Uber Says Core Business is ‘Stronger Than Ever’; Stock Gains

Uber (UBER:US) shares made gains after the company reported its third-quarter results. Furthermore, the company's guidance for the fourth quarter in terms of gross bookings and adjusted EBITDA was better than expected.

For the fourth quarter, Uber's forecasts gross bookings are expected to be in the range of $36.5 billion to $37.5 billion, surpassing the consensus estimate of $36.34 billion. Adjusted EBITDA is projected to fall within the range of $1.18 billion to $1.24 billion, compared to the estimate of $1.15 billion.

In the third quarter, Uber’s gross bookings reached $35.28 billion, surpassing the estimate of $34.48 billion. Mobility bookings amounted to $17.90 billion, exceeding the estimate of $17.39 billion, while delivery bookings reached $16.09 billion, surpassing the estimate of $15.83 billion. Freight bookings were $1.28 billion, slightly below the estimate of $1.3 billion.

“Our relentless focus on improving the product experience for both consumers and drivers continued to power profitable growth, with trip growth accelerating to 25%,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO. “Uber’s core business is stronger than ever as we enter the busiest period of the year.”

Revenue was $9.29 billion, compared to the estimate of $9.53 billion. It's worth noting that changes in the business model in some countries affected the classification of certain sales and marketing costs, negatively impacting combined Mobility and Delivery revenue growth by 8 percentage points year-over-year. 

Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter was $1.09 billion, exceeding the estimate of $1.02 billion.

Several Congress members including Ro Khanna, Michael Guest, and Josh Gottheimer, traded UBER shares this year.