Q3 Uber did not meet expectations

Uber Technologies (UBER) shares, up 41% since the beginning of the year, fell by 3.5% after the close of trading on Thursday as the company's published financial report did not meet Wall Street's expectations and demonstrated the continuing negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic on its core business.

Uber reported a loss per share for the third quarter ended 30 September at $0.62, worse than analysts predicted at $0.61 per share, but better at -$1.02 in the second quarter and -$0.68 in the same quarter last year. The company's quarterly loss in the third quarter was $1.1 billion, slightly below the $1.2 billion loss a year earlier.

Total quarterly revenues decreased significantly for the second consecutive quarter to $3.1 billion, which was also below the analytical average of $3.2 billion. However, the pace of decline slowed from -29% in the second quarter to -19% in the third.

Quarterly revenues from the main Uber taxi business fell 53% (compared to last year) to $5.9 billion. The CEO of Uber Khosrowshani Dara said: "The US is seriously hindering our recovery in the international segment".

However, Uber management has warned that travel demand in Europe, which was recovering faster than any other region this quarter, is likely to decline as some countries like the UK and France have reintroduced bans. At the same time, the Uber Eats service, which delivers food from cafes and restaurants during the pandemic, on the other hand, received a strong boost for growth. Eats' revenue increased by 134% (compared to last year) to $8.55 billion, but the problem is that although the division has managed to significantly reduce costs, it remains unprofitable.

Uber completed the third quarter with $6.15 billion in cash and cash equivalents (compared to $10.9 billion at the end of last year) and an additional $1.1 billion in short-term investments. At the same time, Uber's total debt is approximately $6.7 billion.

However, Uber could sustain a 10-20% decline in gross travel orders.