In the first three months of 2019, Uber brought in over $3 billion in revenue, marking a 20% jump from the same quarter a year earlier. Uber did not, however, offer its full-year revenue, which dampened confidence in the stock’s outlook due to a lack of transparency.
Uber’s stock fell immediately upon its IPO, finishing one day lower than it started, and have yet to trade at or above the value set for its initial offering. Its stock was up over 1% during early trading on Friday.
The ride-hailing and food delivery company is still expanding while fending off South American competitor Didi, while Lyft is formidable competition.
Uber’s first-quarter earnings report released Thursday revealed that Uber’s pricing would soon increase while its growth slows. Uber has relied on cheap wages for its drivers and subsidizing fares.
“We expect to deploy fewer consumer promotions in Q2 of 2019,” Chief Financial Officer Nelson Chai said.
Uber shares gained after the stock market closed on Friday. The shares gained 70 cents, or 1.76%, to $40.50 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The company sees long-term profitability in autonomous vehicles.
Lyft shares increased more than 5% on Friday, gaining more than $800 million in value. The market cap is now $16.8 billion compared to Uber’s $67 billion. Just like Uber, Lyft has incurred large losses thanks to consistent promotions. Lyft reported an adjusted per-share loss of $9.02.
“While there is no guarantee that this will last, we believe that over the next 12 months both will focus more on competing via service innovations (micro mobility, loyalty etc), which should provide a significant tailwind to Uber’s unit economics,” Atlantic Equities analysts wrote in a note Friday, upgrading its rating on Uber from neutral to overweight.
Now that both ride-sharing services are public, riders can expect fewer deals. But, if price point becomes a determining factor for riders, then Uber likely has the advantage, since Lyft is a quarter of the size of Uber.
