Uber beats projections, posts first profit since it became public

Uber posted its first full-year profit since going public in 2019, marking the first time the ride-hailing company has earned money from its operations.

The company on Wednesday posted a net income of $1.43 billion in the fourth quarter, after recovering a $1 billion tailwind from investments, Uber confirmed in a release. This is a steep jump from the $595 million the company reported in the same quarter last year, CNBC noted.

The posting is higher than Wall Street’s projections, The Associated Press reported, citing analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research.

“2023 was an inflection point for Uber, proving that we can continue to generate strong, profitable growth at scale,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a statement Wednesday. “Our audiences are larger and more engaged than ever, with our platform powering an average of nearly 26 million daily trips last year.”

Uber’s revenue also hit $9.9 billion, a 15 percent jump from the same quarter last year, slightly surpassing Wall Street’s projections of $9.75 billion. Uber’s gross bookings amounted to $37.6 billion, up 22 percent year-over-year, the company said.

Uber had previously turned a profit on the back of its investments during its final year as a private company in 2018, but Wednesday’s posting marked the first time the ride-hailing company, which launched in 2009, has made money from its operations.

The company has geared its focus toward cutting costs and boosting its food-delivery division after years of prioritizing growth over profit, according to reports from The Wall Street Journal and the AP.

The posting comes just weeks after Uber announced it would shut down alcohol delivery app Drizzly at the end of March to shift its focus to its Uber Eats strategy.

Delivery revenue increased by 6 percent and revenue for the ride-hailing component of the company increased 34 percent, the AP reported.

“Uber’s platform advantages and disciplined investment in new growth opportunities resulted in record engagement and accelerating Gross Bookings in Q4,” said Uber CFO Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah, adding the company will be sharing more next week about its “strategy and capital allocation plans.”

Shares of Uber Technologies Inc. hit an all-time high of $71.90 early Wednesday, per the AP.

The Associated Press contributed.