As the recovery from the pandemic continues, people are looking for a ride more than ever and Uber holds the proof.
The ride-sharing company cruised to record numbers, announcing its March numbers eclipsed previous high-water marks.
Not only was the “Mobility” segment of the company up significantly, the delivery business reached an all-time best.
Record gross bookings in the month of March produced Uber’s best month since March 2020, with average daily gross bookings up 9% from February.
Its delivery business soared, too, topping 150% year-over-year.
“As vaccination rates increase in the United States, we are observing that consumer demand for Mobility is recovering faster than driver availability, and consumer demand for Delivery continues to exceed courier availability,” Uber said in its Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
Uber stock climbed almost 4%, trading at more than $60 as of midday EDT. The shares were hovering around $28 a year ago at this time amid the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions that adversely affected ride sharing.
Fortunately for Uber, food delivery demand led to a significant rise for that part of the company.
The company also announced plans to roll additional “stimulus” money into its product. The process involves spending $250 million in a one-time financial package to bring more drivers, for new driver bonuses, for guaranteed pay and for the on-boarding new drivers.
Though Uber lost nearly $6.8 billion last year, it expressed confidence in attaining profitability by the end of this year in adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization).
It’s an interesting pursuit to watch.
In February, all 70,000 United Kingdom Uber drivers became entitled to a minimum wage and other protections after a Supreme Court ruling said they would be defined as workers, not independent contractors.
That move, however, likely will lead to higher costs for the consumer.
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