Quarterly loss at Uber falls to $645 million
Even as Uber’s investors mounted a revolt against its then-chief executive officer over a string of self-inflicted scandals, the San Francisco ride-hailing company’s financial performance continued to improve in the second quarter, based on financial results provided by the company. Still, Uber’s losses, which totaled $645 million, remained significant.
Uber generated $1.75 billion in adjusted net revenue in the second quarter, up 17 percent from the prior quarter. The company’s gross bookings, the total money taken in fares, reached $8.7 billion, also up 17 percent from the prior quarter.
Travis Kalanick, Uber’s co-founder, resigned as CEO on June 20, only days before the end of the second quarter. The results show that Uber continued to make progress on cutting its losses while growing its business, even as the company responded to a relentless cascade of scandals.
Kalanick stepped down after a group of investors led by venture capital firm Benchmark demanded his resignation. Kalanick has since tried to hang on to the three board seats he controls even as Benchmark sues him for fraud.
At the end of the second quarter, Uber had $6.6 billion cash on hand.
Uber’s many crises have emboldened competitors. Chinese ridehailing company Didi Chuxing raised $5 billion this year, while Lyft has attempted to seize on Uber’s many stumbles, donating $1 million to the American Civil Liberties Union after Uber was criticized for its ties to the Trump administration, for instance.
An executive committee is steering Uber as it searches for a CEO. The group has been taking steps to fend off rivals and rehabilitate the company’s image. It bent to mounting pressure from drivers in June by adding the option for customers to tip within the app. Uber said it has paid out more than $50 million in gratuities since then.
Among Uber’s biggest costs: India, Southeast Asia, discounts for passengers and bonuses for drivers, insurance payments, employee salaries and selfdriving car research. Uber does not include the cost of stock compensation in its losses.
Uber, which remains a private company, has been doling out its financial results to news outlets every quarter after years of periodic leaks.
Uber has been searching for a chief financial officer. Its head of finance, Gautam Gupta, left Uber this year for the startup OpenDoor. He was replaced temporarily by Prabir Adarkar, whose promotion to vice president was announced to the company on Tuesday.