Any percentage given is very misleading. In nearly all cases, Uber will make a profit when you take a ride. However, they built such an expensive company (huge

Any percentage given is very misleading. In nearly all cases, Uber will make a profit when you take a ride. However, they built such an expensive company (huge R&D department, zillions of free coupons, ads everywhere) that they cannot pay for it without making a loss. If they suddenly had 10x as many rides or would shed coupons and R&D, they'd probably be profitable. But they'd also lose their edge they hope to have over Lyft & Co. NB: There are of course areas where they offer rides below the driver's cut, but that's probably rare after they exited China.