Uber’s $708 Million Loss Was Actually Good by Uber Standards

Thu Jun 01 2017
Ray Pierce (820 articles)
Uber’s $708 Million Loss Was Actually Good by Uber Standards

Uber Technologies said it narrowed its quarterly loss in the first three months of this year when it made its first-quarter earnings public Wednesday.

The ride-hailing company said it lost $ 708 million in the first three months of the year, but that loss was less than it claimed for the last three months of 2016, when the company lost $ 991 million, the Wall Street Journal reported. The company can go on losing money for a while, it would seem, as it still has $ 7.2 billion in cash.

Uber also reported increasing revenue, up 18% from the end of 2016.

“The results demonstrate that our business remains health and resilient as we focus on improving our culture, management and relationship with drivers,” an Uber spokesman said, according to the New York Times. “The narrowing of our losses in the first quarter puts us on a good trajectory towards profitability.”

But it wasn’t all good news for the company. Amid an tumultuous year filled with lawsuits and allegations against the company, Uber’s head of finance, Gautam Gupta, will be leaving the ride-hailing company. The company is now looking for his replacement, the Journal reported, and is also still looking for a chief financial officer.

Uber is a private company; it is not required for it to make its financials public. But the company is expected to head toward an initial public offering as soon as next year, the Journal has reported.

The report comes as Uber CEO Travis Kalanick deals with a personal tragedy: his mother was killed last week in a boating accident in California, and his father was seriously injured.

Ray Pierce

Ray Pierce

Ray Pierce is a Senior Market Analyst. He has been covering Asian stock markets for many years.