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Uber Revenue Slows as Quarterly Loss Surges to $1.1B

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Re: Uber Revenue Slows as Quarterly Loss Surges to $1.1B

#111

Post by AnimalMuppet »

frenchy wrote: post #102
askafriend wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cabs are: * Much lower quality cars (torn seats, smelly, old, safety issues...no one looks good showing up to a date in a Cab). * Much lower quality drivers (some smoke openly, talk on the phone loudly, don't listen to you, take longer routes than necessary, etc) * No accountability for service * No trip data for safety reasons * No handy log of all your recent trips * More expensive + tip required * Sometimes will p…

> tip required Really? I've never tipped a cab, though I rarely use them. What happens when you don't tip?

The one time I remember that I didn't tip a cab, he swore at me, wadded up the receipt and threw it at me. This made my expense report somewhat more difficult.

Re: Uber Revenue Slows as Quarterly Loss Surges to $1.1B

#112

Post by woolvalley »

ProAm wrote: post #90
jsonne wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't get to the size they do and simply die. They'll be acquired and vertically integrated in a way that lets them be competitive on price. You can break even on the ride if you make it up in harvesting data, showing in car advertisements, having sample products placed in cars, and a million other "fremium" style revenue harvesting techniques.

I honestly think they will eventually license and lease their platform and technology to others and just rake in money (every cab company would pay for this type of access to customers, Uber Eats is an indication other delivery services could likely license it too for a reasonable price). That is where their true value is at. Being acquired is still a long ways off when they still have this insanely high imaginary va…

You can order taxis on uber too.

Re: Uber Revenue Slows as Quarterly Loss Surges to $1.1B

#113

Post by Game_Ender »

guelo wrote: post #100

My "Uber sucks" story is that I left a jacket in the back seat of a car. I immediately tried to figure out how to call the driver but Uber decided they needed to make money off my misfortune. Not only did they charge me $15 to connect with the driver but they refused to let me message the driver directly, so what could have been a few minutes of time turned into a week long saga. Once I finally got a hold of the driv…

That is pretty shitty. It use to be that drivers had to return stuff on their own dime, I think the fee is supposed to pay them for that time.

Re: Uber Revenue Slows as Quarterly Loss Surges to $1.1B

#114

Post by Ftuuky »

lozaning wrote: post #65
Ftuuky wrote: post #17

Speaking as a infrequent user (1-3 times per month) in Lisbon, Portugal, I can't choose Uber anymore. There are so many other apps providing the same service with cheaper prices (some of them such as Taxify do not have surge pricing) and better drivers. The drivers' quality declined a lot: sometimes they don't speak portuguese or english and if they notice you're drunk they try to scam you (leave you in some random s…

How did the scammy uber drivers not get kicked off the platform for poor ratings? If you take me to an address that isn't the one I entered you can't tell me I entered something wrong.

It was 5 AM or so, many many people at that hour is trying to catch taxis and so on. I think he was preying on really drunk people that can't think properly.

Re: Uber Revenue Slows as Quarterly Loss Surges to $1.1B

#115

Post by romed »

beaconstudios wrote: post #63

what the fuck is going on when a company can lose over $1 billion a quarter with no profit in sight and still receive further investment? Would they be hugely profitable if not for reinvestment in expansion and R&D?

Simple answer: Japan is up to their necks in money. Anybody can take a few billion off SoftBank.

Re: Uber Revenue Slows as Quarterly Loss Surges to $1.1B

#116

Post by mkolodny »

zhobbs wrote: post #88
Androider wrote: post #30

Uber doesn't have much of a moat or lock-in effect. I just switched one day from being a frequent Uber rider to 100% using Lyft, simply because I don't like Uber's behavior as a company. The prices are so close it doesn't make any practical difference to me. Anecdotally, among my friends I also see Lyft becoming the default, and sometimes price-checking with Uber. If Waymo or whoever came out tomorrow with a cheaper/…

Agree that the lock-in is weak compared to other markets. Their strategy has been to incentivize drivers and riders to not split usage between other apps. Uber drivers who do a certain number of hours or rides per day/week often get bonuses, so they'd have to forego these bonuses to split time with Lyft. On the rider side, they're pulling a play from the airline playbook, with their version of frequent flier miles an…

Here's a link to the HN discussion of the new loyalty program: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18455104

Re: Uber Revenue Slows as Quarterly Loss Surges to $1.1B

#117

Post by agrippanux »

Androider wrote: post #30

Uber doesn't have much of a moat or lock-in effect. I just switched one day from being a frequent Uber rider to 100% using Lyft, simply because I don't like Uber's behavior as a company. The prices are so close it doesn't make any practical difference to me. Anecdotally, among my friends I also see Lyft becoming the default, and sometimes price-checking with Uber. If Waymo or whoever came out tomorrow with a cheaper/…

I have found that the drivers for Lyft are much happier than the drivers for Uber. This holds true even when a driver drives for both services. I asked several drivers why this is and the universal response was that Lyft treats them better, so they are happier to pick up Lyft customers.

I switched over to only using Lyft, but like the OP states, if Waymo came out tomorrow I'd probably switch to that.

Re: Uber Revenue Slows as Quarterly Loss Surges to $1.1B

#118

Post by jpm_sd »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #58

That is not a happy balance sheet. They have raised over $24B, then they shifted around the cap table when Soft Bank came in[1] where they valued the company at $48B. I have never played poker where the lowest valued chips were a million dollars but it has to feel like that to senior management at the company right? And their investors, they have serious money in the pot too. It feels like they have managed to create…

It should be at least as good as the book about Enron, or the book about Theranos, or ...

Re: Uber Revenue Slows as Quarterly Loss Surges to $1.1B

#119

Post by moorhosj »

albertgoeswoof wrote: post #93
zhobbs wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agree that the lock-in is weak compared to other markets. Their strategy has been to incentivize drivers and riders to not split usage between other apps. Uber drivers who do a certain number of hours or rides per day/week often get bonuses, so they'd have to forego these bonuses to split time with Lyft. On the rider side, they're pulling a play from the airline playbook, with their version of frequent flier miles an…

2 potential fixes on the rider side: - Uber prime - Uber points

To attract users to these services, would Uber have to take a further hit to profitability? It seems they would in order to make customers lock themselves in.

Re: Uber Revenue Slows as Quarterly Loss Surges to $1.1B

#120

Post by windexh8er »

moocow01 wrote: post #96
alaskamiller wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is one of those no-shit responses, parroted over and over again. At the end of the day, Pepsi and Coca-Cola sells you sugar water. McDonald's and Burger King get the same meat form the same vendor trucks. You charge a credit card whether Visa or MasterCard. The point isn't who brings you the convenience, it's that you have convenience at all. Uber/Lyft has commoditized driving to a product sold at ~$2/mile. That…

I think the problem really is profit. Pepsi and Coca-Cola both sell sugar water, a commodity, at a profit. Lyft and Uber have made rides a commodity but at this point it looks like commoditization of rides is not able to be sold at a profit. I think they both are touting that scale and technology will lead them to profitable rides but its not obvious that this is going to ever come true in a way that justifies their…

In my opinion the outstanding question today is: are they both too early? It's currently a race to the bottom of driver oriented rides. As soon as driverless becomes viable the current rider fee suddenly shifts to being a more positive profit margin and also shifts opex back in favor of both. But can either last long enough to get there?
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