Profitable Uber leans into... the usual

I love a good earnings call, even when it’s unsurprising.

The delivery business might be stabilizing, but it’s also working out really well for Uber. 

In a headline, the Wall Street Journal declared that Uber’s recent financial results “mark an end to the growth-at-all-costs era.” That’s because the company posted its first annual profit since its initial public offering in 2019. Its $1.43 billion profit includes $1 billion from investments, but also profit from operations.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi called 2023 “an inflection point for Uber,” proving that, yes, profitability at the company that was once a symbol for millennial subsidized excess, is possible. 

Delivery gross bookings, the metric Uber uses to describe the total amount of money, including taxes and fees, spent on its platform, totaled $17 billion, a nearly 20 percent increase from the fourth quarter last year. They’re up 6 percent from the third quarter of 2023. 

On a Wednesday morning call with analysts and investors, Khosrowshahi did more than hint at the future. He laid out exactly what will happen in a way that’s become familiar to those of us that hang onto his words. I won’t call it a victory lap, but the company seems to have settled into its profitable rhythm.

After the worst days of the pandemic, there was [too much] talk about our “new normal.” While some things have reverted to pre-Covid status, the way that third-party delivery operates is firmly ensconced in our future.

More analysis below.