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Uber Sets Valuation Record of $17B in New Funding

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Re: Uber Sets Valuation Record of $17B in New Funding

#51

Post by fblp »

austenallred wrote: post #4

The "this valuation is crazy" and "this proves a bubble" comments are filling up my Twitter feed and HN, but I couldn't disagree more. Call me crazy, but I think this valuation is completely fair. For a few reasons: Uber has serious revenue. They do more trips in San Francisco than taxis do. This isn't a pie-in-the-sky "there will be money there, I'm sure of it" thing. They bring in billions, and they're starting to…

Uber was doing $213mil revenue late last year before they dropped their pricing/commission to dramatically increase both supply and demand.

They've since increased their commission back to 20%, added a $1 surcharge, integrated with google maps, and they've probably validated the same day package delivery business model in NY.

Valuation probably reflects crazy revenue growth they have in so many markets + future opportunities to dominate other verticals.

http://techcrunch.com/2013/12/04/leaked-uber-numbers-which-w... [dec 2013] <--note week-on-week increases too! and

Re: Uber Sets Valuation Record of $17B in New Funding

#52

Post by [deleted] »

austenallred wrote: post #4

The "this valuation is crazy" and "this proves a bubble" comments are filling up my Twitter feed and HN, but I couldn't disagree more. Call me crazy, but I think this valuation is completely fair. For a few reasons: Uber has serious revenue. They do more trips in San Francisco than taxis do. This isn't a pie-in-the-sky "there will be money there, I'm sure of it" thing. They bring in billions, and they're starting to…

[deleted]

Re: Uber Sets Valuation Record of $17B in New Funding

#53

Post by fblp »

Uber was doing $213mil revenue late last year before they dropped their pricing/commission to dramatically increase both supply and demand.

They've since increased their commission back to 20%, added a $1 surcharge, integrated with google maps, and they've probably validated the same day package delivery business model in NY. Valuation probably reflects crazy revenue growth they have in so many markets + future opportunities to dominate other verticals.

http://techcrunch.com/2013/12/04/leaked-uber-numbers-which-w.... [dec 2013] <--note week-on-week increases too!

Re: Uber Sets Valuation Record of $17B in New Funding

#54

Post by conistonwater »

6cxs2hd6 wrote: post #38

Although I like using Uber as a customer: > "Uber is creating 20,000 jobs per month, the company said in a blog post." Really? "Jobs" as in W-2 forms and health benefits? Or independent contractors? Not that the latter are necessarily bad, but they're fundamentally different. It is misleading to call them "jobs" in their blog headline, then switch to "partners" and "small business entrepreneurs" in the text.[1] I und…

The whole "creating jobs" narrative is a bit odd. It's not like the people working for Uber would have just sat on their hands otherwise. They would have found something else to do.

Re: Uber Sets Valuation Record of $17B in New Funding

#55

Post by milesskorpen »

muhfuhkuh wrote: post #30
austenallred wrote: post #4

The "this valuation is crazy" and "this proves a bubble" comments are filling up my Twitter feed and HN, but I couldn't disagree more. Call me crazy, but I think this valuation is completely fair. For a few reasons: Uber has serious revenue. They do more trips in San Francisco than taxis do. This isn't a pie-in-the-sky "there will be money there, I'm sure of it" thing. They bring in billions, and they're starting to…

>I imagine a world where you can get anything on demand in minutes, and in that scenario Uber is the taxi, UPS, FedEx, etc. at the same time. And, with that, the feeling that Amazon.com will snap this company up for cash and stock is almost palpable. Forget drones, that's PR stuff for now. Uber is the real PTTH (product to the home) service.

Given that Google has a huge stake in Uber, I think an Amazon acquisition is unlikely. I see Uber as Google's go-to-market plan for driverless cars (along with the trucking industry) ... if they can pull that off, something like this valuation is justified.

Re: Uber Sets Valuation Record of $17B in New Funding

#56

Post by [deleted] »

bcohen5055 wrote: post #48
rayiner wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They have plenty of money to fight the regulatory situation, and it looks like they're gearing up to do so: https://www.uber.com/jobs/12416 ("Urban transportation has looked the same for a long time—a really long time—thanks in large part to regulatory regimes that don't encourage innovation. We think it's time for change. Uber’s legal and public policy teams are helping facilitate that change around the world, and w…

Until they win that fight there is significant risk. If this is the valuation with a huge legal battle factored in then what will it be without it? To me it doesn't make sense until the regulations are figured out.

[deleted]

Re: Uber Sets Valuation Record of $17B in New Funding

#57

Post by notahacker »

quaunaut wrote: post #10

Prepending Edit: If you're reading this and have a lot more familiarity in how investments of this kind are made, and what kinds of things these investors are thinking, I really am making this post looking for education. I didn't finish college, and don't know a lot, but I'm trying. If you'd rather not stir the pot by talking here, my e-mail is in my profile. The one thing that makes me skeptical about this, is histo…

The leaked figures late last year suggested Uber was collecting around $1b in revenue through their app. It's been suggested they take around 20% of that for themselves and are doubling their revenues every six months. That suggests their revenues will probably be better than WhatsApp's (though at a higher cost) this year, and they have orders of magnitude more theoretical potential for growth.

Admittedly, that growth could be curtailed between fighting one of the most protracted and costly series of legal cases in history against an entire industry, but based on reported figures the growth arithmetic would be strongly in their favour if they win in enough jurisdictions.

And if they don't get crushed by competitors willing to operate on thinner margins because "ride-sharing" needn't veer towards monopoly, of course...

Re: Uber Sets Valuation Record of $17B in New Funding

#58

Post by trhway »

opendais wrote: post #9
austenallred wrote: post #4

The "this valuation is crazy" and "this proves a bubble" comments are filling up my Twitter feed and HN, but I couldn't disagree more. Call me crazy, but I think this valuation is completely fair. For a few reasons: Uber has serious revenue. They do more trips in San Francisco than taxis do. This isn't a pie-in-the-sky "there will be money there, I'm sure of it" thing. They bring in billions, and they're starting to…

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dr-gridlock/wp/2014/06/0... Given they are getting banned in entire markets, I think this evaluation is crazy. UPS, Fedex, etc already have software just as advanced for planning their routes. Uber isn't going to magically beat them somehow. Heck, part of why they lean on the USPS is there is some economics in delivery outside of big cities that create a situation where it makes no…

>Given they are getting banned in entire markets

isn't it the best confirmation of how big deal they are? Their value isn't in the "logistics math" or other hi-tech mumbo-jumbo. Their value is in the successful building of the momentum, a huge storm wave which can break through existing regulations which hasn't changed in a hundred years. An ability to change political things to be in your favor is one of the most important and lucrative business tools, pretty much an equivalent of Gold Finger. Uber hasn't won this game yet, but he is pretty promising contender...

Re: Uber Sets Valuation Record of $17B in New Funding

#59

Post by rayiner »

opendais wrote: post #46
rayiner wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They have plenty of money to fight the regulatory situation, and it looks like they're gearing up to do so: https://www.uber.com/jobs/12416 ("Urban transportation has looked the same for a long time—a really long time—thanks in large part to regulatory regimes that don't encourage innovation. We think it's time for change. Uber’s legal and public policy teams are helping facilitate that change around the world, and w…

Tesla is larger and how well has that worked for them? http://www.valuewalk.com/2014/03/tesla-motors-inc-tsla-now-b... Uber, unlike Tesla, is costing the government money in the form of licensing fees. Its contractors are not paying for such licenses frequently. You can't simply "fight" the tax system like that. Can they fight lobbying by the taxi companies? Yes. Can they convince the governments to go tax someone el…

They might be turning around that NJ loss: http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/06/tesla-resume-sales-new-je..., which puts them at 4 for 4. They're in it for the long game, and I don't see them losing it.

Re: Uber Sets Valuation Record of $17B in New Funding

#60

Post by untog »

tomblomfield wrote: post #49
untog wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They will be successful in San Francisco, of that I have no doubt. From what I understand the taxi market there is horribly broken, Uber saw a gap in the market and leapt at it. The mistake, IMO, is assuming that they will be able to replicate that in other cities. In NYC you can get a taxi 90% of the time by holding your hand up in a street corner. At peak times that's more difficult, but that's also when Uber has s…

Uber is 30-40% cheaper than London cabs. Uber has rattled the cab-drivers so much that they're staging a protest next week to try to pressure cab regulators into blocking Uber's expansion. http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/may/30/will-uber-kil...

Yes, Uber is cheaper - until it isn't, when it implements surge pricing. It's a very different model, which makes direct comparisons tricky.

The price of a London cab is regulated. Maybe that price is wrong. Uber can take advantage of it, but do you think the London taxi industry is really going to sit back and watch its market disappear without even trying to change price?

And the cab driver protests are more rooted in the fact that they had to spend a very long time learning 'The Knowledge' before being let out on the road, and that Uber has no such requirement. So, either it's necessary and they're letting Uber off the hook, or it isn't necessary and TfL has been lying to drivers.

So, I think it's more complex than just being "threatened by Uber".

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