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Uber is about to report earnings. Here’s what to expect

Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, appears on CNBC’s Squawk Box at the 2020 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan,. 22nd, 2020.Adam Galici | CNBCUber stock rose slightly extended trading on Thursday after the company announced a fourth-quarter loss that was narrower than analysts had expected. The company’s shares are currently up more than…

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Published on February 6, 2020

Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, appears on CNBC's Squawk Box at the 2020 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan,. 22nd, 2020.

Adam Galici | CNBC

Uber stock rose slightly extended trading on Thursday after the company announced a fourth-quarter loss that was narrower than analysts had expected. The company's shares are currently up more than 1% after hours.

Here's how the company did:

Loss per share: Excluding certain items, 64 cents per share, vs. 68 cents per share as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.
Revenue: $4.07 billion, vs. $4.06 billion as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.

Uber's revenue growth accelerated on an annualized basis to 37% from 30% one quarter ago, the company said in a statement. Net loss attributable to Uber for all of 2019 totaled $8.51 billion, primarily because of stock-based compensation.

Uber's top segment, Rides, including ride-sharing services and fees from drivers, delivered $13.51 billion in gross bookings, up 18% and below the $13.60 billion estimate among analysts polled by FactSet.

Uber attributed growth in Rides to ongoing global expansion, access to pick up and drop off passengers at airports the world over, and higher-priced premium offerings for passengers like Uber Comfort, which uses vehicles with more head- and legroom.

Gross bookings from the Eats segment, including payments from restaurant and delivery partners, came in at $4.37 billion, up 71% and above analysts' $4.13 billion estimate.

Uber is still paying out a massive amount of what it calls “driver referrals and excess driver incentives” to drivers in its food and ridesharing business.

Eats referrals and incentives for drivers cost Uber $1.13 billion in 2019, and $319 million in Q4 alone, according to the filing. Rides driver referrals and excess driver incentives cost Uber $123 million in 2019, with $20 million of that in Q4, the filing said.

Given those payouts to drivers, Eats adjusted net revenue clocked in at $1.38 billion for the year, up from $759 million in 2018. Rides adjusted net revenue hit $10.62 billion for 2019, versus $3.04 billion in 2018.

Adjusted EBITDA for all segments except Rides were all in the red year over year. Rides produced $742 million in EBITDA, up some 281%.

In the quarter Uber had 111 million monthly active platform consumers, the number of unique consumers who completed a ride or received a meal through Uber at least once in a given month, averaged across the quarter. That figure is up from 103 million in the previous quarter and in line with the FactSet consensus estimate.

The company logged 1.9 million trips, including rides and Eats meal deliveries, in the fourth quarter, up from 1.8 million in the previous quarter, in line with FactSet consensus.

With respect to guidance, analysts polled by FactSet are expecting 2020 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $2.84 billion. Guidance is expected to come on the company's earnings call.

During the fourth quarter, Uber faced tighter regulations impacting its business in London and California and continued to slash costs.

It laid off hundreds of employees in its marketing, recruiting, Uber Eats and Advanced Technologies Group, among others, in October.

And in November last year, Uber lost its license to operate in London. The company continues to operate in London, while appealing to have the license renewed, Uber noted on its Q4 update.

It also made plans to cope with a new gig-worker bill, AB5, which become law in California, in September. The law, makes it harder for the company to claim that its drivers are independent contractors, rather than Uber employees. Uber is suing the state of California in Federal Court, saying that AB5 is unconstitutional.

Still, Uber shares are up 24% since the beginning of 2020.

Executives will discuss the results and issue guidance on a conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET.

This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.