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Uber's Loss Exceeds $800M in Q3 on $1.7B in Net Revenue

bloomberg.com

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Re: Uber's Loss Exceeds $800M in Q3 on $1.7B in Net Revenue

#101

Post by Cyph0n »

chrisper wrote: post #92
Cyph0n wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tried Lyft the other day, but after they charged me $25 as an "authorization hold" without notification, I cancelled my ride and decided to stick with Uber. Note that Uber's auth charge is usually around $1. $25 may not be a significant amount for some, but it's non-trivial for a college student like myself. I would have been happy had they just notified me first instead of my bank. Terrible UX to be frank. I actua…

Oh wow. I wonder how upset you would be when you realize that some gas stations put a $100 hold on your credit card. Btw. a hold is not a charge. A charge is only when it shows up on your credit card bill as a charge and not as a hold. I do not see what the issue is with having a $25 hold? It's not a charge.

Yes, but the amount is held for a few days. Even after cancelling the ride, it took 3 days for the hold to clear.

I'm still building credit (no history), which is why I'm not using a credit card. I believe holds only take place with debit cards.

Re: Uber's Loss Exceeds $800M in Q3 on $1.7B in Net Revenue

#103

Post by mikeyouse »

weremine wrote: post #24

Has there been a startup in recent history that was losing this amount of money per year (planned or not) that ended up going green and successful?

Side note, profitability is generally described as "into the black" not the green. Amazon is probably the best example, their GAAP losses totalled several billion dollars for a decade or so before they flipped the switch.

Re: Uber's Loss Exceeds $800M in Q3 on $1.7B in Net Revenue

#104

Post by chrisper »

Cyph0n wrote: post #101
chrisper wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh wow. I wonder how upset you would be when you realize that some gas stations put a $100 hold on your credit card. Btw. a hold is not a charge. A charge is only when it shows up on your credit card bill as a charge and not as a hold. I do not see what the issue is with having a $25 hold? It's not a charge.

Yes, but the amount is held for a few days. Even after cancelling the ride, it took 3 days for the hold to clear. I'm still building credit (no history), which is why I'm not using a credit card. I believe holds only take place with debit cards.

Ohh. That makes sense. So it took $25 away from your actual money, right? I can see how that is trouble some.

Sorry, I assumed you used a credit card.

Re: Uber's Loss Exceeds $800M in Q3 on $1.7B in Net Revenue

#105

Post by Cyph0n »

chrisper wrote: post #104
Cyph0n wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, but the amount is held for a few days. Even after cancelling the ride, it took 3 days for the hold to clear. I'm still building credit (no history), which is why I'm not using a credit card. I believe holds only take place with debit cards.

Ohh. That makes sense. So it took $25 away from your actual money, right? I can see how that is trouble some. Sorry, I assumed you used a credit card.

Yeah, straight from my checking account. No worries bro :)

Re: Uber's Loss Exceeds $800M in Q3 on $1.7B in Net Revenue

#106

Post by LordHumungous »

stuckagain wrote: post #82
rubicon33 wrote: post #3

Also on track to have the first self driving car AND a ride hailing application to boot. That can't be cheap.

I don't know how people get this impression, unless it is by only reading the comments on this site and never reading any primary sources. Uber's "self-driving" tech is currently unable to do things that other companies were doing years ago. Google's car took a blind man to Taco Bell in 2012. Uber's car has two engineers in the front seat and still blows stop lights and can't make a right turn.

Uber's self driving tech really seems like a shiny object to distract VC's with.

Re: Uber's Loss Exceeds $800M in Q3 on $1.7B in Net Revenue

#107

Post by gschier »

Cyph0n wrote: post #101
chrisper wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh wow. I wonder how upset you would be when you realize that some gas stations put a $100 hold on your credit card. Btw. a hold is not a charge. A charge is only when it shows up on your credit card bill as a charge and not as a hold. I do not see what the issue is with having a $25 hold? It's not a charge.

Yes, but the amount is held for a few days. Even after cancelling the ride, it took 3 days for the hold to clear. I'm still building credit (no history), which is why I'm not using a credit card. I believe holds only take place with debit cards.

Using a credit card builds your credit. Just remember to always pay it back (in full) on time.

Re: Uber's Loss Exceeds $800M in Q3 on $1.7B in Net Revenue

#109

Post by tribby »

tomc1985 wrote: post #98
antiviral wrote: post #6

Uber is making the rest of us in SV look terrible. 1. Collect a huge pile of money at sky-high valuations from those who really should know better. 2. Ignore any sensible unit economics and undercut local taxi/transport services until those small businesses go bankrupt since they don't have Uber's money pile. 3. Evade local regulations that everyone else follows in the name of 'innovation' even though the reality is…

Oh, you forgot: 4. Dump all your drivers once your self-piloting cars come fully online Drivers are just the stepping stone...

which is maybe why the losses are a little less dramatic than they sound. once they eliminate their network of independent contractors I'm sure the financials look a whole lot better. ultimately they are just another boring logistics company.

Re: Uber's Loss Exceeds $800M in Q3 on $1.7B in Net Revenue

#110

Post by niftich »

tomc1985 wrote: post #93
jamez1 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A $25 hold for a fare that might be $15 doesn't sound unreasonable? Is ride-sharing that big of a cost for your day to day?

Proof that HN is out-of-touch...

This here doesn't apply.

Uber isn't a cash venture, and several activities in the US require either a credit card upon which temporary authorizations can be placed, or a full (and sometimes, over-)payment on a debit card, the difference being that the debit card isn't backed by a line of credit that becomes due in at least 20 days, but rather it is spent directly out of a checking account.

You need this for:

- gas stations

- hotel stays

- car rentals

- sit-down restaurants or bars

The SV/HN is out of touch argument doesn't fly here. Rather, there is a wide gulf in the spending ability and access to services between a US credit card owner therefore a participant in the mainstream banking system, vs. someone with only a checking account, vs. a person who can't qualify for either and conducts their affairs with cash. This is a problem much older and much more foundational than the Bay Area vs. everyone else and the techies and non-techies divide, and is a significant delineation between the US middle class and lower class.

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