Calling Uber for Business “very, very promising” and a “product that is actually seeing some strength now,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi on a Tuesday earnings call said the company is benefitting from increased corporate demand.
“We continue to penetrate into the corporate space,” Khosrowshahi said. “It’s great to see companies now get their travelers on the road again, and we definitely saw an uptick there.”
Khosrowshahi noted that despite some pessimistic projections about corporate travel demand, “we’re seeing a bit of acceleration in our room for Business, which is quite encouraging going forward.”
In the Uber corporate structure, Uber for Business is included in non-UberX products along with Uber Reserve, hailables—such as taxis—and shared rides. That segment’s demand grew more than 80 percent year over year during the quarter and generated $9 billion in annualized bookings, according to the company.
Uber also now accounts for “one out of four legs” for airport-related rides, meaning to and from the airport on each end of the trip, Khosrowshahi said. “Increased penetration at [the] airport is absolutely a significant opportunity for us, and we’re very early in that penetration,” he said. “I do think that Reserve as a product, while it’s very good at picking up at your home, dropping off at the airport or picking up at your hotel and getting you to the airport on your way back, I think we can do a lot more in terms of experience for the rider who is arriving in the airport.”
Uber Q3 Metrics
Uber on Tuesday reported increased revenue, gross bookings and net income for its third quarter. Gross bookings were up 21 percent year over year to $35.3 billion with revenue up 11 percent to $9.3 billion. Net income was $221 million compared with a loss of $1.2 billion a year prior.
Third-quarter mobility bookings were $17.9 billion, up 31 percent year over year, with revenue of $5.1 billion, a 33 percent increase. Delivery accounted for $16.1 billion in bookings, up 18 percent, and $2.9 billion in revenue, up 6 percent.
Monthly active platform consumers were 142 million, up 15 percent year over year. Trips increased 25 percent to more than 2.4 million.
Fourth-quarter outlook includes projected gross bookings of $36.5 billion to $37.5 billion.
