Uber Posts Faster Growth, but Loses $1.1 Billion

Mr. Khosrowshahi previously said Uber aimed to make an operating profit by 2021. But on Thursday, he said the company would reach that milestone by the final quarter of 2020.

Nelson Chai, Uber’s chief financial officer, added that Uber expected to earn adjusted revenue of $16 billion to $17 billion this year as it worked to become profitable. The company also plans to cut back on the discounts and coupons it has used to grow, he said, calling them “bookings that are essentially empty calories.”

Uber had gone into retreat for much of 2019 after staging a disappointing initial public offering in May. The company, which spends a lot of money to attract passengers and drivers, immediately faced doubts over whether it could ever make a profit. Since then, Uber’s stock has plunged.

In response to its critics, Mr. Khosrowshahi has cut costs at the company and pulled back parts of its business. Last year, he laid off more than 1,000 employees and withdrew Uber’s food delivery service from South Korea. Last month, Mr. Khosrowshahi also sold Uber’s food delivery business in India to a local competitor, Zomato.

“Clearly, Uber has put out a somewhat aggressive timeline for profitability,” said Tom White, a senior equity research analyst at D.A. Davidson. “These exits are partly a function of them making sure they meet that target.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/06/technology/uber-growth-losses.html?emc=rss&partner=rss