Uber Technologies posted its first-ever second-quarter operating profit, a milestone in the rideshare and food delivery company’s effort to make up for years of major losses. Uber’s Q2 profits are up 14% as food service holds strong and ride-hailing returns to pre-pandemic levels, according to reports from the company on Tuesday.
Since its founding in 2009, Uber struggled to remain profitable despite its widespread popularity. In the period between 2016 and Q1 of 2023, the company reported a staggering $30 billion in operating losses. A surplus of investor capital allowed Uber to continue fighting for market share, but recent concerns from primary financial backers led to major cost-cutting last year.
Initial efforts at scaling back costs began in 2019, but the outbreak of COVID-19 reduced the number of daily Uber rides to almost nothing. Instead, Uber Eats and Postmates drove business, with these smaller delivery services helping to offset even bigger losses.
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But this year, with rides returning to normal numbers and the demand for food delivery showing no signs of slowing, Uber has finally been able to report a profit. According to the New York Times, “Uber posted revenue of $9.2 billion, up from $8.1 billion in the second quarter last year. The 14 percent growth was slower than the 105 percent increase a year earlier and down from 29 percent in the previous quarter. Wall Street analysts had estimated revenue of $9.3 billion.”
Similarly, Uber’s gross bookings—the total value of transactions through the app—beat expectations with a revenue of $33.60 billion, a growth of 16%. The company projects that this growth will continue at pace into Q3, which ends September 30th.
“For most of our history, profitable wasn’t the first thing that came up when you asked someone about Uber,” said Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi during a Tuesday earnings call. “In fact, many observers over the years boldly claimed that we would never make any money…But we knew they were wrong.”
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