Uber reported its first-ever operating profit on Monday, a milestone in the company’s efforts to stop losses since its 2009 founding.
The second-quarter earnings report was driven by growth in Uber’s core business of delivering people to destinations and food to customers.
The company projected continued growth for the third quarter ending September 30, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The profit came after $31.5 billion in operating losses since 2014, the first year it disclosed financial details, the Financial Times reported.
As of 12:15 p.m. CT Tuesday, Uber had declined 5.92% to $46.52 a share on the New York Stock Exchange.
Analysts expected revenue to rise to $9.33 billion, but it fell short at $9.23 billion, according to financial data company Refinitiv and CNBC.
The company also said Chief Financial Officer Nelson Chai will step down in January. He joined Uber in 2018 and led the company’s initial public offering. He oversaw Uber’s acquisition of Postmates in 2020.
The Postmates all-stock purchase made Uber the second-largest restaurant delivery service in the U.S. by market share, following DoorDash, according to Edison Trends. Grubhub ranks third.
CEO Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi said the company achieved two major milestones during the quarter — its first quarter of free cash flow of more than $1 billion and its first operating profit.
“With continued rigor around costs and a balanced capital allocation approach, we are well positioned to sustain strong incremental profit generation,” Khosrowshahi said in prepared remarks. “We also know that expectations — rightly — are only getting higher.”
In its quarterly report, Uber said its operating profit was $326 million. Revenue rose 14% to $9.23 billion, the WSJ reported, adding that bookings rose 16% to $33.60 billion. Revenues are Uber’s share of the bookings.
FactSet said it expects Uber’s third-quarter bookings to be $34.09 billion, the WSJ reported.
Lyft, which is Uber’s biggest competitor in the ride-hailing business, will report earnings next Monday, Forbes reported. DoorDash will report Wednesday.
Lyft shares are down roughly 80% over the last two years, while DoorDash shares have dropped about 50%, per Forbes.
