Share prices tanked for Uber on Thursday during after-hours trading following the rideshare giant’s release of its quarterly earnings report, which revealed misses on both revenue and earnings per share.
That tumble marked a sharp contrast from earlier in the day when Uber ($UBER) shares had been trading upwards of 8 percent.
Uber posted $2.87 billion in revenues, compared to the $3.36 billion that analysts had expected. The company also reported $4.72 in losses per share, more than a dollar off of analysts’ expectations of just $3.12.
In a press release CEO Dara Khosrowshahi touted a rise in trips and gross bookings, and in a letter to investors, executives pointed to other positives, including the expansion of its new higher-end UberX service, Uber Comfort, further progress in the development of self-driving technology, and growing customer acquisition in markets like Argentina and Germany.
The company also highlighted the expansion of Uber Eats, which remains one of the most promising areas of growth for the rideshare company's businesses. That service saw 72 percent growth in revenues over the same quarter last year.
The number of consumers that used Uber’s delivery service each month is also up 140 percent, year-over-year.
“That business is extremely competitive, and I don’t see any indication of rationalization whatsoever,” said John Jannarone, the editor of IPO-Edge, though he warned that the company has not yet differentiated itself from other food delivery services.
While both Lyft ($LYFT) and Uber had bumpy starts following their public offerings earlier this year, the former saw its share prices level off following a generally positive earnings report release on Wednesday.
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A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
