Uber CEO talks exporting Prop 22 after mixed earnings report

Uber is looking to export to other states California's newly voter-approved policy that will let the company continue to treat its drivers as contractors and not employees, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said on an analyst call after the company posted mixed third-quarter results Thursday.

The big picture: Uber and Lyft helped lead a $200 million campaign to convince Californians to vote for Proposition 22, which they did overwhelmingly Tuesday. Uber now wants to "have dialog with governments and other states" on enacting similar arrangements, Khosrowshahi said.

What they're saying: "On Prop. 22 for now, what we are really focused on is making sure that we do everything we can to get the benefits that Prop. 22 promises to drivers as quickly as possible," CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told analysts of the ballot measure, which promises some benefits to California drivers.

• Yes, but: "It will result probably in a 5% type increase in order to cover the incremental benefits and much of it will be passed along to riders," CFO Nelson Chai added. "But we don't believe it will have a material impact when it comes to demand."

Meanwhile: Uber's Q3 results were a more mixed bag than the unalloyed victory the company saw in the passage of the ballot measure.

Between the lines: Uber has been hard-hit by the ongoing pandemic as people remain home, though it's been able to offset some business loss via its delivery arm.

By the numbers:

• Loss per share: $0.62, compared to $0.65 expected, per Refinitiv.
• Revenue: $3.13 billion, compared to $3.20 billion expected, per Refinitiv.
• Monthly active platform consumers: 78 million, down 24% year-over-year.
• Gross bookings: 14.75 billion, down 10% year-over-year.
• Uber Eats gross bookings: $8.55 billion, up 134% year-over-year.
• Uber mobility gross bookings: $5.91 billion, down 53% year-over-year.

Uber's stock price dropped about 2% in after-hours trading.