Will Uber ever make money?
In any case, the king of the VTC, which has never been profitable since its creation eleven years ago, has again lost phenomenal sums (6.8 billion dollars) in 2020. But, paradoxically, these results are promising.
First, despite the pandemic, the world number 1 in the VTC reduced its net losses by 20% last year.
A performance because, at the same time, its revenues fell by 14% to 11.1 billion.
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Not to blame too much, the group listed on Wall Street has accelerated on a segment that benefits from traffic restrictions: delivery.
In the fourth quarter, this activity generated revenues up 224% to 1.4 billion.
A performance due to the takeoff of Uber Eats.
In the United States, it is the second player in meal delivery, with 35% of the market, behind the leader, Doordash (48%).
Growth also fueled by the takeovers of competitors: in 2020, Uber acquired Postmates, an American meal delivery platform, and Cornershop, a specialist in grocery delivery in Latin America.
In early 2021, he acquired Drizly, the king of home alcohol delivery in the United States.
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On the other hand, the transport activity suffered greatly with a drop in revenue from October to December of 52%, to 1.5 billion.
But this year, Uber is betting on a rebound in its VTC activity thanks to vaccination campaigns that could revive travel.
"The group has set the scene for a path to profitability by the end of 2021 or early 2022,"
said Dan Ives, financial analyst at Wedbush.
It remains to be seen whether Uber will finally keep its promises.
