Uber Technologies (UBER) delivered a bullish outlook for the second quarter, projecting gross bookings that surpassed Wall Street expectations and sending shares up roughly 8% in premarket trading Wednesday. The upbeat forecast contrasts with the company's first-quarter revenue miss, highlighting robust demand across its ride-hailing and delivery segments.
The San Francisco-based company guided second-quarter gross bookings in the range of $56.25 billion to $57.75 billion, topping the consensus estimate of $56.07 billion. Uber also forecast non-GAAP earnings per share between $0.78 and $0.82, excluding certain items under standard accounting principles.
In the first quarter, Uber's gross bookings reached $53.7 billion, exceeding the consensus estimate of $52.84 billion. However, revenue came in at $13.2 billion, up 14% year-over-year but below the $13.62 billion analysts had anticipated, according to LSEG data. The ride-hailing unit generated $6.8 billion in revenue, falling short of the $7.11 billion consensus, while delivery and freight segments both outperformed expectations.
Uber attributed the first-quarter underperformance to U.S. winter storms, geopolitical turbulence in the Middle East, and higher gasoline prices. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi noted that the company is "continuing to deepen the role Uber plays in daily life," while CFO Balaji Krishnamurthy highlighted that earnings are scaling "at more than twice our topline." The company also announced that its Uber One membership program has surpassed 50 million users, now accounting for roughly half of gross bookings in both mobility and delivery.
Options traders had anticipated a near-7% swing in Uber shares this week, according to Investopedia. Visible Alpha data showed Wall Street had been looking for first-quarter gross bookings of $52.89 billion, revenue of $13.29 billion, and adjusted earnings of $0.70 per share. Prediction-market odds on Polymarket had given Uber just a 13% chance of beating consensus GAAP EPS of $0.71, but the company reported GAAP diluted earnings of $0.13 per share, weighed down by a $1.5 billion pre-tax charge from marking down equity investments.
On the autonomous vehicle front, Uber has partnered with over 20 companies working on self-driving technology. The company aims to deploy rides using these partnerships—rather than its own systems—in up to 15 cities globally by the end of 2026.
Lyft (LYFT) is set to report earnings after Thursday's closing bell, with a conference call scheduled for 5 p.m. Eastern. The company had previously guided first-quarter gross bookings between $4.86 billion and $5.00 billion, with adjusted EBITDA in the range of $120 million to $140 million. Without Uber's delivery muscle, Lyft is more exposed to fluctuations in ride demand, pricing, and cost management, even as it expands into taxis, premium rides, and select international markets. In February, CFO Erin Brewer told investors the company was "right on track to hit our long-term targets." Thursday's results will test those claims against Uber's more optimistic guidance.
