Uber’s main ride-sharing business grew strongly in the second quarter, with bookings up 22%. However, on Wednesday, Wall Street was more interested in the company’s plans for autonomous vehicles.
Uber’s quarterly results and guidance were generally solid. The numbers were neither outstanding nor disappointing.
Uber reported adjusted earnings of 81 cents per share, up from 63 cents a year ago and just above the 80-cent estimate. Revenue increased 12% to $14.2 billion, close to the $14.23 billion consensus from FactSet. Gross bookings, which measure the total value of rides and deliveries, rose 24% to $58.02 billion. This beat Wall Street’s estimate of $57.23 billion and was higher than Uber’s own guidance.
For the third quarter, Uber expects adjusted earnings of 84 to 88 cents per share, which is a bit below the average analyst estimate. The company also forecasts gross bookings between $58.25 billion and $60.25 billion, with the midpoint just under Wall Street’s forecast.
Uber’s shares dropped 6.1% on Monday. This suggests investors wanted a more ambitious update on the company’s long-term plans for autonomous vehicles, rather than steady but unremarkable core results.
According to William Blair, the drop in Uber’s stock was due to guidance that was a bit weaker than expected at the midpoint. Still, the company had another strong quarter, with its main business performing well as growth and profits increased.
Lyft’s stock also fell slightly, and Tesla, which is also working on autonomous ride-hailing, saw its shares decline too.
Uber does not run its own self-driving cars, but instead acts as a platform that connects people and companies offering autonomous vehicle services. Earlier this year, Uber added partners like Rivian Automotive and Amazon-owned Zoox. On Wednesday, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi’s comments about the autonomous vehicle strategy did not seem to fully reassure investors. He explained that strict regulations mean autonomous vehicles must be rolled out city by city, which makes commercialization a major challenge. Khosrowshahi said Uber wants to be the top global platform for commercializing autonomous vehicles. He described the current stage as focused on careful execution and building the skills needed for Uber’s growth over the next ten years.
Uber now offers autonomous ride-hailing in seven cities. The company said on Wednesday it is still on track to reach 15 cities by the end of 2026.
Overall, there was not much to criticize in the quarter, but also not much to excite investors who seemed to want bigger news.
