Uber’s earnings suggest the ride-hailing company could possibly find its way to profitability sooner than expected, sending its shares soaring heading into the weekend.
According to its Q4 earnings report released Friday, Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE: UBER) is forecasting profitability by the end of 2020, according to CEO Dara Khosrowshahi in a call with analysts Friday.
Revenue growth for the quarter jumped 37% — up from the 30% growth it reported in the previous quarter. Uber did report annual losses in 2019 of $8.51 billion — primarily due to stock compensation.
Uber Earnings: Losses Less Than Expected
It reported revenue of $4.07 billion, which was higher than the Wall Street consensus estimate of $4.06 billion. Uber’s losses per share were $0.64 per share — also beating analysts’ expectations of $0.68 per share.
Uber’s stock was up 7.7% in Friday morning trading as a result of the news.
Shares bottomed out at $25.99 in November 2019 as the company battled issues surrounding driver misconduct — ranging from sexual assault to murder.
The stock was trading well below its initial public offering price of $45 per share since it debuted on the market in May. It dropped nearly 47% since reaching a high of $46.38 in June 2019.
Analysts Bandwagon Uber Stock
On Friday, analysts were quick to jump on the Uber bandwagon.
Analysts at MKM Partners increased their price target to $45 from $34.
“To date, we think Uber was being valued as if it is going out of business — either due to ongoing cash burn or due to regulatory environment,” they wrote. “In our view, the trendline from the past couple of quarters provides a firm valuation floor on Uber shares. This should help with lingering negative sentiment related to unclear regulatory environment.”
Raymond James analysts moved their target to $54.
“Uber is well-positioned for ~20% growth and expanding margins for the foreseeable future,” they wrote.
Most recently, Uber sold its food delivery business in India and completed its $3.1 billion acquisition of Middle Eastern internet platform Careem.
The company has faced headwinds in the U.S. — aside from the sexual assault and murder accusations — from a new law in California that requires gig economy workers to be employees rather than independent contractors.
