Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      Public money, private plans: MPs demand Post Office transparency

      13 June 2025

      Coal to cash: South Africa gets major boost for energy shift

      13 June 2025

      China is behind in AI chips – but for how much longer?

      13 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025

      10 red flags for Apple investors

      13 June 2025
    • World

      Yahoo tries to make its mail service relevant again

      13 June 2025

      Qualcomm shows off new chip for AI smart glasses

      11 June 2025

      Trump tariffs to dim 2025 smartphone shipments

      4 June 2025

      Shrimp Jesus and the AI ad invasion

      4 June 2025

      Apple slams EU rules as ‘flawed and costly’ in major legal pushback

      2 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025

      Digital fortress: We go inside JB5, Teraco’s giant new AI-ready data centre

      30 May 2025

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025

      South Africa unveils big state digital reform programme

      12 May 2025

      Is this the end of Google Search as we know it?

      12 May 2025
    • TCS

      TechCentral Nexus S0E1: Starlink, BEE and a new leader at Vodacom

      8 June 2025

      TCS+ | The future of mobile money, with MTN’s Kagiso Mothibi

      6 June 2025

      TCS+ | AI is more than hype: Workday execs unpack real human impact

      4 June 2025

      TCS | Sentiv, and the story behind the buyout of Altron Nexus

      3 June 2025

      TCS | Signal restored: Unpacking the Blue Label and Cell C turnaround

      28 May 2025
    • Opinion

      Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

      2 June 2025

      South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

      2 June 2025

      Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

      29 May 2025

      Solar panic? The truth about SSEG, fines and municipal rules

      14 April 2025

      Data protection must be crypto industry’s top priority

      9 April 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » News » Lifting the lid on Uber’s financials

    Lifting the lid on Uber’s financials

    By Agency Staff17 April 2017
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp
    Uber CEO Travis Kalanick speaks onstage at TechCrunch Disrupt at Pier 48 on September 8, 2014 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch)

    Uber Technologies isn’t required to report its finances publicly, but the privately held company has decided to forgo that luxury for the first time. Uber said its revenue growth is outpacing losses, hoping to show the business is on a strong trajectory as it attempts to address a recent cascade of scandals.

    The ride-hailing giant more than doubled gross bookings in 2016 to US$20bn, according to financial information Uber shared with Bloomberg. Net revenue was $6,5bn, while adjusted net losses were $2,8bn, excluding the China business, which it sold last summer.

    Uber declined to report first quarter numbers, saying they were in line with expectations but that the company hasn’t yet presented them to investors. The company said it’s pleased to see revenue growth far exceeding losses last year and that its business is still performing well this year even as it faces unyielding controversy.

    “We’re fortunate to have a healthy and growing business, giving us the room to make the changes we know are needed on management and accountability, our culture and organisation, and our relationship with drivers,” Rachel Holt, who runs Uber’s US ride-hailing business, wrote in an e-mailed statement.

    In recent months, Uber has seen an exodus of top executives as it investigates claims of sexual harassment and a toxic work culture. Uber is facing a lawsuit over self-driving car technology from Alphabet’s Waymo, backtracked on a programme called Greyball that was used to deceive government officials, and apologised after its CEO was videotaped arguing with a driver. Travis Kalanick, the CEO, said he’s seeking a chief operating officer to help right the ship.

    Uber’s business is massive and getting bigger. In the last three months of 2016, gross bookings increased 28% from the previous quarter to $6,9bn. The company generated $2,9bn in revenue, a 74% increase from the third quarter. Losses rose 6,1% over the same period to $991m.

    While the rate of sales growth compared with losses is encouraging, Uber is still losing a significant sum, said Evan Rawley, a business professor at Columbia University. “That’s a lot of cash to burn in a quarter,” he said.

    Jeff Jones, the company’s president of ride sharing who resigned last month, previously joked to staff that he joined Uber expecting P&L, meaning a profit and loss statement, but only found an L.

    Uber said it uses generally accepted accounting principles. Revenue includes only the portion Uber takes from fares, except in the case of its carpooling service; the company counts the entire amount of an UberPool fare as revenue. The more Uber’s business shifts to the multi-passenger service, the faster revenue grows. Non-Gaap revenue is significantly smaller. The loss statement doesn’t account for employee stock compensation, certain real-estate investments, automobile purchases and other expenses.

    Valued at $69bn by investors, Uber operates in about 75 countries. The company was spending aggressively to compete in China, with about $1bn in losses there last year, bringing its losses to $3,8bn globally. It sold the China business in August. As part of the deal, it received an 18% stake in local ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing and recognised the value of those shares in its financial statement. Uber said global net losses were $1,2bn after accounting for the sale, taxes and other factors.

    Since it was founded in 2009, Uber has burned through at least $8bn. The company said it has $7bn of cash on hand, along with an untapped $2,3bn credit facility.

    Lyft, which is Uber’s main competitor in the US, is also closely held and doesn’t disclose financial performance. It’s difficult to compare Uber’s business with any public company. Uber partly models itself after Amazon.com, but even at the peak of the dot-com boom, Amazon lost less than $2bn, adjusted for inflation. Amazon has never lost more than that in a year. Chip makers Qualcomm and Micron Technology, which require large capital investments, never lost that much.

    “Uber is a one-of-a-kind company, in good ways and bad ways. It’s going to be a case study,” said Aswath Damodaran, a finance professor at New York University. “This is a cash-burning machine.”  — (c) 2017 Bloomberg LP



    Didi Chuxing Lyft Travis Kalanick Uber Waymo
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleTalkCentral: Ep 174 – ‘Full chipmunk’
    Next Article Driverless cars now learning from GTA V

    Related Posts

    South African law is failing gig-economy workers

    12 June 2025

    ‘Afrikaans Uber’ sparks controversy

    27 January 2025

    Uber bakkie service launched in South Africa

    5 December 2024
    Company News

    Huawei Watch Fit 4 Series: smarter sensors, sharper design, stronger performance

    13 June 2025

    Change Logic and BankservAfrica set new benchmark with PayShap roll-out

    13 June 2025

    SAPHILA 2025 – transcending with purpose, connection and AI-powered vision

    13 June 2025
    Opinion

    Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

    2 June 2025

    South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

    2 June 2025

    Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

    29 May 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.