Uber Announces Results for Third Quarter 2021

Gross Bookings reached an all-time high of $23.1 billion, up 57% year-over-year

Net loss of $2.4 billion with a $2.0 billion net headwind from revaluation of Uber’s equity investments

Adjusted EBITDA of +$8 million with Mobility margins at 5.5% of GB and Delivery approaching breakeven

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: UBER) today announced financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2021.

Financial Highlights for Third Quarter 2021

Gross Bookings grew 57% year-over-year (“YoY”) to $23.1 billion, or 53% on a constant currency basis, with Mobility Gross Bookings of $9.9 billion (+67% YoY) and Delivery Gross Bookings of $12.8 billion (+50% YoY). Trips during the quarter grew 39% YoY to 1.64 billion, or nearly 18 million trips per day on average.
Revenue grew 72% YoY to $4.8 billion, or 69% on a constant currency basis. Revenue benefited from a $123 million accrual release for the resolution of historical claims in the UK relating to the classification of drivers. Note that this benefit is excluded from Adjusted EBITDA.
Mobility take rate of 22.3% included a 120 basis points (“bps”) positive impact from the UK accrual release. Excluding that benefit, Mobility take rate recovered 240 bps QoQ to 21.1% driven by a tapering of elevated driver supply investments in Q2. Delivery take rate expanded 220 bps QoQ and 410 bps YoY to 17.4%. Ongoing business model changes in certain Delivery markets benefited take rate by 400 bps in the quarter.
Net loss attributable to Uber Technologies, Inc. was $2.4 billion, which includes a $2.0 billion net headwind (pre-tax) from revaluation of Uber’s equity investments, primarily due to an unrealized loss of $3.2 billion (pre-tax) related to the revaluation of Uber’s Didi equity investment, partially offset by aggregate unrealized gains related to the revaluation of Uber’s Zomato, Aurora, and Joby stakes. Additionally, net loss includes $281 million in stock-based compensation expense.
Adjusted EBITDA of $8 million, up $517 million QoQ and $633 million YoY, to deliver Uber’s first Adjusted EBITDA profitable quarter as a public company.
Mobility Adjusted EBITDA of $544 million, up $365 million QoQ and $299 million YoY. Mobility Adjusted EBITDA margin as a percentage of Mobility Gross Bookings reached 5.5%, up from 2.1% in Q2 2021 and 4.1% in Q3 2020.
Delivery Adjusted EBITDA of $(12) million, improved by $149 million QoQ and by $171 million YoY. Delivery Adjusted EBITDA margin as a percentage of Delivery Gross Bookings, approached breakeven at (0.1)%, up from (1.2)% in Q2 2021 and (2.1)% in Q3 2020.
Unrestricted cash and cash equivalents were $6.5 billion at the end of the third quarter.

“Our early and decisive investments in driver growth are still paying dividends, with drivers steadily returning to the platform, leading to further improvement in the consumer experience,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO. “This is especially important as Mobility reignites. Mobility Gross Bookings are up 18 percent over just the last two months and this Halloween weekend surpassed 2019 levels.”

“While we recognize it’s just a step, reaching total-company Adjusted EBITDA profitability is an important milestone for Uber,” said Nelson Chai, CFO. “Not only did our Mobility business recover to pre-COVID margins this quarter, our core restaurant delivery business was profitable on an Adjusted EBITDA basis for the first time as well, bringing the full Delivery segment close to breakeven.”

Outlook for Q4 2021

For Q4 2021, we anticipate:

Gross Bookings of $25 billion to $26 billion
Adjusted EBITDA of $25 million to $75 million

Financial and Operational Highlights for Third Quarter 2021
	Three Months Ended September 30,
(In millions, except percentages)	2020			2021			% Change		% Change (Constant Currency⁽¹⁾)

Monthly Active Platform Consumers (“MAPCs”)	78			109			40	%
Trips	1,184			1,641			39	%
Gross Bookings	$	14,745		$	23,113		57	%	53	%
Revenue ⁽²⁾	$	2,813		$	4,845		72	%	69	%
Net loss attributable to Uber Technologies, Inc. ⁽³⁾	$	(1,089	)	$	(2,424	)	(123	)%
Adjusted EBITDA ⁽¹⁾	$	(625	)	$	8		**

⁽¹⁾See “Definitions of Non-GAAP Measures” and “Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Measures” sections herein for an explanation and reconciliations of non-GAAP measures used throughout this release.

⁽²⁾Revenue benefited from a $123 million accrual release for the resolution of historical claims in the UK relating to the classification of drivers. Excluding that benefit, revenue grew 68% YoY.

⁽³⁾Net loss attributable to Uber Technologies, Inc. includes stock-based compensation expense of $183 million and $281 million in Q3 2020 and Q3 2021, respectively. Net loss also includes a $2.0 billion net headwind (pre-tax) from revaluation of Uber’s equity investments in Q3 2021.

** Percentage not meaningful.

Results by Offering and Segment
Gross Bookings

	Three Months Ended September 30,
(In millions, except percentages)	2020		2021		% Change		% Change (Constant Currency)

Gross Bookings:
Mobility	$	5,905	$	9,883	67	%	63	%
Delivery	8,550		12,828		50	%	46	%
Freight	290		402		39	%	39	%
Total	$	14,745	$	23,113	57	%	53	%

Revenue

	Three Months Ended September 30,
(In millions, except percentages)	2020		2021		% Change		% Change (Constant Currency)

Revenue:
Mobility ⁽¹⁾	$	1,364	$	2,205	62	%	59	%
Delivery	1,136		2,238		97	%	92	%
Freight	288		402		40	%	40	%
All Other ⁽²⁾	25		—		**		**
Total ⁽¹⁾	$	2,813	$	4,845	72	%	69	%

⁽¹⁾Uber Revenues and Mobility Revenues benefited from a $123 million accrual release for the resolution of historical claims in the UK relating to the classification of drivers.

⁽²⁾Includes historical results of ATG and Other Technology Programs and New Mobility.

** Percentage not meaningful.

Take Rates

	Three Months Ended September 30,
	2020		2021

Mobility ⁽¹⁾	23.1	%	22.3	%
Delivery	13.3	%	17.4	%
Total ⁽²⁾	19.1	%	21.0	%

⁽¹⁾Mobility Take Rate in Q3 2021 includes a 120 bps benefit from the UK accrual release. Excluding that benefit, Mobility Take Rate would be 21.1%.

⁽²⁾Total Take Rate in Q3 2021 includes a 60 bps benefit from the UK accrual release. Excluding that benefit, Total Take Rate would be 20.4%.

Adjusted EBITDA and Segment Adjusted EBITDA

	Three Months Ended September 30,
(In millions, except percentages)	2020			2021			% Change

Segment Adjusted EBITDA:
Mobility	$	245		$	544		122	%
Delivery	(183		)	(12		)	93	%
Freight	(73		)	(35		)	52	%
All Other	(104		)	—			**
Corporate G&A and Platform R&D ^{(1), (2)}	(510		)	(489		)	4	%
Adjusted EBITDA⁽³⁾	$	(625	)	$	8		**

⁽¹⁾ Excludes stock-based compensation expense.

⁽²⁾ Includes costs that are not directly attributable to our reportable segments. Corporate G&A also includes certain shared costs such as finance, accounting, tax, human resources, information technology and legal costs. Platform R&D also includes mapping and payment technologies and support and development of the internal technology infrastructure. Our allocation methodology is periodically evaluated and may change.

⁽³⁾“Adjusted EBITDA” is a non-GAAP measure as defined by the SEC. See “Definitions of Non-GAAP Measures” and “Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Measures” sections herein for an explanation and reconciliations of non-GAAP measures used throughout this release.

** Percentage not meaningful.

Revenue by Geographical Region

	Three Months Ended September 30,
(In millions, except percentages)	2020		2021		% Change

United States and Canada	$	1,598	$	2,648	66	%
Latin America (“LatAm”)	302		390		29	%
Europe, Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”)	590		1,064		80	%
Asia Pacific (“APAC”)	323		743		131	%
Total	$	2,813	$	4,845	72	%

Financial Highlights for the Third Quarter 2021 (continued)

Mobility

Gross Bookings of $9.9 billion: Mobility Gross Bookings grew 63% YoY on a constant currency basis. On a sequential basis, Mobility Gross Bookings grew 14% QoQ, with strong growth in U.S. & Canada, EMEA and LatAm, partially offset by a decline in APAC as a result of COVID-19 related lockdowns in Australia and New Zealand.
Revenue of $2.2 billion: Mobility Revenue grew 36% QoQ and grew 62% YoY. Mobility Revenue benefited from a $123 million accrual release for the resolution of historical claims in the UK relating to the classification of drivers. Excluding the UK accrual release, Mobility Revenue grew 29% QoQ and grew 53% YoY.
Take rate of 22.3%: Mobility take rate improved 360 bps QoQ but declined 80 bps YoY. Take rate saw a 120 bps benefit from the UK accrual release. The sequential improvement was driven by a reduction in driver incentives and a more favorable geographical mix as U.S. & Canada recovered through the quarter.
Adjusted EBITDA of $544 million: Adjusted EBITDA increased $365 million QoQ and $299 million YoY. Adjusted EBITDA margin reached 5.5% of Gross Bookings, compared to 2.1% in Q2 2021 and 4.1% in Q3 2020. Adjusted EBITDA margin improved sequentially as a result of higher volume and lower driver incentives. On a YoY basis, margin improvement was primarily driven by better cost leverage from higher volume, more than offsetting higher driver incentives.

Delivery

Gross Bookings of $12.8 billion: Gross Bookings grew 46% YoY on a constant currency basis. On a sequential basis, Gross Bookings remained relatively stable (-1% QoQ), with growth in several markets including the U.S., Mexico, Australia, Japan and Taiwan, offset by a notable decline in France.
Revenue of $2.2 billion: Delivery Revenue grew 14% QoQ and 97% YoY. Take rate of 17.4% grew 220 bps QoQ and grew 410 bps YoY. Business model changes in some countries that classify certain payments and incentives as cost of revenue benefited Delivery take rate by 400 bps in the quarter.
Adjusted EBITDA of $(12) million: Adjusted EBITDA improved $149 million QoQ and $171 million YoY, driven by cost leverage, reduced incentive spend, and improved network efficiencies. Delivery Adjusted EBITDA margin was at (0.1)% as a percentage of Gross Bookings, compared to (1.2)% in Q2 2021 and (2.1)% in Q3 2020. Adjusted EBITDA margin improved sequentially owing to improved network efficiencies, reduced incentive spend and realization of Postmates synergies. On a YoY basis, margin improvement was driven by higher volume, in addition to sequential factors.

Freight

Freight delivered strong growth and improving EBITDA margins: Freight revenue grew 40% YoY, to $402 million, as shippers and carriers continue to utilize Uber Freight offerings to navigate a historically tight freight market. Freight improved Adjusted EBITDA by 52% YoY and improved Adjusted EBITDA margins as a percentage of Gross Bookings by 16.5% YoY to (8.7)%.

Corporate

Corporate G&A and Platform R&D: Corporate G&A and Platform R&D expenses of $489 million, compared to $486 million in Q2 2021, and $510 million in Q3 2020. On a YoY basis, Corporate G&A and Platform R&D decreased as a percentage of Gross Bookings due to cost control and improved fixed cost leverage.

GAAP and Non-GAAP Costs and Operating Expenses

Cost of revenue excluding D&A: GAAP cost of revenue was $2.4 billion. Non-GAAP cost of revenue was $2.3 billion, representing 10.1% of Gross Bookings, compared to 9.6% and 8.7% in Q2 2021 and Q3 2020 respectively. On a YoY basis, non-GAAP cost of revenue as a percentage of Gross Bookings increased due to the classification of certain Delivery payments and incentives as cost of revenue attributable to business model changes in some countries.
GAAP and Non-GAAP operating expenses (Non-GAAP operating expenses exclude certain amounts as further detailed in the Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Measures):
- Operations and support: GAAP operations and support was $475 million. Non-GAAP operations and support was $431 million, representing 1.9% of Gross Bookings, compared to 1.8% and 2.4% in Q2 2021 and Q3 2020 respectively. On a YoY basis, non-GAAP operations and support as a percentage of Gross Bookings decreased due to improved fixed cost leverage.
- Sales and marketing: GAAP sales and marketing was $1.2 billion. Non-GAAP sales and marketing was $1.1 billion, representing 5.0% of Gross Bookings, compared to 5.6% and 6.2% in Q2 2021 and Q3 2020 respectively. On a YoY basis, non-GAAP sales and marketing as a percentage of Gross Bookings decreased due to improved cost leverage with Gross Bookings growth outpacing sales and marketing expense growth. Additionally, Gross Bookings mix shifted towards Mobility, which carry lower associated sales and marketing costs.
- Research and development: GAAP research and development was $493 million. Non-GAAP research and development was $338 million, representing 1.5% of Gross Bookings, compared to 1.5% and 2.7% in Q2 2021 and Q3 2020 respectively. On a YoY basis, non-GAAP research and development as a percentage of Gross Bookings decreased due to lower employee headcount costs, which was primarily driven by the sale of our ATG business in the first quarter of 2021.
- General and administrative: GAAP general and administrative was $625 million. Non-GAAP general and administrative was $473 million, representing 2.0% of Gross Bookings, compared to 2.1% and 3.4% in Q2 2021 and Q3 2020 respectively. On a YoY basis, non-GAAP general and administrative as a percentage of Gross Bookings decreased due to lower employee headcount costs and improved fixed cost leverage.

Operating Highlights for the Third Quarter 2021

Platform

Trips of 1.64 billion: Trips on our platform grew 9% QoQ and 39% YoY, with sequential growth in both Mobility and Delivery trips.
Monthly Active Platform Consumers (“MAPCs”) reached 109 million: MAPCs grew 8% QoQ and grew 40% YoY to 109 million.
Membership: Uber Eats announced partnerships with Hulu in the US and Aeroplan in Canada, offering complimentary Eats pass to eligible Hulu subscribers and Aeroplan credit cardholders. Aeroplan’s credit card partnerships with TD, Amex, and CIBC represent three of the highest spending cardholder bases in Canada. Later this month, we’ll be announcing an update to our membership program geared towards more cross-platform benefits, competitive offers, and member perks.
Supporting earners: Drivers and couriers earned an aggregate $8.6 billion during the quarter, with earnings up 60% YoY, outpacing Uber’s Gross Bookings growth of 57% YoY. We announced new global resources that are fully integrated in the Uber app for drivers and couriers who use Uber, including our partnership with Rosetta Stone and the ability to request a letter from Uber that describes the work they’ve done while using the Uber app.
Uber for Business (U4B): Annualized run rate Gross Bookings for our U4B business reached $4.1 billion in Q3, up 115% YoY on a constant currency basis, and surpassed U4B Gross Bookings in Q3 2019. U4B recorded strong growth in managed Mobility Gross Bookings as corporate Mobility use cases recovered with businesses returning to work, while Delivery use cases continue to grow as well.

Mobility

US driver supply recovery: Active US Mobility drivers in Q3 were up nearly 60% YoY, and improved through October with 10 consecutive weeks of driver growth since the end of August. As a result, consumer experience metrics have improved towards pre-COVID levels, with completed trips ETA close to 4.5 minutes at the end of October.
Airport recovery: Trips to and from airports represented 12% of Mobility Gross Bookings in Q3 2021, growing 35% QoQ and 203% YoY, outpacing the overall Mobility segment’s recovery as consumer travel trends improved. With airport trips rapidly recovering, we launched several new features to further improve consumers’ airport experience:
- Uber Reserve at Airports: With a strong product market fit between Uber Reserve and airport trips, Reserve is now being introduced at airports. In addition to standard Reserve features, Uber will also automatically adjust pickup based on flight tracking, and offer curbside pickup at airports.
- Ready When You Are: A new feature that allows riders to request a ride once they land—but only be picked up when they are ready. With options for pickup in 20 minutes, 10 minutes or as soon as possible, Ready When You Are allows riders to select a pickup time that works best for them, while still adding a level of certainty that a car is on the way.
- Curbside Pickup: A new feature that helps match curbside riders with drivers more quickly. Using machine learning technology that predicts demand ahead of time, we dispatch drivers who can then be matched with riders at the curb for a quick and seamless experience. This feature is available at more than 15 airports across the world.
- Mobile Ordering for Pickup: Uber Eats customers can order and pay in-app from select airport restaurants and skip the line to pick up their meal. This feature is currently piloting at the Toronto Pearson Airport, and will continue to roll out to US airports in the coming months.
Tesla EV rentals offered via Uber and Hertz partnership: Announced a new partnership with Hertz to make up to 50,000 fully electric Tesla Model 3 vehicles available for drivers to rent by 2023, exclusively for drivers using the Uber network in the US. This is the largest expansion of EVs on a mobility platform in North America and one of the largest globally.

Delivery

Reopening impact: Delivery continued to demonstrate strong consumer, merchant and courier metrics even as COVID-19 restrictions eased around the world. Delivery MAPCs, basket size and order frequency were stable QoQ, and grew nearly 24% YoY, 9% YoY and 10% YoY respectively. Active merchants grew 37% YoY to exceed 780K in Q3. Globally, active couriers grew 36% YoY, and grew 87% YoY in the US.
Ads: Advertising annualized revenue run rate reached well over $100 million in Q3 as active advertising merchants grew to over 140K. Uber’s proprietary advertising platform has now been rolled out to all Delivery markets except Germany.
Three-tiered merchant pricing: Introduced a new tiered pricing model for merchants, which gives flexibility to meet merchants’ preferences. The model includes 3 different packages: Lite, Plus, and Premium, which charge 15%, 25%, and 30% fees respectively. While Lite keeps costs low for merchants, Plus and Premium aim to maximize merchant sales by providing higher app visibility, consumer benefits such as lower delivery fees, as well as advertisement spend matching for Premium.
Drizly: Completed our acquisition of Drizly, North America’s leading alcohol delivery service, and the start of product integration. Over the coming months, Drizly’s marketplace will both be featured within the Uber Eats app and as a separate Drizly app and web experience. With the closing of this transaction, Uber’s alcohol delivery offering now reaches over 30 US states and Canada, and we expect expansion to continue.
Rapid delivery and dark grocery: Announced a new rapid grocery partnership with Carrefour and Cajoo within the Uber Eats app in France, with Cajoo fulfilling Carrefour rapid delivery demand originating on Uber Eats. In Taiwan, Uber owned-and-operated dark grocery locations are being tested as we develop local approaches to changing consumer demand.
Rite Aid partnership: Announced the expansion of our partnership with Rite Aid to offer delivery of Rite Aid products nationwide through the Uber platform. On-demand delivery is now available for over 2,180 Rite Aid locations on Uber Eats.
Baby + Kids Hub: Announced the launch of a new vertical, Baby + Kids, on Uber Eats anchored by merchant partners Bed Bath & Beyond and Buy Buy Baby to help parents get what they need on-demand. This new vertical also includes niche brands new to delivery like Yumi, Lalo and more.
Woolworths partnership: Announced a partnership with Woolworths, Australia’s biggest supermarket chain, to offer same-hour grocery delivery in Sydney and Melbourne, with national expansion by early next year. Orders from both Uber Eats or Woolworths website are fulfilled by Woolworths staff with delivery handled by Uber Eats couriers.

Freight

Expanded committed capacity product: Uber Freight’s committed capacity product introduced digital lane clustering, which groups together similar lanes with historically low volumes in order to increase TAM and load volumes available for dedicated carrier coverage.
Launched web-based carrier scorecard: The carrier scorecard incentivizes carriers to provide excellent performance, giving real-time access to track their own performance against Uber Freight’s quality standards. In Q3, Uber Freight maintained on-time delivery frequency at or above 94%.
Continued strong customer adoption: Uber Freight’s shipper offering continues to show product market fit with both new and existing shippers – the segment onboarded 91 new Enterprise / Mid market logos as of Q3’21 while awarded ‘best service’ honors from top shippers LG Electronics and Target Corp.

Corporate

Uber and Yandex N.V.: For a total consideration of $1.0 billion from Yandex, Uber agreed to sell its 18.5% equity interest in SDG and 4.5% of Uber’s equity interest in MLU B.V. In addition, through a demerger agreement, Yandex will acquire all of Uber’s equity interest in Yandex.Eats, Yandex.Lavka and Yandex.Delivery. Uber completed the sale of its entire equity interest in SDG and Uber’s equity interest in MLU B.V. to Yandex during the third quarter of 2021, and we expect the demerger shares closing to occur late in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Uber and James River: Aleka Insurance, Inc. (“Aleka”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Uber, entered into an agreement with subsidiaries of James River Group Holdings, Ltd. (“James River”). Pursuant to the agreement, Aleka will reinsure certain automobile liability insurance risks relating to activity on the Uber platform between 2013 and 2019 in exchange for payment by James River to Aleka of a premium in the amount of approximately $345 million (“Premium”). In connection with the LPTA, claims currently administered by James River will be transferred to a third-party claims administrator for ongoing handling.
Senior Notes offering: Uber issued $1.5 billion principal amount of Senior Notes due 2029, with the intent to use the proceeds to finance a portion of the consideration payable in cash, and certain related fees and expenses incurred, in connection with the acquisition of Transplace by Uber Freight.

Webcast and conference call information

A live audio webcast of our third quarter 2021 earnings release call will be available at https://investor.uber.com/, along with the earnings press release and slide presentation. The call begins on November 4, 2021 at 2:00 PM (PT) / 5:00 PM (ET). This press release, including the reconciliations of certain non-GAAP measures to their nearest comparable GAAP measures, is also available on that site.

We also provide announcements regarding our financial performance, including SEC filings, investor events, press and earnings releases, and blogs, on our investor relations website (https://investor.uber.com/).

About Uber

Uber’s mission is to create opportunity through movement. We started in 2010 to solve a simple problem: how do you get access to a ride at the touch of a button? More than 28 billion trips later, we’re building products to get people closer to where they want to be. By changing how people, food, and things move through cities, Uber is a platform that opens up the world to new possibilities.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding our future business expectations which involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from the results predicted, and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance.

Contacts

Investors and analysts: investor@uber.com
Media: press@uber.com

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