Uber pops 8% as company issues higher-than-expected bookings guidance

Uber reported first-quarter revenue on Wednesday that missed estimates, but the ride-hailing giant issued bookings guidance for the current quarter that exceeded analysts' expectations.

The stock jumped 8% following the earnings release.

Here's how the company did versus Wall Street's expectations, according to estimates compiled by LSEG:

Uber said its net income took a $1.5 billion hit due to the revaluation of equity investments. On a non-GAAP basis, earnings per share came to 72 cents, the company said in its earnings release on Wednesday. Uber has equity investments in Didi and Grab, both based in Asia.

Because of the "pre-tax headwind" from the revaluations, net income fell to $263 million from $1.78 billion a year earlier. Revenue in the quarter increased 14% from $11.5 billion a year ago.

Uber's delivery segment, the fastest-growing part of the business, recorded 34% revenue growth to $5.07 billion from $3.78 billion in the same quarter last year. That topped the average analyst estimate of $4.89 billion, according to StreetAccount.

The company said delivery growth was strong in Australia, Japan, and the U.K.

"The consumer is spending, they're spending locally, and we don't see any signs of that weakening at this point," CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told CNBC in an interview on Wednesday.

The revenue miss was due to the performance of Uber's mobility, or ride-hailing, business. Sales rose 5% from a year earlier to $6.8 billion, while analysts had expected revenue of $7.11 billion, according to StreetAccount.

In prepared remarks ahead of the earnings call, Khosrowshahi said Uber faced a "complex macro backdrop marked by weather disruptions, geopolitical tensions, and gas price volatility." Since the U.S. began combat operations in Iran in February, gas prices in the U.S. have jumped about 50%.

The higher prices are particularly challenging for Uber drivers, who foot the bill for their fuel. In late March, Uber unveiled some fuel discounts and other offers for drivers that are set to last through nearly the end of May.

Khosrowshahi told CNBC that Uber has seen little impact on consumers from the rise in energy prices, though Middle East operations have felt the aftershocks.

The company reported 3.6 billion trips during the first quarter. Gross bookings increased 25% to $53.7 billion, beating the $52.8 billion average estimate. For the second quarter, the company expects bookings of $56.25 billion to $57.75 billion, ahead of $56.17 billion consensus estimate.

Uber has been investing in autonomous vehicles, and plans to buy AVs from some of its partners, including Waabi, Wayve, Rivian and Nuro, after they're validated as safe to operate without a human supervisor or driver on board.

The company's AV partners also include robotaxi service providers, such as Alphabet's Waymo and WeRide in China, that want their self-driving vehicles to be available via the Uber app.

Khosrowshahi told analysts on an earnings call that Uber's mobility business accelerated faster than its overall business. He expects those tailwinds to continue as the company targets Waymo services in 15 cities by the end of 2026.

"This is, we think, another trillion-dollar [total addressable market], and we don't see this as being a winner-takes-all market," he said.

Uber is selling services like custom insurance, operations and maintenance, and training data to the AV industry.

In an effort to reduce costs internally, Uber has adopted artificial intelligence for engineering productivity and is moderating its hiring. It's also building AI agents for customers into its platform.

The company said in prepared remarks that 95% of its engineers now use AI coding tools monthly, with more than 10% of the company's code "written autonomously by AI coding agents."

Khosrowshahi said AI is helping Uber personalize the app for customers and that these algorithms can predict three-quarters of the rides on its platform.

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