Shares in Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE:UBER) fell over 6% on Thursday after the company forecast profit for 2024 that was below market estimates.
Uber said it expects adjusted profits of around US$5bn in 2024, which fell short of analysts’ forecasts of US$5.7bn.
“We think it’s a worthwhile target, could there be upside, absolutely, but let’s work on that target for now,” said Uber chief executive officer Dara Khosrowshahi.
Gross bookings are expected to be in the range of US$$165bn-US$175bn in 2024, in line with market forecasts for US$169.73bn.
Uber shares fell on the guidance announcement, having risen earlier after the company beat revenue forecasts for the final quarter of 2021 and announced that it was bouncing back from the impact of the omicron variant of coronavirus.
The company reported revenue of US$5.78bn for the fourth quarter, up over 80% on the year before and above the market consensus of US$5.34bn.
Adjusted EBITDA came in at US$86mln, compared with a loss of US$454mln the year before and well ahead of analyst expectations for US$62.03mln.
Gross bookings rose by 50% to a total of US$25.86bn, with the Mobility business seeing a 67% surge to US$11.3bn, while Delivery, which includes Uber Eats, reported a 34% increase to US$13.4bn.
Delivery revenue at US$2.42bn was higher than Mobility revenue at US$2.28bn.
Uber reported 1.77bn trips during the fourth quarter, up 8% from the prior quarter and 23% from 2020. Monthly active consumers also rose by 8% to reach 118mln in the final quarter.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the company is recovering from the impact of omicron.
“While the Omicron variant began to impact our business in late December, Mobility is already starting to bounce back, with gross bookings up 25% month-on-month in the most recent week,” Khosrowshahi said.
The company forecast gross bookings of US$25bn-US$26bn for the first quarter of 2022, with EBITDA expected to be in the range US$100mln-US$130mln.