Shares of Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE:UBER, XETRA:UT8) jumped 8.4% on Wednesday after the ride-hailing and delivery giant reported first-quarter results that beat earnings expectations and issued second-quarter guidance above consensus estimates.
Uber posted first-quarter revenue of $13.2 billion, up 14% year-over-year, slightly below analyst estimates of $13.31 billion. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.72, topping the $0.70 consensus estimate and representing a 44% increase from the prior-year period.
Gross bookings — a closely watched metric spanning ride-hailing, food delivery, and freight — rose 25% year-over-year to $53.7 billion, while total trips reached 3.6 billion, up 20% year-over-year.
Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $2.5 billion, up 33% year-over-year.
Monthly active platform consumers reached 199 million, up 17% from a year earlier, while Uber One membership reached 50 million, a cohort the company said is now driving approximately half of gross bookings across its Mobility and Delivery segments.
Mobility, Delivery, and Freight gross bookings rose 25%, 28%, and 6% year-over-year to $26.4 billion, $26 billion, and $1.3 billion, respectively.
For the second quarter, Uber guided gross bookings of $56.25 billion to $57.75 billion, roughly 1% above the Street's $56.9 billion consensus at the midpoint. The company guided adjusted EBITDA of $2.7 billion to $2.8 billion, ahead of the $2.68 billion analyst estimate. Non-GAAP EPS guidance of $0.78 to $0.82 reflects growth of 31% to 38% year-over-year.
The company ended the quarter with $6.1 billion in cash, equivalents, and short-term investments.
Analysts at Jefferies noted faster-than-expected bookings growth despite headwinds from the Middle East conflict and winter storms demonstrated strong execution and pointed to an elevated long-term growth trajectory.
The analysts highlighted that Mobility bookings overcame an approximately 60 basis point headwind from the Middle East conflict and severe weather, while early benefits from insurance cost savings in California were becoming visible through accelerated trip growth in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Active drivers grew 21% year-over-year globally.
Jefferies also noted that second-quarter EBITDA guidance suggests an improvement in incremental margins to approximately 6.1%–6.2%, up from 5.6% in the first quarter, despite concerns over incremental margin pressure from AI investment.