(Bloomberg) — Uber Technologies Inc. (UBER) reported weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and operating income, overshadowing steady bookings growth. Shares declined in premarket trading on Wednesday.
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Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were $1.84 billion, just shy of the $1.85 billion that Wall Street was projecting, Uber said in a statement on Wednesday. Income from operations for the fourth-quarter was $770 million, well below the average estimate of $1.2 billion. “Discrete legal and regulatory related matters” offset income gains from a “strong operating performance,” Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi said in a prepared statement.
Gross bookings, which includes ride hails, delivery orders and driver and merchant earnings but not tips, grew 18% to $44.2 billion in the last three months of 2024. For the current quarter, it forecast bookings of $42 billion to $43.5 billion. Bloomberg’s data included one analyst estimate for gross bookings for the fourth and first quarters.
In prepared remarks, Chief Financial Officer Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah cited continued currency headwinds, as well as impact from the recent Los Angeles fires and “extreme weather in January.”
Shares of Uber fell 3% during premarket trading after the results were announced.
Uber’s US flagship rideshare business, which accounts for more than half of its profitability, has lately been weighed down by rising insurance prices. Executives have blamed these expenses for slowing demand ride demand, saying it’s had to pass higher costs on to consumers in certain markets such as New Jersey, Southern California and parts of Florida.
Khosrowshahi has since publicly vowed to push for insurance and tort reform to address the issue. The company has gone on the offensive in New York, filing a racketeering lawsuit against a group of law firms, doctors and clinics it claims staged fake car accidents to take advantage of insurance policies.
In his prepared statement, Khosrowshahi said the company has made “significant progress in slowing insurance price increases through a combination of tech innovation and strong policy work.” Yet the company will continue to pass on those rising costs to consumers and expects UberX prices in the US to be “up marginally” in 2025.