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Feb 15, 2019 - Technology

Uber business — and losses — grows ahead of IPO

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Image of a stock of bills with an Uber label.

Illustration: Lazaro Gamio/Axios

Uber on Friday released its latest quarterly financials, likely its last before formally filing to go public, showing continued growth and investment in areas like UberEats.

The bottom line: The numbers show continued growth and investment in areas like UberEats, but still no profits.

Top line: Fourth quarter GAAP revenue was $3 billion, up 24% year-over-year and 2% from the prior quarter.

  • Gross bookings for the quarter were $14.2 billion, up 37% year-over-year and 11% from the prior quarter.
  • GAAP revenue of $11.3 billion for 2018, up 43% from 2017. Gross bookings for the year hit $50 billion, up 45% from 2017.

Bottom line: GAAP net losses for the quarter was $865 million, smaller than its $1.07 billion loss in the previous quarter.

  • Uber's adjusted EBITDA losses (its preferred metric) for Q4 grew 60% from the prior quarter to $842 million and 88% from a year ago, amid a push into its food delivery business and in regions like Latin America, where it's facing stiff competition.
  • However, its 2018 adjusted EBITDA losses shrunk 15% to $1.8 billion.

Other: Uber has $6.4 billion in unrestricted cash, up from $4.8 billion in Q3 as it received the funds from its bond offering in late 2018 and equity investment from Toyota.

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