Uber Stock Surges After Q1 Earnings Beat and Strong Q2 Outlook

TLDR

• Uber posted adjusted EPS of $0.72, beating the $0.69 analyst estimate
• Gross bookings jumped 21% to $53.7 billion, topping the expected $52.8 billion
• Revenue rose 14% to $13.2 billion, just shy of the $13.28 billion Wall Street target
• Trips grew 20% year-over-year to 3.64 billion; monthly active users up 17%
• UBER stock jumped 8.7% in premarket trading after the results dropped

Uber stock jumped 8.7% in premarket trading Wednesday after the company posted stronger-than-expected Q1 earnings and gross bookings growth.

Uber Technologies, Inc., UBER

Adjusted EPS came in at $0.72, up from $0.50 a year ago and ahead of the $0.69 analysts had pencilled in. Revenue rose 14% to $13.2 billion, just short of the $13.28 billion Wall Street was looking for.

The number that really caught attention was gross bookings. They surged 21% to $53.7 billion, well above the $52.8 billion analysts expected.

UBER had been down 11% for the year heading into this report, so the market was ready for something to cheer about.

Reported net profit, however, told a different story. It dropped to $263 million, or $0.13 per share, compared to $1.78 billion a year ago. A $1.5 billion headwind from the revaluation of equity investments was the main culprit.

CEO Dara Khosrowshahi acknowledged the quarter played out against a tough backdrop — geopolitical tensions, higher gas prices, and bad weather. Despite that, the core business held up.

Trips grew 20% year-over-year to 3.64 billion. Monthly active platform customers rose 17%. Both mobility and delivery segments contributed to growth, and geographically it was spread out rather than reliant on any single market.

Freight Returns to Growth

One of the quieter storylines in the report was Uber Freight. The unit returned to growth for the first time in nearly two years — something Khosrowshahi flagged as an early positive sign.

It won’t move the needle dramatically at this stage, but it removes a drag that had been hanging over the business.

On the AI and autonomous vehicle front, Uber launched an AI assistant for drivers and announced 10 new or expanded AV partnerships during the quarter. These are longer-term bets rather than near-term revenue drivers.

Q2 Guidance Comes in Ahead of Estimates

For Q2, Uber guided adjusted EPS of $0.78 to $0.82. The low end of that range is in line with analyst expectations.

Gross bookings guidance for Q2 is $56.25 billion to $57.75 billion, above the $56.17 billion Wall Street had modeled.

The guidance suggests management expects the momentum from Q1 to carry through into the next quarter.

Uber’s freight unit returning to growth and 10 new AV partnerships were among the other details buried in the report.

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