Uber (UBER) announced its Q4 2020 earnings after the closing bell on Wednesday, missing expectations on revenue but continuing to grow its Eats business amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Here’s how Uber fared in the quarter versus what analysts were expecting.
Gross bookings: $17.2 billion versus $17.35 billion expected
Rides gross bookings: $6.78 billion versus $7.29 billion expected
Eats gross bookings: $10.05 billion versus $9.76 billion expected
Losses per share: $0.54 versus $0.42 expected
Uber’s stock was down 2.5% following the report.
Like many companies outside of e-commerce, Uber saw its year turned upside down by the pandemic. The company’s ride sharing service saw massive year-over-year declines in gross bookings in the prior two quarters as the pandemic spurred lockdown orders across the globe.
Despite the blow caused by the pandemic, Uber says it is still well on its way to meeting its 2021 profitability goal.
Uber’s earnings follow competitor Lyft’s (LYFT) Tuesday report, in which it beat analysts’ expectations on revenue, but missed on active riders.
In Q4, Uber’s Rides gross bookings were down 47% compared to the same quarter last year. Still, those decreases continue to point to a turnaround. In the second quarter, which ended June 30, Uber’s Ride gross bookings fell a whopping 75% year-over-year. As states started recovering in the spring and summer, however, the declines began to turn around with the company seeing ride bookings fall by 53% in Q3.
Uber could see its rides business continue to recover, according to Wedbush analyst Dan Ives.
“In our opinion with a vaccine now on the horizon with mass distribution likely by mid-2021, we expect consumer demand for Uber to show a significant snap back during the course of 2021 with the company potentially getting back to pre-COVID ridership by early 2022,” Ives wrote in a research note.
To pick itself up, Uber has pushed deeper into the food delivery business. In Q4 gross bookings for its Eats business were up 130% year-over-year as people, unable to dine out, sought delivery.
Uber also closed its $2.65 billion acquisition of delivery service Postmates in December, to help build out its delivery capabilities.
More recently, Uber announced its acquisition of alcohol delivery service Drizly for $1.1 billion in cash and stock. Drizly allows users to purchase various alcoholic beverages from local retailers and have them delivered to their homes. Alcohol delivery has done especially well throughout the pandemic, as consumers seek out means to imbibe while bars are closed.
Both acquisitions should help buoy the company in the near term, while helping it grow long term once the pandemic has subsided.
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