Uber will now have alcohol deliveries 0:51
(CNN Business) -
Uber lost a staggering $ 6.8 billion last year ... and that's really good news.
The full-year loss, which Uber reported on Wednesday along with its fourth-quarter results, represented a significant decrease from the $ 8.5 billion it lost in 2019. During the year, Uber sold expensive businesses, cut staff and was it focused on what its CEO previously called "profitable growth."
The company reported $ 968 million in losses in the last three months of 2020, including $ 236 million in share-based compensation expense.
This figure is below the almost US $ 1,100 million the previous year.
The company's chief financial officer, Nelson Chai, said in a statement that Uber remains "on track" to achieve its "2021 profitability targets."
Uber has said it aims to achieve profitability on a tight basis before the end of this year.
Like Lyft, which reported its fourth-quarter results Tuesday, Uber saw some improvement over the third quarter of last year, but still saw revenue decline due to the impact of the ongoing pandemic on its travel business.
Uber had revenue of $ 3.2 billion in the fourth quarter, 16% less than in the same period last year.
What is Uber betting on?
Uber continued to lean on Eats, its food delivery business, which posted a 224% revenue increase to $ 1.4 billion in the fourth quarter compared to a year earlier.
Travel revenue was US $ 1.5 billion, 52% less than the previous year.
The company has worked to strengthen its portfolio of delivery services in recent months.
In July, Uber acquired one of its smaller
food
delivery
competitors
, Postmates, for $ 2.65 billion in a stock deal.
Last week, the company announced the acquisition
of alcohol delivery
startup
Drizly.
advertising
The wave of acquisitions comes as Uber has abandoned its loftier - and costly - ambitions.
The company sold its autonomous vehicle research division and its flying taxi operations in December.
Uber, which has a history of heavy losses, has felt the effects of the pandemic.
It cut about 25% of its staff in multiple rounds of layoffs in the first half of last year, as the global health crisis put pressure on its core business.
Uber