Uber's Q1 financial report fell short of expectations, with autonomous driving taxis becoming a new growth engine

According to Zhitong Finance APP, Uber (UBER.US) reported that its total bookings for the first quarter of 2025 fell short of expectations, and there are signs of slowing growth in its ride-hailing business, which may suggest a trend of consumers reducing spending amid poor economic sentiment. The financial report shows that Uber's total order volume in Q1 was $42.8 billion, slightly below analysts' expectations of $43.1 billion, with revenue and operating profit both at $11.5 billion, also below expectations.However, Uber's revenue performance in the first quarter was quite impressive, with diluted earnings per share reaching $0.83, far exceeding the average analyst expectation of $0.51. The company stated that this better-than-expected performance was mainly due to the revaluation of shares in other companies. Looking ahead, Uber expects the order amount for this quarter to be between $45.75 billion and $47.25 billion, with the median slightly above analysts' expectations of $45.8 billion. At the same time, the adjusted EBITDA expectation also exceeds market expectations.The company's Chief Financial Officer Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah mentioned that the strengthening of the dollar against the currencies of Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina has posed significant challenges to the ride-hailing business. Even when calculated at fixed exchange rates, the growth rate of ride-hailing bookings this quarter slowed from 24% in the previous quarter to 20%. Although the delivery segment performed better than expected, the poor performance of the ride-hailing business still had a significant impact on overall performance, leading to a 3.4% drop in the company's stock price in pre-market trading.Uber had previously warned that its ride-hailing business in the U.S. (which accounts for more than half of the company's profits) was impacted by external factors such as the Los Angeles wildfires and extreme winter weather. At the same time, prices for rides in some markets have increased, which Uber explained was due to rising insurance costs being passed on to passengers. However, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi stated that these insurance pressures are gradually easing.The current economic environment also poses certain challenges for Uber. Due to rising prices and the escalating tariff policies of the Trump administration, consumer confidence in the U.S. has declined, with consumer confidence in March dropping to a four-year low.To achieve growth, Uber is actively advancing several plans, including expanding its business to hundreds of new cities, especially in areas with lower population density. Currently, Uber's taxi services cover more than 500 cities in the U.S. and abroad, with a year-on-year growth of 60% in annualized total bookings in the first quarter.As competitor Lyft Inc (LYFT.US) begins trial operations of its taxi business in the U.S. and acquires the European taxi app Freenow, competition in the taxi industry is intensifying. Uber stated that taxi rides account for over 10% of its business in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Additionally, Uber is focusing on developing autonomous ride-hailing services, having signed more than ten cooperation agreements in the past year.Since March, Uber has launched about 100 autonomous taxis on the Austin platform through an exclusive agreement with Waymo, a subsidiary of Google (GOOGL.US). Khosrowshahi stated that, in terms of daily trip volume, these taxis are "busier than 99% of drivers in Austin." The company plans to expand the number of autonomous taxis in Austin to hundreds in the coming months and hopes to launch more vehicles with various partners in the U.S. and globallyIn the delivery business, Uber recently announced an investment of $700 million to acquire a controlling stake in the Turkish delivery platform Trendyol Go. Mahendra-Rajah stated that Turkey is Uber's third-largest undeveloped market for global delivery operations, following India and Brazil