Uber’s revenue rose 14 percent in its most recent quarter, the company reported Tuesday, but the growth was its slowest since the coronavirus pandemic began to ease last year.
The San Francisco-based company posted revenue of $9.2 billion, up from $8.1 billion in the second quarter last year. The 14 percent growth was slower than last year’s 105 percent increase and down from 29 percent in the previous quarter. Wall Street analysts had estimated revenue of $9.3 billion.
Uber’s total bookings — the amount paid by customers — reached $33.6 billion, up 16 percent from last year. Net income was $394 million, compared to a $2.6 billion loss last year and was driven by earnings from investments in other companies.
“We are focused on driving significant demand in the coming years – both by attracting new riders to Uber and by getting existing riders to use Uber more,” Dara said. Khosrowshahi, the chief executive, in a statement.
The company also said Nelson Chai, its chief financial officer, will leave on Jan. 5. It did not give a reason. Uber said it was looking for a replacement.
Demand for ride hailing and food delivery, Uber’s core offerings, has rebounded as corporate and leisure travel recovered after the pandemic. Early in the pandemic, Uber rides plummeted, and the company cut about 7,000 employees in 2020 as people were stuck at home. Earlier this year, after vaccines became widely available and people started moving, the company reported record quarterly earnings.
Uber’s biggest growth in the quarter was in ride-hailing, with revenue up 38 percent. Its active customers grew 12 percent to 137 million, while the number of trips taken in the past three months rose 22 percent to 2.3 billion.
Gross bookings for food delivery also increased by 12 percent compared to last year.
But Uber was dragged down by its freight service, with revenue down 30 percent as the rate and volume of shipments dropped after the pandemic.
Uber also wrestled with higher costs, as it spent on incentives to lure drivers back. Total costs and expenses were $18 billion, up 12 percent from a year earlier.
Mr. Khosrowshahi said some of the spending has paid off. “We’ve continued to attract more drivers to Uber than ever before,” with active drivers up 33 percent over the past year, he said.
In June, the company laid off 200 employees from its recruiting team — less than 1 percent of its workforce — to streamline costs.
Uber’s main rival in the US, Lyft, is scheduled to report quarterly earnings next Tuesday. Lyft has struggled financially as it competes with Uber, which is much larger. This year, Lyft appointed a new chief executive and laid off 1,200 workers, or 30 percent of its workforce.
