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Uber Revenue Growth Slows, Losses Persist as 2019 IPO Draws Near

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Re: Uber Revenue Growth Slows, Losses Persist as 2019 IPO Draws Near

#21

Post by liquid153 »

benatkin wrote: post #19

Today I missed getting picked up by an Uber. I think the driver must have waited like 30 seconds before giving up. Still, it was my bad. He apparently accepted the ride before cancelling it, because the pickup and drop-off addresses were different. I got a $6.50 charge instead of the normal $5.00 cancellation charge. I wrote into Uber about it, and instead of refunding me $1.50 they refunded to full $6.50 amount. Som…

Has happened to me, I was uber pissed. The Uber driver waited less no more than 2mns Max.

Re: Uber Revenue Growth Slows, Losses Persist as 2019 IPO Draws Near

#22

Post by lozaning »

Slartie wrote: post #15
b_tterc_p wrote: post #4

I think uber’s rewards program will be successful and boost sales. I’ve switched all of my business meals and longer rides to Uber for this alone. Other food delivery services don’t offer a clear kickback. Lyft has a nice but poorly thought out program that gives you $5 in personal credit for every 5 business trips no matter how short.

The fact that you were apparently able to do what you did is a perfect indicator for the problem behind that "sales boost": it is a straw fire. And a very expensive one. How fast will you be gone once the nice rewards give way to price increases necessary to reach a sustainable business covering expenses, let alone profitability?

I wont switch. 80% of my ubers get expensed. Keep me fat and happy with rewards, and I'll keep expensing it regardless of the cost, which doesnt really effect me, only our controller.

Re: Uber Revenue Growth Slows, Losses Persist as 2019 IPO Draws Near

#23

Post by georgeecollins »

I don't know what to say about this because as a lifelong value investor I cannot accept the valuation of Uber based on it's earnings. But the same logic held me back from investing in Facebook and Google, which did not make any sense to me at the moment of their IPO. How do I decide what Uber's earnings will be in five years?

Re: Uber Revenue Growth Slows, Losses Persist as 2019 IPO Draws Near

#24

Post by nostromo »

liquid153 wrote: post #21
benatkin wrote: post #19

Today I missed getting picked up by an Uber. I think the driver must have waited like 30 seconds before giving up. Still, it was my bad. He apparently accepted the ride before cancelling it, because the pickup and drop-off addresses were different. I got a $6.50 charge instead of the normal $5.00 cancellation charge. I wrote into Uber about it, and instead of refunding me $1.50 they refunded to full $6.50 amount. Som…

Has happened to me, I was uber pissed. The Uber driver waited less no more than 2mns Max.

It's fairly rude to make them wait at all. They're not being paid while they're waiting for you.

Re: Uber Revenue Growth Slows, Losses Persist as 2019 IPO Draws Near

#25

Post by sherlock_h »

throwaway-1283 wrote: post #11

I don't think this is a reflection of Lyft taking market share...more likely that the ridesharing industry has just matured. I remember getting so much joy out of requesting an Uber back in the earlier days. Nowadays I get about as much joy out of Uber(pool) as using the bus, sometimes less because the wait time has increased so much.

There is definitely an element of the competition heating up. Lyft has been steadily gaining market shares in the U.S. over the past couple of months/years. Hovers around 30% to 35% now, depending on the source.

https://www.recode.net/2018/12/12/18134882/lyft-uber-ride-ca...

Re: Uber Revenue Growth Slows, Losses Persist as 2019 IPO Draws Near

#26

Post by joshe »

What is Uber's long term moat/pricing power? To compete in a local market you just need to sign up 5000 or so drivers. At a $5 signup bonus that costs like $25,000. You can just be the third app, most drivers already swap between Lyft/Uber. You could even form a drivers cooperative and just give all the charges to drivers (like farmers do).

Regulatory capture seems like the only real route to sustainable profits with their existing main product. What they really need is something where they are the only one or two legal providers for a locale.

A different model of what they are doing is using their massive revenue growth (not profit) to raise money to fund a search for real pricing power with food delivery, shared bikes, and Uber freight.

Re: Uber Revenue Growth Slows, Losses Persist as 2019 IPO Draws Near

#27

Post by todd3834 »

georgeecollins wrote: post #23

I don't know what to say about this because as a lifelong value investor I cannot accept the valuation of Uber based on it's earnings. But the same logic held me back from investing in Facebook and Google, which did not make any sense to me at the moment of their IPO. How do I decide what Uber's earnings will be in five years?

I've been thinking about this too. I think you are betting on whether or not they are still just getting started. I'm thinking about self driving cars and how much growth can happen there if they crack that nut.

When Facebook IPO'd did they already have the self serve ad product rolled out? I believe Google did not and if you could imagine that future then it might have been easier to see a bright future. I didn't see Android coming until the iPhone came out as another example.

Re: Uber Revenue Growth Slows, Losses Persist as 2019 IPO Draws Near

#29

Post by [deleted] »

georgeecollins wrote: post #23

I don't know what to say about this because as a lifelong value investor I cannot accept the valuation of Uber based on it's earnings. But the same logic held me back from investing in Facebook and Google, which did not make any sense to me at the moment of their IPO. How do I decide what Uber's earnings will be in five years?

[deleted]

Re: Uber Revenue Growth Slows, Losses Persist as 2019 IPO Draws Near

#30

Post by todd3834 »

joshe wrote: post #26

What is Uber's long term moat/pricing power? To compete in a local market you just need to sign up 5000 or so drivers. At a $5 signup bonus that costs like $25,000. You can just be the third app, most drivers already swap between Lyft/Uber. You could even form a drivers cooperative and just give all the charges to drivers (like farmers do). Regulatory capture seems like the only real route to sustainable profits with…

Thinking about self driving cars I think the experience in the vehicle will be a potential differentiator.
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