Uber's revenue tops Q3 forecasts as freight surges, but ride-hailing underwhelms

The quarter in numbers

Uber delivered $14.77 billion in third quarter revenue, a 10% increase from $13.47 billion a year ago and a touch above the LSEG consensus of $14.69 billion. Net income landed at $512 million, down 92% from the prior year when results reflected a $4.9 billion benefit tied to a tax valuation release. Earnings per share were 25 cents compared with 96 cents expected. Shares climbed more than 7% on Wednesday.

Gross bookings totaled $59.82 billion, essentially matching the $59.83 billion StreetAccount average. For Q4, the company's guidance centers on gross bookings of $64.5 billion, a level that is broadly in line with StreetAccount's $64.26 billion estimate.

Where the revenue came from

Ride-hailing brought in $7.52 billion, a 2% revenue decline that missed the StreetAccount average of $7.71 billion. Delivery generated $5.49 billion, up 23% year over year, just shy of the $5.51 billion consensus.

The revenue beat traced back to freight. Sales in that unit jumped 34% to $1.76 billion, topping StreetAccount's $1.49 billion view.

Uber is also building its delivery footprint through acquisitions, including Germany's Delivery Hero and U.S.-based ezCater. In Eats, a recently expanded U.S. partnership with Costco is "tracking ahead of expectations," and Costco has become one of Uber's top merchants by gross bookings.

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Management's take and what is next

CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the core mobility segment underperformed slightly overseas. "Elevated fuel prices and tighter driver availability weighed on supply growth in several international markets," he said, noting Uber is making "targeted investments to strengthen driver supply."

In a CNBC interview, he underscored that Uber has "more demand" than supply in mobility. "We don't want to raise prices on our customers," he said, adding the company is working to prevent longer waits and is "investing significantly" to onboard more drivers in India, Brazil, and the U.S.

Autonomy and capacity plans

Khosrowshahi said Uber has earmarked about $10 billion in capital to broaden its driverless offerings, combining partnerships and investments with companies like Rivian, Nuro, AVRide, and other firms working on robotaxis and autonomous trucks. In the near term, Uber's target is to exceed 2,000 automated vehicles on its platform before 2027 closes, with roughly half deployed in the U.S. and the remainder internationally, and about 700 expected to be available by year end. The company also plans to bring Amazon's Zoox and Motional robotaxis to its Las Vegas platform this quarter.

The bottom line: ride-hailing is feeling supply pressure, but freight and delivery are doing the heavy lifting, and the bookings outlook remains steady. For investors, watch execution on driver supply, the pace of autonomy rollouts, and whether freight's rebound keeps padding the top line.

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