Finance Alliance reported on November 1st (Edited by Xia Junxiong) that before the opening on Thursday (October 31st) Eastern Time, the online car-hailing giant Uber released its third-quarter financial report for 2024. The company's revenue and profit for the quarter exceeded expectations, but the total order amount fell short, leading to a significant drop in its stock price.

As of the time of writing, Uber Technologies' stock fell nearly 10% on Thursday, while its competitor Lyft saw a drop of over 5%. The company is scheduled to release its quarterly report next week. The overall U.S. stock market on Thursday was weak, especially in the technology sector, with the Nasdaq falling over 2.5%.

According to the financial report, Uber's Q3 revenue was $11.19 billion, a 20% year-on-year increase, exceeding analysts' expectations of $10.98 billion; the adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) was $1.69 billion, a 55% year-on-year increase, higher than analysts' expected $1.64 billion; and the operating profit was $1.06 billion, reaching a historical high.

From the perspective of revenue and profit, Uber's third-quarter report is considered outstanding, but another key indicator fell below expectations. The company's total order amount in Q3 was $40.97 billion, lower than analysts' expected $41.25 billion. Total order amount includes ride-hailing services, food delivery orders, as well as driver and merchant earnings, but excludes tips.

In terms of segment business, Uber's core business travel department revenue in Q3 was $6.41 billion, a 26% year-on-year increase, higher than the expected $6.31 billion; the delivery department (i.e., food delivery business) revenue in Q3 was $3.47 billion, an 18% year-on-year increase, higher than the expected $3.43 billion; and the freight business revenue in Q3 was $1.31 billion, a 2% year-on-year increase.

Uber Technologies expects its adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter to be between $1.78 billion and $1.88 billion, with the midpoint slightly lower than analysts' forecast of $1.84 billion; it is expected that the total order value in the fourth quarter will reach $42.75 billion to $44.25 billion, with the midpoint also lower than expected, analysts' expectation was $43.7 billion.

Due to economic uncertainties and high inflation putting pressure on passengers, Uber's outlook highlights the market's concerns about the weakening demand in the online car-hailing industry over the past few quarters.

Hargreaves Lansdown's Fund and Market Manager Susannah Streeter said: "People are likely to shift slightly towards cheaper modes of transportation."

As the world's largest online car-hailing company, Uber also has concerns about market saturation and is considering suburban areas in the USA and other regions as the next growth area.

Editor/ping