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Wow, I've been a consistent Uber-bear since 2016, so am pretty surprised by this. Only another 30 years or so of profits like this to repay their accumulated lo

Wow, I've been a consistent Uber-bear since 2016, so am pretty surprised by this. Only another 30 years or so of profits like this to repay their accumulated loss!

BillyTheKing 3y ago
That's not too bad - they only have to bring that down to 4-7 years to get in sync with their valuation!
treis 3y ago
As a Uber-bull I'm grateful that I no longer have to point out that "Uber subsidizes rides" isn't true and hasn't been for years.
- styren 3y ago
  What exactly would "subsidize" mean in this context? If they're charging way less than they need to break even isn't that technically a subsidized ride?
- twelve40 3y ago
  > "Uber subsidizes rides" isn't true and hasn't been for years given that they have full control and zero transparency over price of every trip, how can you be so certain?
  - treis 3y ago
    They're a public company and have to report financials. You can look at them and see that net margin on a ride is positive.
    - minsc_and_boo 3y ago
      That doesn't mean they're not subsidizing individual markets to remain competitive though. It just means the average is marginal. IIRC Uber lost $2B on the Chinese marketing simply because of subsidies.
      - V-eHGsd_ 3y ago
        > IIRC Uber lost $2B on the Chinese marketing simply because of subsidies. uber pulled out of china in 2016 ...
        minsc_and_boo 3y ago
        Because it was a loss leader. It's proof that Uber subsidizes individual markets differently.
        V-eHGsd_ 3y ago
        it's proof they subsidized, past-test, 7 years ago. its really weird to point to what uber did more than 7 years ago as non public company with no public reporting requirements, and try to use that to refute publicly reported numbers from today.
    - twelve40 3y ago
      They have lost $31.5B since 2014 and turned a profit just now. Where did that money go? That one Beyonce party, or it still might have had something to do with their main thing, the rides?
Analemma_ 3y ago
Don't forget it also has to repay not just the cash losses but the opportunity cost from the money you could've made by just parking it in an index fund instead of investing in Uber. When you factor that in, it's probably more like 50 years before Uber actually becomes "a good investment".
- wskinner 3y ago
  Uber was a good investment for all of their private investors until SoftBank. For many of those investors, it was the best investment they ever made (see Benchmark, for example). For very late stage private investors who entered when the company was valued around $50B, it's more complicated and depends on the entry and exit timing. But rest assured that the returns to all investors who bought their stake before 2015 greatly exceeded their opportunity cost.
mighmi 3y ago
It's only a profit because of a gain in their equity holdings. > recognized a $386 million unrealized pre-tax gain related to the revaluation of our equity investments
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

Wow, I've been a consistent Uber-bear since 2016, so am pretty surprised by this. Only another 30 years or so of profits like this to repay their accumulated loss!

BillyTheKing 3y ago

That's not too bad - they only have to bring that down to 4-7 years to get in sync with their valuation!

treis 3y ago

As a Uber-bull I'm grateful that I no longer have to point out that "Uber subsidizes rides" isn't true and hasn't been for years.

styren 3y ago
What exactly would "subsidize" mean in this context? If they're charging way less than they need to break even isn't that technically a subsidized ride?
twelve40 3y ago
> "Uber subsidizes rides" isn't true and hasn't been for years given that they have full control and zero transparency over price of every trip, how can you be so certain?
- treis 3y ago
  They're a public company and have to report financials. You can look at them and see that net margin on a ride is positive.
  - minsc_and_boo 3y ago
    That doesn't mean they're not subsidizing individual markets to remain competitive though. It just means the average is marginal. IIRC Uber lost $2B on the Chinese marketing simply because of subsidies.
    - V-eHGsd_ 3y ago
      > IIRC Uber lost $2B on the Chinese marketing simply because of subsidies. uber pulled out of china in 2016 ...
      - minsc_and_boo 3y ago
        Because it was a loss leader. It's proof that Uber subsidizes individual markets differently.
        V-eHGsd_ 3y ago
        it's proof they subsidized, past-test, 7 years ago. its really weird to point to what uber did more than 7 years ago as non public company with no public reporting requirements, and try to use that to refute publicly reported numbers from today.
  - twelve40 3y ago
    They have lost $31.5B since 2014 and turned a profit just now. Where did that money go? That one Beyonce party, or it still might have had something to do with their main thing, the rides?

Analemma_ 3y ago

Don't forget it also has to repay not just the cash losses but the opportunity cost from the money you could've made by just parking it in an index fund instead of investing in Uber. When you factor that in, it's probably more like 50 years before Uber actually becomes "a good investment".

wskinner 3y ago
Uber was a good investment for all of their private investors until SoftBank. For many of those investors, it was the best investment they ever made (see Benchmark, for example). For very late stage private investors who entered when the company was valued around $50B, it's more complicated and depends on the entry and exit timing. But rest assured that the returns to all investors who bought their stake before 2015 greatly exceeded their opportunity cost.

mighmi 3y ago

It's only a profit because of a gain in their equity holdings. > recognized a $386 million unrealized pre-tax gain related to the revaluation of our equity investments

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]