Uber on Tuesday reported revenue growth exceeding expectations from Wall Street, suggesting that the company has continued to recover from a pandemic slump as drivers return to the platform. But it posted a net loss, in part because of its investments in other ride-hailing companies.
Revenue was $8.34 billion for the third quarter, a 72 percent increase from a year earlier. Uber’s ride-hailing business grew 73 percent, while its delivery business grew 24 percent. Wall Street analysts had predicted revenue of $8.12 billion and a net loss of $361 million.
The company said 124 million people used Uber monthly from July through September, up 14 percent from a year earlier. They accounted for 1.95 billion trips, up 19 percent from a year earlier.
Uber’s stock price rose nearly 12 percent on Tuesday.
The company reported a net loss of $1.2 billion in the third quarter, including $512 million from investing in other ride-hailing services like the Chinese company Didi. It made more money from its business operations than it lost in the third quarter, generating $358 million in free cash flow.
Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s chief executive, has emphasized cost-cutting and profitability as other technology companies have sent signals of an industrywide slowdown at a time of persistent inflation, high interest rates and broader economic turbulence.
“Even as the macroeconomic environment remains uncertain, Uber’s core business is stronger than ever,” Mr. Khosrowshahi said in a statement.
Uber has focused on recruiting and retaining drivers while navigating stubbornly steep gas prices and legal disputes about how it classifies the employment status of its drivers. It said the number of drivers on the platform had returned to prepandemic levels.
On Friday, the company announced a series of safety features for drivers and riders, allowing drivers to film rides and both drivers and riders to record audio during rides. Uber has also changed how its app maps routes for drivers.
Uber is focused on “disciplined cost management to deliver on our growth and profitability commitments,” said Nelson Chai, Uber’s chief financial officer, in a statement.
In an earnings call with investors on Tuesday morning, Mr. Khosrowshahi said the biggest factor affecting Uber’s financials was the strength of the U.S. dollar, which has hurt companies’ global sales. He added that the company was “not seeing any signs of consumer weakness” for both its ride-hailing and delivery services.
“While we have looked for signal, we’re not seeing any signal” of faltering demand, Mr. Khosrowshahi said. But he added that given larger economic uncertainties, “we’re going to be cautious going forward.”
