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Uber Sinks to New Record Low as IPO Share Lockup Expires
71–80 of 213 posts
Re: Uber Sinks to New Record Low as IPO Share Lockup Expires
#72Is anyone really surprised? Years before the IPO we knew they were not profitable in the least. We knew VC cash was subsidizing rides. We knew that their future was purely dependent on a self-driving car fleet where they could ditch drivers (and their pay) completely. This on top of a horrible culture with pretty lousy ethics and morality. This is how this was supposed to play out and everyone here (on HN) knew that.…
This will sound very naive (because it is), but I thought that the free market would see through the bullshit and value them appropriately. That is happening, just far more slowly than I imagined.
The valuation was largely over the general hype for self-driving vehicles. Those who thought they were imminent must have just been ignorant to how slow regulation moves and how risk averse corporations are to the potential fallout of being "first to market" with a self driving car that ends up with someone dead regardless of fault.
As the hype dies down so does Ubers market cap.
Re: Uber Sinks to New Record Low as IPO Share Lockup Expires
#73Is anyone really surprised? Years before the IPO we knew they were not profitable in the least. We knew VC cash was subsidizing rides. We knew that their future was purely dependent on a self-driving car fleet where they could ditch drivers (and their pay) completely. This on top of a horrible culture with pretty lousy ethics and morality. This is how this was supposed to play out and everyone here (on HN) knew that.…
”self-driving car fleet ”
Uber has zero competence in fleet management. Everything they do is to avoid investing in a fleet.i would argue that rental car companies or car dealers are positioned much better.
Re: Uber Sinks to New Record Low as IPO Share Lockup Expires
#74I am long on Uber: taxis are dead, it will not go anywhere. The only problem is that the board made a strategic mistake that felt good short term. They tried to retain users by pushing the founder out, and hiring a diversity CEO. This failed long term as any populist board move does. But they still have a chance to have their NeXT moment and bring Travis back.
> taxis are dead
Not where I live. Where I live, taxis are beating the pants off of Uber and Lyft. This certainly isn't true everywhere, but it does show that taxis absolutely can compete with Uber and Lyft if they have their acts together.
Re: Uber Sinks to New Record Low as IPO Share Lockup Expires
#75a
Most people who joined in 2015 were getting RSUs and not options. Also, the strike price on options is dependent on the 409A valuation and not the valuation at which they raised money.
Re: Uber Sinks to New Record Low as IPO Share Lockup Expires
#76a
They arent getting zero, they get the RSUs they were given and which vested. Sounds less dramatic that way. Still, many probably expected more.
Re: Uber Sinks to New Record Low as IPO Share Lockup Expires
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's still a 45B company...still the largest and most successful company to come out of SF this decade.
If Uber counts as a successful company by SV standards, that's a pretty strong condemnation of SV standards.
It's not a SV company - it's an SF company.
Re: Uber Sinks to New Record Low as IPO Share Lockup Expires
#78Is anyone really surprised? Years before the IPO we knew they were not profitable in the least. We knew VC cash was subsidizing rides. We knew that their future was purely dependent on a self-driving car fleet where they could ditch drivers (and their pay) completely. This on top of a horrible culture with pretty lousy ethics and morality. This is how this was supposed to play out and everyone here (on HN) knew that.…
Uber is a huge mess because the narrative is not credible. Dara is trying to tell a story about fast grow + profitability.
The reality is that they have three types of businesses. 1. Businesses that are slowing down dramatically, e.g. Ride Share. As they raise price it may have negative growth. 2. Businesses that are growing by unsustainable subsidy, e.g. Eats, Freight. 3. New business that are purely speculative. Uber Money, Autonomous, Flying Taxis.
They have no businesses that fit the fast growth + profitability. Dara is trying to balance the three categories above to pretend that it is happening.
Re: Uber Sinks to New Record Low as IPO Share Lockup Expires
#79Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, let's totally bring back the frat bros, that will solve most any business model problem.
I'm not oppossed to frat bro culture tout court. As long as employees aren't being harmed and productivity is high, then the choice to work at a place with just such a culture is like the decision to choose to work anywhere. Pretty standard stuff. However, people can mistake a frat bro culture with actually high productivity (leaving aside questions of whether employees are harmed by the culture). Zenefits pre-Parker…
The real problem is that Uber's lawbreaking and unethical behavior stems directly from the "bro culture".
Re: Uber Sinks to New Record Low as IPO Share Lockup Expires
#80I'm not sure whether to interpret Uber's branching out into many different verticals (flying taxis, autonomy, food delivery, general logistics, scooters, payment etc) as an act of desperation or genius. Generally, I'm fond of focus
I feel they have too much money so they desperately try to branch out. Google is a Little similar. A ton of cool experiments but almost nothing turns into a real business.