What’s going on?

Uber announced record-breaking bookings at its 1H update.

What does this mean?

• Uber’s revenue more than double yoy to $8b:
  • The number of Uber’s monthly users hit a new peak in 2Q, with an increase of 24% yoy.
  • The number of highly-profitable airport trips also hit an all-time high;
• 2Q also marked Uber’s milestone of the first ever period with positive cashflow (after having burned through ~$25b for 13 years since it was founded).
• This news sent the stock up 14%.

Why should I care?

The bigger picture: Supply is as critical as demand

• In July, wait times were at their lowest across several markets, possibly as more drivers and couriers were working on the platform than before the pandemic.
• This suggests Uber’s recent efforts to improve driver experience have been paying off. Uber also just announced new features that’ll allow drivers to choose the trips they want and see how much they’ll earn before accepting.

Zooming out: One’s misery is one’s happiness

• On the other hand, rising fuel prices have caused drivers to reduce their working time.
• That brings us to oil companies’ opposite POV (e.g: BP (oil giant) just posted its highest quarterly profit in 14 years – more than triple yoy). This could spark another call for tax increases on the industry.

Content source: Finimize (2022) Shut Up And Drive. Available at: https://subscriptions.finimize.com/content/UHVibGljQ29udGVudFBpZWNlOjQ3ODE=/daily-brief-ubers-drivers-are-finally-warming-up-to-the-ride-sharing-giant [Accessed on Aug 04, 2022]