Car crash: Uber shows record loss in new results
Uber disappointed investors yesterday as the ride-hailing app showed its biggest-ever loss, and slowest revenue growth.
Second-quarter net loss hit $5.2bn (£4.3bn), widening from $878m, as the company paid up $3.9bn for its May listing.
Read more: Lyft off: Ride-hailing app makes inroads as it beats expectations
Finance chief Nelson Chai said the company had made progress towards “healthy growth” as it threw an extra $5.1bn at costs, including research and development.
But shares fell nearly 13 per cent in after-hours trading, having been up eight per cent before close. It dragged down rival Lyft almost two per cent.
“While we will continue to invest aggressively in growth, we also want it to be healthy growth, and this quarter we made good progress in that direction,” said Chai.
Revenue was up 14.4 per cent to $3.2bn, but was below the $3.4bn analysts had predicted.
The numbers contrast heavily with Lyft, which on Wednesday reported better-than-expected results and predicted lower losses for the year. Its shares rose as much as 16 per cent on the news.
To say that earnings were disappointing would be an understatement, Uber has turned into the magical money burning machine” said Alyssa Altman, transportation lead at consultancy Publicis Sapient.
“It is also facing increased pressure from Lyft in the US, after its better-than-predicted quarterly results yesterday,” she added.
Chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said Uber’s strategy “continues to deliver strong results.”
He said the company will “become a more and more integral part of everyday life in cities around the world” as it reached over 100m monthly active users for the first time.
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Uber has disappointed investors since its listing as it languishes below the tail end of its IPO price range.
The firm raised more than $8bn on the day, but ended well short of the $100bn valuation some foresaw.