Uber Technologies Inc has 91 million users, but growth is slowing and it may never make a profit, the ride-hailing company said on Thursday in its IPO filing. The filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission revealed Uber had 91 million average monthly active users on its platforms, including for ride-hailing and Uber Eats, at the end of 2018. This is up 33.8 percent from 2017, but growth slowed from 51 percent a year earlier. Uber had not disclosed the latest user numbers before, and the figure indicates the scale of the business. Although its user base includes customers of other services and ride-sharing, the number is nearly five times the 18.6 million announced by rival Lyft Inc.
Uber in 2018 had $11.3 billion revenue, up around 42 percent over 2017, but below the 106 percent growth the prior year.
“We expect our operating expenses to increase significantly in the foreseeable future, and WE MAY NOT ACHIEVE PROFITABILITY.” says Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi.
In August 2017, Khosrowshahi became the CEO of Uber, succeeding founder Travis Kalanick. He forfeited his un-vested stock options of Expedia, then worth $184 million, but Uber reportedly paid him over $200 million to take the CEO position. He also serves on Uber’s board of directors.
“We will need to generate and sustain increased revenue levels and decrease proportionate expenses in future periods to achieve profitability in many of our largest markets, including in the United States, and even if we do, we may not be able to maintain or increase profitability,” he added.
Although Uber is no longer targeting a $120 billion valuation in the IPO, shares in its smaller rival closed at $61.01 on Thursday, 15 percent below its IPO price set late last month, a development which has sent a chilling signal for other tech start-ups looking to go public.
After making the public filing, Uber will begin a series of investor presentations, called a roadshow, which Reuters has reported will start the week of April 29.
Source : Uber Inc
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