Uber recovery slowest in U.S.

Uber Technologies Inc. on Thursday said demand for its food-delivery service expanded, but revenue and adjusted loss missed Wall Street targets and the global recovery of its ride business was the slowest in its home market, the United States.

Uber's ride business recovered at the slowest rate in the United States, its most important market, which continued to lag other regions.

The company's shares fell 2 per cent in after-hours trading as Uber recorded greater adjusted losses before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in the third quarter than Wall Street expected.

Uber posted an adjusted EBITDA loss of US$625 million versus analyst expectations of a US$597 million EBITDA loss, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Non-adjusted earnings per share came in at a loss of 62 cents, compared with a 65-cent loss estimated by analysts.

The company said that cost reductions and margin improvements at its Eats delivery business combined with a return of growth underscored its confidence to achieve quarterly adjusted EBITDA profitability before the end of 2021.

Revenue at Uber's delivery unit, including Uber Eats, more than doubled to US$1.45 billion, its highest ever, but the unit continues to lose money despite narrowing losses over the past quarters.

Uber continues to spend money to gain market share over food-delivery competitors. The company is hoping to close its US$2.65 billion acquisition of smaller delivery rival Postmates in the first quarter of 2021 to expand further.

Overall, Uber recorded US$3.13 billion in third-quarter revenue, falling short of analysts' average estimate of US$3.2 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Demand for ride-hailing trips, responsible for nearly two-thirds of Uber's revenue prior to the pandemic, continued to recover from an 80 per cent drop in April at the height of the pandemic.

Gross bookings at its mobility unit remained down 50 per cent from last year on a constant currency basis, dragged down by a slow recovery in the United States, particularly on the West Coast. Ride bookings in Europe and the Middle East recovered more steadily, down only 36 per cent from last year.

But unlike Uber's other units, the ride segment delivered adjusted EBITDA of US$245 million.

Overall, Uber posted a net loss of US$1.1 billion in the months from July to September, including stock-based compensation expenses.

The company has also gradually reduced its stake in non-core business units over the past months. A German company in September acquired Uber's European freight business.