Uber shares soar 10% on surprising bookings forecast

Uber noted a $1.5 billion impact on its net income due to adjustments in equity investments.

Excluding certain costs, the earnings per share were 72 cents, as mentioned in their earnings disclosure on Wednesday. Uber holds stakes in Didi and Grab, both located in Asia.

Due to the "pre-tax challenge" of these revaluations, net income dropped to $263 million from $1.78 billion one year prior. Revenue for the quarter saw a 14% increase from $11.5 billion from the previous year.

Uber’s delivery division, the business's fastest-expanding segment, experienced a 34% revenue rise to $5.07 billion from $3.78 billion in that quarter last year. This outperformed the average analyst expectation of $4.89 billion, per StreetAccount.

The company indicated that delivery growth was robust in Australia, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

The revenue shortfall was attributed to Uber’s mobility, or ride-hailing, sector. Sales grew by 5% year-over-year to $6.8 billion, whereas analysts anticipated sales of $7.11 billion, according to StreetAccount.

In prepared statements before the earnings discussion, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi stated Uber confronted a "complex macro environment characterised by weather issues, geopolitical instability, and fluctuating gas prices."

Since the US began military actions in Iran in February, US gas prices have risen nearly 50%.

The elevated prices are particularly tough for Uber drivers, who bear the expense of fuel.

In late March, Uber introduced some fuel savings and other incentives for drivers, available through most of May.

During the first quarter, the company logged 3.6 billion trips. Total bookings went up by 25% to $53.7 billion, exceeding the average forecast of $52.8 billion.

For the second quarter, Uber projects bookings to range between $56.25 billion and $57.75 billion, surpassing the consensus estimate of $56.17 billion.

The company is investing in self-driving vehicles and plans to purchase them from some partners like Waabi, Wayve, Rivian, and Nuro, once they are certified as safe to operate without a human operator or driver onboard.

Uber’s autonomous vehicle associates also include robotaxi service providers, like Alphabet's Waymo and WeRide in China, who wish to offer their self-driving cars via the Uber app.

Uber is offering services such as tailored insurance, operational upkeep, and training data to the autonomous vehicle sector.

As part of cost-cutting measures, Uber has embraced artificial intelligence to enhance engineering efficiency and is scaling back on hiring.

The company mentioned in prepared remarks that 95% of its engineers now utilise AI coding tools monthly, with over 10% of the firm’s code "autonomously generated by AI software agents."

Uber's executives will present the results in a discussion with analysts starting at 8am Eastern Time.