Uber confident on profit as ride-sharing makes strong start to 2023

Uber Technologies Inc forecast quarterly core earnings above estimates on Tuesday, after a surge in demand for travel and food delivery helped the U.S. ride-sharing giant report better-than-expected results for the January-March period.
 

Shares of the company rose 10%, while those of smaller peer Lyft Inc gained 4% in pre-market trading.
 

Uber is benefiting from its dominant position in key global markets as travel rebounds from a pandemic-induced lull.
 

A jump in the number of people looking to gain additional income is also helping platforms such as Uber squeeze out higher profit by offering lower incentives to gig workers, analysts have said.
 

"Our clear lead on driver preference has allowed us to better serve this growing demand: 5.7 million drivers and couriers earned $13.7 billion (including tips) on Uber during the quarter, both all-time highs," said Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi.
 

After a tepid performance in the last two years, "the rideshare category in the United States and Canada is now growing faster in 2023," he said.
 

Uber expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) - one of its closely watched financial metrics - in the range of $800 million to $850 million for the quarter ending June. That was higher than analysts' projection of $749.1 million, according to Refinitiv.
 

The dominant U.S. ride-sharing company also forecast gross bookings, the total dollar value from its services, between $33 billion and $34 billion, compared with expectations of $33 billion.
 

For the first quarter, Uber's revenue jumped 29% to $8.83 billion, beating estimates of $8.72 billion, mainly driven by a 72% growth in the ride-hailing segment.
 

However, its gross bookings of $31.41 billion came in slightly below the estimate of $31.49 billion.
 

Uber said adjusted EBITDA came in at $761 million, its highest on record as a public company. The firm has been reporting a positive figure since the third quarter of fiscal 2021.