Uber Technologies on Wednesday reported first-quarter earnings with an unexpected net loss and revenue slightly ahead of views. Uber stock slid as the ride-hailing and food-delivery company also posted lower-than-expected total bookings.
In results published before the market opened, Uber said that it lost 32 cents per share on sales of $10.13 billion for the March-ending quarter. On average, analysts projected the San Francisco-based company would post earnings of 22 cents per share on sales of $10.1 billion, according to FactSet.
For the same period a year earlier, Uber lost 8 cents per share on sales of $8.8 billion.
In a news release, Uber said its net loss of $654 million includes a $721 million headwind due to "net unrealized losses related to the revaluation of Uber's equity investments." The firm posted a $172 million profit from its operations.
But Uber also missed the mark on gross bookings — with $37.7 billion in bookings for the March quarter, compared to expectations of $37.9 billion. Bookings include fares charged, as well as food deliveries and other services.
For the current quarter, Uber guided for bookings of $39.5 billion, at the midpoint of its range. Analysts were projecting Uber would tally $40 billion in gross bookings for the June quarter, according to FactSet.
On the stock market today, Uber stock fell 5.7% to close at 66.43.
Wall Street Response To Uber Earnings
Following the report, some analysts shrugged off the net loss because it was driven by investment markdowns. Ralph Schackart, an analyst with William Blair, noted that Uber's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) hit a quarterly record of $1.4 billion, up 82% and ahead of consensus.
"Importantly, top-line metrics around user engagement remained robust, despite ongoing concerns around a potential for weakening consumer activity given the volatile macroeconomic backdrop," Schackart wrote in a client note Wednesday. William Blair rates Uber stock with a positive outperform rating.
Uber's monthly active platform consumers — people who uses Uber for a ride or food delivery — grew 15% year over year to 149 million during the March-ending quarter.
Total booking for Uber's rides segment grew 25% year over year to $18.7 billion. Food delivery bookings grew 18% to $17.7 billion. On Tuesday, Uber announced a partnership with Instacart to offer Uber Eats delivery on the Instacart app.
Uber Stock: Technical Ratings
Coming into trading Wednesday, Uber stock had gained 14.3% this year, compared to an 8.8% gain for the S&P 500.
At the end of Tuesday's session, Uber stock still held a best-possible IBD Composite Rating of 93 out of 99, according to IBD Stock Checkup. The score combines five separate proprietary ratings into one. The best growth stocks have a Composite Rating of 90 or better.
Uber stock's Relative Strength Rating score was 92 out of a best-possible 99, indicating it is outperforming the market over the past 12 months.
