking though), or in 2016.

Uber Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick, like the rest of the company, has never once spoken publicly about the possibility of an IPO, but given the staggering amounts of money thrown at at it, it’s really a matter of time now until Uber goes public.

Uber is a company you either love or hate, or like the author of this post, can do both at the same time.

No one argues that they provide an amazingly good, cost effect service, but likewise they risk death in many of the markets they operate in due to their decision to not license themselves under local laws.

That said, even given the risk various jurisdictions are coming on board, and maybe there are better and bigger (or more valuation worthy) days ahead for Uber.

Image credit: Uber Ho Chi Ming City.