Uber may never be profitable … admits Uber

Private ride-hailing giant Uber, which is aiming to follow rival Lyft in becoming a public company this year, has warned that it may never be profitable. The candid admission comes in a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as Uber prepares for an initial public offering (IPO) which it reportedly hopes will value the company at $100 billion. This potential IPO figure is some way below the $120bn predicted by analysts just last year. And Uber warns: “We have incurred significant loss
April 12, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

Private ride-hailing giant 8336 Uber, which is aiming to follow rival 8789 Lyft in becoming a public company this year, has warned that it may never be profitable.

The candid admission comes in a %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external filing false https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1543151/000119312519103850/d647752ds1.htm false false%> to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as Uber prepares for an initial public offering (IPO) which it reportedly hopes will value the company at $100 billion.

This potential IPO figure is some way below the %$Linker: 2 Internal <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 4 37156 0 link-external $120bn false /sections/transmart/news/uber-ipo-could-be-valued-at-120-billion/ false false%> predicted by analysts just last year.

And Uber warns: “We have incurred significant losses since inception, including in the United States and other major markets. We expect our operating expenses to increase significantly in the foreseeable future, and we may not achieve profitability.”

Other admissions in the SEC filing include: “We are making substantial investments in new offerings and technologies, and expect to increase such investments in the future. These new ventures are inherently risky, and we may never realise any expected benefits from them.”

The company says the world of driverless taxis may not offer all that is hoped, too: “We may fail to develop and successfully commercialise autonomous vehicle technologies and expect that our competitors will develop such technologies before us, and such technologies may fail to perform as expected, or may be inferior to those developed by our competitors.”

In what has become a familiar refrain, the company also argues that its business would be “adversely affected if drivers were classified as employees instead of independent contractors”.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • UK government gets future mobility challenge underway
    August 2, 2018
    The UK government has unveiled plans under its Future of Mobility Grand Challenge which could change how people, goods and services move around the country. These initiatives have been outlined in the Last Mile and Future of mobility call for evidence, which provide an insight into how technology could make transport safer, more accessible and greener. Under the plans, electric cargo bikes, vans, quadricycles and micro vehicles could replace vans in UK cities as part of a strategy to change last-mile
    Read More
  • Hawaii wins more than $400,000 in EPA Grants
    November 27, 2018
    The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded $411,578 in Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) grants to Hawaii to help curb pollution from diesel vehicle sources. The EPA’s West Coast Collaborative administers the DERA programme. This partnership, which combines the EPA’s Pacific Southwest and Pacific Northwest Regions, utilises public and private funds in a bid to reduce emissions. The Hawaii Department of Health (HDOH) intends to use the grant to replace two diesel transit buses with batter
    Read More
  • Ertico reveals new ITS event for 2020 in Russia
    September 17, 2019
    Ertico – ITS Europe has announced it is to hold the first-ever Central Eastern European Congress next year. Hosted by the city of Kazan, in south-west Russia, the event will focus on cooperation with Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (which comprises a number of countries formed after the break-up of the Soviet Union) and Central Eastern countries, says Ertico. It will take place in Kazan, Tatarstan on 21-24 September 2020 and there is a preview of the event in the city next month, on 3-4 Oct
    Read More
  • FASTR consortium releases Automotive Industry Guidelines for Secure Over-the-Air Updates
    November 9, 2017
    A non-profit research consortium dedicated to automotive cyber security, Future of Automotive Security Technology Research (FASTR), has announced the availability of the Automotive Industry Guidelines for Secure Over-the-Air Updates. These guidelines are intended to assist automotive manufacturers and others involved in evaluating platforms for secure updates, describing the threat models, providing recommended cryptographic algorithms and detailing a step-by-step checklist for evaluating state of the art
    Read More

Highlighted Content