Uber is losing a ton — and we mean a ton — of money

[Guest Nicole]

Uber is still in startup mode, losing a ton of money but also growing quickly. And by a ton we mean you could not set cash on fire this fast.

The company offered a rare look at its books (the company is still private and therefore doesn't have to divulge financial information) to Bloomberg. Uber confirmed the numbers in an email to Mashable.

The two main takeaways:

• Users spent $20 billion on Uber in 2016, more than double what they spent in 2015.
• Uber took in about $6.5 billion of that, but still lost $2.8 billion last year (not included in that number is its China costs, a market it recently left). 

The numbers come out as Uber is trying to address internal issues around workplace culture (in particular gender discrimination) and halt the recent departures of top talent. Its CEO, Travis Kalanick, has also faced near-constant criticism for his actions and behavior.

What will cheer Uber investors is that the company is on track to start turning a profit ... at some point. Uber's sales growth is outpacing its losses, a trend that will help the company starting making money if it continues. 

That is not a foregone conclusion. Uber investors have piled more than $8 billion into the company (not including debt!) in the belief that it's someday going to be on the level of companies like Facebook or Amazon. Some outside observers also believe that theory. Others don't, citing Uber's as-yet-to-be-proved model as having little upside. 

And then there's, you know, the bus.

http://mashable.com/2017/04/14/uber-still-losing-money-but-growing-quickly/#LIujzD9wxsqp

[TheWorldNewsOrg]

Uber posts improving financials despite rough year

[admin]

• Uber lost $1.46 billion in Q3 (h/t Reuters).

[Money & Finance]

Uber's Losses Keep Growing

Uber's main refrain from its (self-reported) Q3 earnings? It takes money to make money.

On the top line...the ride-hailing firm raked in $2.95 billion, up 38% annually (though growth is slowing). And gross bookings reached $12.7 billion, up 34% YoY.

UberEats was a standout—the food delivery service earned $2.1 billion in gross bookings, up more than 150% from a year ago.

But on the bottom line...things look a little different. Uber's net loss (on a GAAP basis) for the quarter hit $1.07 billion (it lost $891 million in Q2).

So what's going on? What was in 2010 just a ride-hailing service now does food delivery, bike-sharing, scooter-sharing, autonomous vehicles, "vomit fraud," and more. After all, becoming an all-inclusive "urban mobility platform," as CEO Dara Khosrowshahi likes to call it, is expensive.

Zoom out: Uber is attempting to prove itself in "competitive markets" ahead of a slated 2019 IPO. But these growing losses might make it harder for bankers to back what some expect to be a $120 billion valuation.