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

Scott Rosenberg
28 mins ago - Technology

Facebook employees stage "virtual walkout"

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

"Dozens" of Facebook employees staged a "virtual walkout" Monday over the company's decision not to take action against President Trump's provocative messages in the face of nationwide protests against police violence, the New York Times reports.

Why it matters: While Twitter added fact-check labels and hid the president's most inflammatory tweet — "when the looting starts, the shooting starts" — Facebook has said Trump's statements do not violate its policies, and that the platform aims to promote free speech.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Axios
Updated 32 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Trump lashes out at governors, urges them to "dominate" protesters

President Trump berated the nation’s governors in a video teleconference call Monday, calling many of them "weak" and demanding tougher crackdowns on the protests that erupted throughout the country following the killing of George Floyd, according to multiple reports.

The big picture: Trump blamed violence on the "the radical left" and told the governors, who were joined by law enforcement and national security officials, that they have to "dominate" protesters and "arrest people" in order to bring an end to the unrest.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Axios
Updated 32 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Photo Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photos: Noam Galai, Jamie McCarthy, Josep Lago/AFP, Alfredo Estrella/AFP, and Narayan Maharjan/NurPhoto, all via Getty Images

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 12:30 p.m. ET: 6,206,773 — Total deaths: 372,752 — Total recoveries — 2,661,643 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 12:30 p.m. ET: 1,793,780 — Total deaths: 104,345 — Total recoveries: 444,758 — Total tested: 16,936,891 — Map.
  3. Public health: Fauci says“My meetings with the president have been dramatically decreased” — Coronavirus looms over George Floyd protests across the country.
  4. Climate: Your guide to comparing climate change and coronavirus.
  5. Economy: A busy week for IPOs despite upheaval from protests and pandemic.
  6. World: Former FDA commissioner says "this is not the time" to cut ties with WHO.
Other resources (<1 min. read)Arrow