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FYI Uber reported a net income of $2.6B in Q3-2024 and $1.9B for 2023. That's no Google but that's also no "barely makes any money" territory, no? Source: http

by __sy__ 2y ago

FYI Uber reported a net income of $2.6B in Q3-2024 and $1.9B for 2023. That's no Google but that's also no "barely makes any money" territory, no? Source: https://www.google.com/finance/quote/UBER:NYSE?hl=en https://www.google.com/finance/quote/UBER:NYSE?hl=en

TheAlchemist 2y ago
Yeah, and also a loss of $8.5B in 2019, loss $6.7B in 2020 and loss of $9.14B in 2022. Hell of a business they got there.
- __sy__ 2y ago
  So? I can make the exact same point about Google and other tech companies that endured years—decades sometimes—of eye-watering losses, only to eventually build enormously valuable businesses.
  - TheAlchemist 2y ago
    Of course. But it's a bit premature to say it's a good business and making money. It may or may not become a good business. Let's say Tesla does manage to launch a cheap Robotaxi, fully autonomous, next year ? (Of course they won't, they are decades away from that) Uber would be pretty much dead, and all it would have done in it's lifetime is massive losses.
jqpabc123 2y ago
That's no Google but that's also no "barely makes any money" territory, no? Yes. Income and profit are not the same. Uber spends all their income and then some --- which actually leaves them in "makes less than no money territory". Imagine winning $100 at a casino. You tell your buddies about the big win but you conveniently neglect to mention the fact that you lost $200 first. Your income was $100 but your expenses were $200 which leaves you with a net loss of $100.
- __sy__ 2y ago
  eh... I'm pretty sure I mentioned net income (which i think is pretty close to profit in some circles) but if we care about debt servicing, buybacks...etc, let's just look at cash flow. And there too, in Q3, they posted $1B+ for quarter. I'm not sure I understand the point of your analogy with respect to wining/losing at a casino. If I follow it, you are effectively saying something akin to, when Google first became profitable, its achievements should have been completely dismissed because of a decade of prior losses. That's not how tech companies work. Most of the value creation is 5-10-20 years out. You bear enormous losses with the knowledge that returns compound and eventually render irrelevant prior years' losses.
- enslavedrobot 2y ago
  Income is profit. Uber made $2.6 billion. What you are talking about is revenue.Uber generated $11.2 billion in revenue. Their profit margin was 23%. Up from 2.3% a year ago. Business terminology is precise. Any founder that makes this mistake in front of an investor will lose their trust. Know the difference.

by __sy__ 2y ago

TheAlchemist 2y ago

Yeah, and also a loss of $8.5B in 2019, loss $6.7B in 2020 and loss of $9.14B in 2022. Hell of a business they got there.

__sy__ 2y ago
So? I can make the exact same point about Google and other tech companies that endured years—decades sometimes—of eye-watering losses, only to eventually build enormously valuable businesses.
- TheAlchemist 2y ago
  Of course. But it's a bit premature to say it's a good business and making money. It may or may not become a good business. Let's say Tesla does manage to launch a cheap Robotaxi, fully autonomous, next year ? (Of course they won't, they are decades away from that) Uber would be pretty much dead, and all it would have done in it's lifetime is massive losses.

jqpabc123 2y ago

That's no Google but that's also no "barely makes any money" territory, no? Yes. Income and profit are not the same. Uber spends all their income and then some --- which actually leaves them in "makes less than no money territory". Imagine winning $100 at a casino. You tell your buddies about the big win but you conveniently neglect to mention the fact that you lost $200 first. Your income was $100 but your expenses were $200 which leaves you with a net loss of $100.

__sy__ 2y ago
eh... I'm pretty sure I mentioned net income (which i think is pretty close to profit in some circles) but if we care about debt servicing, buybacks...etc, let's just look at cash flow. And there too, in Q3, they posted $1B+ for quarter. I'm not sure I understand the point of your analogy with respect to wining/losing at a casino. If I follow it, you are effectively saying something akin to, when Google first became profitable, its achievements should have been completely dismissed because of a decade of prior losses. That's not how tech companies work. Most of the value creation is 5-10-20 years out. You bear enormous losses with the knowledge that returns compound and eventually render irrelevant prior years' losses.
enslavedrobot 2y ago
Income is profit. Uber made $2.6 billion. What you are talking about is revenue.Uber generated $11.2 billion in revenue. Their profit margin was 23%. Up from 2.3% a year ago. Business terminology is precise. Any founder that makes this mistake in front of an investor will lose their trust. Know the difference.