Oct 16, 2017

UberEats growing faster than company's ride-hailing service

A delivery man brings food during a press conference of UberEats in Tokyo. Photo: Eugene Hoshiko / AP

"Uber's fast-growing food delivery service accounted for nearly a tenth of the company's global gross bookings in the second quarter... a level that implies the unit is on track to exceed $3bn in gross sales this year," the Financial Times' Leslie Hook dishes from S.F. (subscription):

"UberEats [with a presence in 29 countries] has been growing faster than the core business. ... The previously unreported numbers underscore how rapidly UberEats has grown since its launch two years ago as a standalone app."

During Q2, "UberEats accounted for 8-10 per cent of global gross bookings [including food cost], which implies $700m-$870m of gross turnover for the unit. Uber's total gross bookings were $8.7bn."
"By comparison, GrubHub, the US food delivery company valued at $4.1bn, reported $880m of gross food sales" in Q2.
The problem: UberEats "is still unprofitable in most places, and like other delivery services it faces the prospect of low margins and high competition."
Grub boom: "Last week, Facebook launched a food delivery service in the US. Amazon's restaurant delivery service, launched two years ago, has been expanding, while smaller rivals such as Postmates, Deliveroo and DoorDash are also fighting for market share."

Go deeper

Jim VandeHei, Margaret Talev

The cost of going after Bloomberg

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

Here's the growing dilemma for 2020 Democrats vying for a one-on-one showdown with frontrunner Bernie Sanders: Do they have the guts — and the money — to first stop Mike Bloomberg?

Why it matters: Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren all must weigh the costs of punching Bloomberg where he looks most vulnerable: stop-and-frisk, charges of sexism, billionaire entitlement. The more zealous the attacks, the greater the risk he turns his campaign ATM against them.

Go deeper47 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Courtenay Brown, Danielle Alberti

How Trump’s economy stacks up

Source: "Presidents and US Economy", Trump figures through 2019 courtesy of Alan Blinder; Note: Data shows real GDP and Q1 growth in each term is attributed to the previous president; Chart: Axios Visuals

Average economic growth under President Trump has outpaced the growth under Barack Obama, but not all of his recent predecessors.

Why it matters: GDP is the most comprehensive economic scorecard — and something presidents, especially Trump, use as an example of success. And it's especially relevant since Trump is running for re-election on his economic record.

Go deeper2 hours ago - Economy & Business

Axios

Coronavirus cases rise as 14 American evacuees infected

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's NHC; Note: China refers to mainland China and the Diamond Princess is the cruise ship offshore Yokohama, Japan. Map: Danielle Alberti/Axios

14 Americans evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship tested positive for the novel coronavirus before being flown in a "specialist containment" on a plane repatriating U.S. citizens back home, the U.S. government said early Monday.

The big picture: COVID-19 has now killed at least 1,770 people and infected almost 70,000 others. Most cases and all but five of the deaths have occurred in mainland China. Taiwan confirmed its first death on Sunday, per multiple reports, in a 61-year-old man with underlying health conditions. Health officials were investigating how he became ill.

Go deeperUpdated 2 hours ago - Health