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"Uber Loses at Least $1.2 Billion in First Half of 2016" (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-25/uber-loses-at-least-1-2-billion-in-first-half-of-20
by kartan 10y ago
"Uber Loses at Least $1.2 Billion in First Half of 2016" (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-25/uber-loses-at-least-1-2-billion-in-first-half-of-2016 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-25/uber-lose...)
How is that winning? Is capitalism dead and profits don't count anymore? Then what are the social benefits of company known for sabotaging unions and fighting against labor protection laws?
The original idea, to share car rides, was really good and worth investment. Now it is just a big bubble waiting to explode.
- ddorian43 10y agoProfits are for after going public.
- forthefuture 10y agoI don't know if it's a bubble, because nothing depends on the valuation of Airbnb / Uber. It's more like a Ponzi Scheme where investors put money in to establish value, then make the company well known enough to pawn it off to public shareholders before it tanks.
- ape4 10y agoThey could make a profit. Just need to stop expanding and subsidizing drivers.
- cpolis 10y agoThis is a big assumption. There are levels where the economics don't work out for drivers and riders are willing to pay - it remains to be seen whether are not Uber is profitable at these levels.
- tomblomfield 10y agoPeople said this about Amazon for 20 years http://www.ibtimes.com/amazon-nearly-20-years-business-it-still-doesnt-make-money-investors-dont-seem-care-1513368 http://www.ibtimes.com/amazon-nearly-20-years-business-it-st... And for 8 years about Facebook http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2219503/facebook-grows-members-and-revenue-but-still-loses-money http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2219503/facebook-gr... I wish I'd bought stock in both while they were still losing money.
- amirmc 10y agoSure, we can point to exceptions after the fact. That doesn't mean every company is going to follow those trajectories. In other words, criticism is still valid.
- dang 10y agoBy the same argument you can predict that everything will fail and be right most of the time. That sort of blanket dismissal is intellectually lazy and therefore uninteresting. Let's try to do better than that here.
- amirmc 10y ago> By the same argument you can predict that everything will fail and be right most of the time. Yes, exactly. It's worth reminding people that for every success there are many unheard of failures. I find it lazy when people claim "They said that about <example>", as if that's actually a counterpoint (it isn't).
- kartan 10y agoYep. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias
- FussyZeus 10y agoNeither of those are based on a third party resource of underpaid and upset drivers/renters/city councils. I have very reserved feelings about both Uber and Airbnb. Any company that makes it their secondary mission to get into fights with as many city governments as possible doesn't have good odds.
- sremani 10y agoUber needs to hit its timeline esp. with self-driving car very fast, they are for now branching into eats etc to buy some time. I used to think Uber is a slamdunk, but their humbling in China and India, showed that they need to protect Fortress America very bad and get Self-driving cars on the roads by turn of the decade. I am more long on AirBnB than Uber.
- 1_listerine_pls 10y agoYou are so smart
- eternalban 10y ago> what are the social benefits of company known for sabotaging unions and fighting against labor protection laws? Depends on your point of view, right? Money flows are like a rainbow with the pot of golden truth at the end of it: always "follow the money".
- RodericDay 10y ago2008 Financial Crisis