Uber Technologies, Inc. reported a net loss of $2.9 billion ($1.70 per share) for the first quarter of 2020 on mixed operating results from its two major business segments: ride-hailing and Uber Eats. Refinitiv analysts were expecting a loss of $0.88 per share and revenue of $3.5 billion.
Uber's Q1 financial results revealed Thursday show most of the loss being caused by pre-tax impairment write-downs of $2.1 billion and $277 million in stock-based compensation expenses. Excluding the impairment write-downs, the net loss would have been $1.1 billion.
Gross bookings increased to $15.8 billion, up 8% year-on-year, or 10% on a constant currency basis. Uber reported revenue growth of 14% year-over-year, or 16% on a constant currency basis.
Gross bookings for Uber's core business segment, Rides, fell 5% to $10.87 billion. On the other hand, gross bookings for Uber's food delivery segment, Eats, rose 54% year-over-year to $4.68 billion.
"While our Rides business has been hit hard by the ongoing (COVID-19) pandemic, we have taken quick action to preserve the strength of our balance sheet, focus additional resources on Uber Eats and prepare us for any recovery scenario," said CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.
"Along with the surge in food delivery, we are encouraged by the early signs we are seeing in markets that are beginning to open back up. Our global footprint and highly variable cost structure remain an important advantage, as our expectation is that the Rides recovery will vary by city and country," he said.
CFO Nelson Chai said Uber's ample liquidity provides the company with substantial flexibility to navigate the COVID-19 crisis. He said Uber is being proactive and is taking actions that will allow it to emerge stronger and more focused as a company.
"We have recently exited eight unprofitable Eats markets, significantly reduced the size of our customer support and recruiting teams, and merged our JUMP unit into Lime," said Chai. "Building on the steps we have already taken, we are continuing to look at all levers to ensure our core Rides and Eats businesses emerge from this crisis stronger than ever."
Other key operating results:
* Adjusted EBITDA for Rides: $581 million in profit, up to $389 million year-over-year, and down $161 million quarter-on-quarter.
* Adjusted EBITDA for Eats: $313 million, down $4 million year-on-year and up to $148 million quarter-on-quarter.
On Wednesday, Uber announced the firing of 3,700 employees or 14% of the company's total workforce of 26,900 people. Khosrowshahi will forgo his base salary of $1 million for the rest of 2020. The layoffs mostly hit Uber's customer support and recruiting teams.
