Uber lost $ 1 billion in Q1 and hopes lower profits: NPR

For most businesses, losing a billion dollars in a quarter would be a big disappointment. But Uber's first report as a publicly traded company was actually better than expected by investors.

The food transportation and distribution giant has generated more than $ 3 billion in revenue in the first three months of 2019, an increase of 20% over the same quarter in the same period last year. ;last year.

Prior to going public earlier this month, Uber had told investors to prepare for an even bigger loss in the first quarter. Now he tells them that they expect the price-cutting competition, which has hurt their profits, to ease soon.

Uber has been burning money for years investing heavily in growth, offering financial incentives to attract new riders and drivers and bearing the costs of expanding into new markets around the world. Until now, this growth has never been translated into profits.

The IPO of Uber did not go smoothly. Despite a relatively conservative pricing of its shares, at least compared to initial forecasts, the company saw its stock fall immediately and ended the first day down. Since then, Uber shares have never sold at the value set for the initial offering.

Wall Street liked what he saw in the first report on Uber's profits. His stock was up more than 1% early Friday.

Uber's results show that the company continues to grow rapidly, particularly in Uber Eats, its food delivery division. In South America, however, the company saw its turnover decrease in the face of fierce competition from competitor Didi.

In the United States, meanwhile, Uber is facing its smallest competitor, Lyft.

Worldwide, stimulus competition is dampening prices and contributing to Uber's losses. Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, said Thursday she hoped that Uber and Lyft, at least, would soon ease their efforts to cut prices.

"The competition will be healthier," he said. "It will be based on the brand, the products and the technology, which we think is the best way to compete as opposed to financing."

He also admitted that Uber had been facing headwinds in the US, in part because of the extensive damage to the brand in recent years: accusations of sexual harassment, reports of illegal business practices , data breaches and other scandals.