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posted by martyb on Monday February 19 2018, @10:36AM   Printer-friendly
from the who-needs-profits? dept.

Adjusted net revenue last quarter increased 61 percent to $2.22 billion from the same period in 2016. Meanwhile, the total value of fares grew to $11 billion that quarter. It was the first full quarter under Dara Khosrowshahi, who took over the troubled business in September.

Despite a turbulent year for the ride-hailing company, sales were $7.5 billion. But the company also posted a substantial loss of $4.5 billion. There are few historical precedents for the scale of its loss.

Uber isn't publicly traded but has chosen to release select financial information to investors and the public in recent quarters. Last month, SoftBank Group Corp. led a $9.3 billion investment deal to make itself largest shareholder in the San Francisco-based company. The Japanese firm is betting that more people will choose to book rides through an app instead of driving themselves and that the business will find a way to make up for losses today.

The latest financial report shows the company continues to increase its revenue while making progress on cutting its loss. Uber's loss is based on generally accepted accounting principles, which includes writedowns, as well as the company's enormous legal expenses, such as the cost of defending against a trade secrets lawsuit from Alphabet Inc.'s Waymo. Uber agreed to give Waymo stock valued at $245 million to settle the suit last week.

[...] Uber hasn't made it easy to compare last year's financials to years past. The company declined to disclose complete data for 2016 and over time has changed how it accounts for revenue. Uber lost billions in China before selling its business there in 2016 in exchange for a 17.5 percent stake in homegrown rival Didi Chuxing.


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  • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday February 20 2018, @01:58AM (1 child)

    by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Tuesday February 20 2018, @01:58AM (#640395)

    Ride hailing and sharing services create a way to use those cars for other peoples' needs.

    As long as the people doing the driving don't expect to profit from it, however. (Not that Uber can make any money either).

    But maybe if we don't allow desperate people ways to help themselves (such as through employment or gigs), they'll go away and become somebody else's problem, right?

    I'm not sure where you think they would go.

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  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday February 20 2018, @05:40AM

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday February 20 2018, @05:40AM (#640482) Journal

    As long as the people doing the driving don't expect to profit from it, however.

    I don't know about you, but Uber doesn't force me to drive at a loss. People who drive for ride hailing services do so voluntarily and at will. If they weren't expecting to profit from it, they wouldn't do it.

    But maybe if we don't allow desperate people ways to help themselves (such as through employment or gigs), they'll go away and become somebody else's problem, right?

    I'm not sure where you think they would go.

    Why do you care? As long as they aren't "exploited", it's all good, right? Or maybe living under a bridge is not as swell as being exploited by Uber?