Uber's First Profit After IPO... What Is the Future Direction of Its Stock Price?

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jihwan] Ride-sharing company Uber has achieved its first quarterly profit. Securities firms are analyzing that expectations for future performance improvements have increased due to additional external growth driven by the expansion of reopening.

Uber's net revenue for the third quarter of this year was $4.8 billion, a 72% increase compared to the same period last year. This figure exceeded the market expectation of $4.4 billion by about 10%. The number of active customers grew 40% year-over-year to 109 million, confirming a recovery in demand.

In the mobility segment, the total gross bookings reached $9.8 billion, a 63% growth compared to one year ago. Researcher Lee Kyung-rok of Samsung Securities said, "Except for Australia and New Zealand, which were affected by lockdowns, growth was observed in all regions." During the same period, the delivery segment also saw total gross bookings of $12.8 billion, a 46% increase, covering the decline in France with growth in the US, Mexico, Australia, Japan, and Taiwan. It is expected that the fourth quarter will continue the trend of external growth and transition to profitability.

Researcher Lee Kyung-rok evaluated, "Although there were concerns about fundamentals, the strong recovery in the ride-sharing segment and product expansion in the delivery segment improved adjusted EBITDA," adding, "The first adjusted EBITDA profit since listing has alleviated concerns about fundamentals."

He added, "Currently, the stock price is at a 2022 price-to-sales ratio (PSR) of 3.8 times based on Bloomberg, similar to pre-COVID levels," and forecasted, "With the delivery segment turning profitable in the future, a revaluation of the valuation is possible."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.