Uber has reported its fourth consecutive quarter of GAAP net profitability β a milestone that seemed unthinkable five years ago when the company was burning $5 billion annually and skeptics questioned whether ride-hailing could ever be a real business. The company posted $1.1 billion in net income on $11.3 billion in revenue for the most recent quarter.
The path to profitability required CEO Dara Khosrowshahi to make a series of painful decisions: exiting unprofitable international markets, shutting down the Uber Elevate flying taxi project, scaling back the autonomous vehicle program, and β most controversially β raising ride prices significantly during peak demand periods.
Two businesses drove the profitability: Uber Rides (the original core) and Uber Eats. Rides has reached sufficient scale in US cities that the economics work even at competitive driver pay levels. Eats became the company's silent star, now processing $75 billion in gross bookings annually and profitable on its own metrics.
The Uber Freight division β connecting shippers with truckers β is the next growth engine. It grew 34% last year and is building toward a potential standalone IPO that some analysts value at $15 billion.
