Uber CEO sees faster road to profitability
Turning a profit this year requires no significant change to Uber's business portfolio
Uber's business is rolling along and despite posting a $1.1 billion quarterly loss, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says the company will be profitable sooner than originally forecast.
"Our progress in 2019 and our 2020 plans give me the confidence to challenge our teams" to reach profitability by the end of this year instead of 2021, he said during the company's earnings call.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UBER | UBER TECHNOLOGIES INC. | 73.13 | -1.23 | -1.65% |
The stock, which posted modest gains on Thursday, jumped by double digits in the extended session. The stock has gained 24 percent this year, exceeding the 3.5 percent increase for the S&P 500.
REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Khosrowshahi also stressed that meeting the important milestone should be an easy hurdle.
"It’s important to emphasize that we plan to achieve this profitability target assuming only modest improvements in the current competitive environment, and without the assumption of any significant changes to our current portfolio of businesses," he explained.
For the fourth quarter, Uber's results were mixed. While its loss of 64 cents a share was smaller than analysts expected, revenue fell about $30 million short of projections of $4.1 billion.
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Rival Lyft shares got a lift in the extended session after closing down over 1 percent Thursday.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LYFT | LYFT INC. | 17.69 | +3.29 | +22.85% |
FOX Business' Susan Li contributed to this report.
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