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Uber Valued at More Than $50B

wsj.com

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Re: Uber Valued at More Than $50B

#41

Post by danielweber »

Animats wrote: post #34

Uber's revenue numbers are awful. "According to Bloomberg, Uber had revenue of $415 million (we assume net revenue after payments to drivers, not gross revenue) and an operating loss of $470 million." That's for 2014, and it's leaked data. But it's not good. Why are they losing money? They're an app and a server farm, some "driver centers", and an admin staff. It's not like Amazon, with giant warehouses full of expen…

I think they're still expanding into new markets, and they gin both the supply side (boosting drivers' wages) and the demand side (giving drivers discounts) to establish themselves in each new place.

I still don't get how that gets them to $50B.

Re: Uber Valued at More Than $50B

#42

Post by pitnips »

Animats wrote: post #34

Uber's revenue numbers are awful. "According to Bloomberg, Uber had revenue of $415 million (we assume net revenue after payments to drivers, not gross revenue) and an operating loss of $470 million." That's for 2014, and it's leaked data. But it's not good. Why are they losing money? They're an app and a server farm, some "driver centers", and an admin staff. It's not like Amazon, with giant warehouses full of expen…

Uber's revenue will continue to skyrocket. They are not "scaled out," and as revenue exceeds well-beyond $1B and they no longer have solid investment opportunities for growth, their expenses will get in line.

Re: Uber Valued at More Than $50B

#43

Post by tdicola »

Animats wrote: post #34

Uber's revenue numbers are awful. "According to Bloomberg, Uber had revenue of $415 million (we assume net revenue after payments to drivers, not gross revenue) and an operating loss of $470 million." That's for 2014, and it's leaked data. But it's not good. Why are they losing money? They're an app and a server farm, some "driver centers", and an admin staff. It's not like Amazon, with giant warehouses full of expen…

They're spending money to get new drivers as they expand all over the world.

Re: Uber Valued at More Than $50B

#44

Post by untog »

brayton wrote: post #31

With this much funding can Lyft survive? Uber and Lyft have to be hemorrhaging a ton of money so maybe Uber will be able to out last them?

That's the depressing part of this. It's simply a race for who can raise and spend money the fastest. And yes, Lyft will lose.

Re: Uber Valued at More Than $50B

#45

Post by untog »

brayton wrote: post #31

With this much funding can Lyft survive? Uber and Lyft have to be hemorrhaging a ton of money so maybe Uber will be able to out last them?

That's the depressing part of this. It's simply a race for who can raise and spend money the fastest. And yes, Lyft will lose.

Re: Uber Valued at More Than $50B

#48

Post by pitnips »

paulgb wrote: post #14
cblock811 wrote: post #6

This may be just me..but I feel like Uber is being built up way too much. People outside SF see it as some shining beacon of Silicon Valley tech startups. If they make missteps and show weakness I wonder if it will shake people's perception of how strong the tech industry is now.

I remember following Groupon closely and feeling like Groupon was spending a bunch of money teaching people around the world how to use daily deals, only to have competitors come in make it a race to the bottom because the barriers to entry were so low. I feel like Uber is doing the same: spending a bunch of money teaching people how to hail a cab from their phone. When competitors like Lyft, Hailo, and Via enter the…

Groupon doesn't have a network effect. Uber has a VERY strong network effect. In fact, it has the type of network effect that can keep its advantage over competitors (see Facebook versus Google+).

Re: Uber Valued at More Than $50B

#49

Post by alkonaut »

untog wrote: post #38
Animats wrote: post #34

Uber's revenue numbers are awful. "According to Bloomberg, Uber had revenue of $415 million (we assume net revenue after payments to drivers, not gross revenue) and an operating loss of $470 million." That's for 2014, and it's leaked data. But it's not good. Why are they losing money? They're an app and a server farm, some "driver centers", and an admin staff. It's not like Amazon, with giant warehouses full of expen…

They're losing money because they are aggressively expanding into new markets. They're an app and a server farm, some "driver centers", and an admin staff. And, you know, a lot of cars and drivers. Of course Uber would want to make sure we all remember they are not Uber property and employees, but they still have to spend a lot of money to get them on board.

What is their remaining market? Are there many countries/cities that still have easily disruptible taxi markets (e.g. "Medallions" or similar)?

Re: Uber Valued at More Than $50B

#50

Post by pitnips »

gdeglin wrote: post #28

Just one year ago, a NYU finance professor calculated Uber's risk-adjusted value to be 5.9 Billion. ( http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/uber-isnt-worth-17-billi... ). I wonder what he would say now...

The rebuttal: http://abovethecrowd.com/2014/07/11/how-to-miss-by-a-mile-an...
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