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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

#91

Post by ghaff »

Pyxl101 wrote: post #74
GCA10 wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Harder than it seems. AmericanExpress had outsized market share in the corporate travel market for about 30 years, even though it never struck me as a superior product to Visa-based cards. Not sure who they hypnotized to establish that edge, but it became strangely durable.

It always seemed very strange to me that it's legal for company-expensed credit card purchases to generate individual, personal rewards for the card holders. (And these awards aren't even taxed?) Something feels underhanded about it, though I can't put my finger on it.

See also airline and hotel reward programs, etc. Basically it stays below the level where it starts to look like a kickback and it’s not totally unreasonable for heavy business travelers to get some perks in exchange for lots of time away from home.

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

#92

Post by joshe »

vladd wrote: post #64
jngreenlee wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not trying to be rude, but can you explain your credibility a little further? I'm sure it would be interesting and add to the discussion.

Uber and Lyft businesses are a marketplace that benefits from the effects of scale: when lots of drivers and customers are present, supply and demand are near each other and balance out nicely. It also suffers from the chicken and the egg problem in new cities being launched: there's no driver close-enough in order to ensure low latency for new orders. To mitigate that, Uber and Lyft heavily subsidize launches in new…

It's a very local market though isn't it? You just have to be better (cheaper, faster, nicer) than them in your city to win that city. People don't even really travel that much, and when they do, and the guidebook said "use Careem in the middle east", well then they would.

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

#95

Post by jartelt »

maaaats wrote: post #32
nostromo wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

If one could reliably order an Uber that would be great. But no way Im waiting outside in -10C while the app lies about someone about to pick me up.

More accurate pickup times would really help. I've rushed outside numerous times after being given a 2 minute ETA. Pretty much every time I end up waiting outside for 5-10 more minutes after the ETA changes to a longer time.

If I knew the ETA was accurate, I would be more vigilant about being roadside at the correct time.

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

#96

Post by computerex »

amoitnga wrote: post #71
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'm not an investor, no experience, just want to voice my 2c. - facebook and google sure, but how many are there of those who didn't make it? - sounds like a fear of missing out. - Buffet didn't invest in Microsoft because he didn't "get it". His idea, I believe, is: "it's ok to pass on investments". He's looking for "sure things". Personally, I think the entire thing is ridiculous. 120B ? for what? 2 of my friends a…

Don't forget that Uber is in the autonomous driving business. They burnt through cash to get market share, because when self driving becomes a thing, they'll have a huge swing in margins/profits as self driving will get rid of their greatest expense (human drivers).

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

#97

Post by warp_factor »

untog wrote: post #87
munk-a wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And this will last until... self-driving cars enter the picture and bankrupt them both.

Given the amount Uber has spent on self driving cars, I doubt they'd let themselves get replaced. Given the money the entire industry has spent on self driving cars and gotten little reward for, I don't think anyone is getting replaced for a very long time.

Uber has spent a lot of money on Self Driving car (remember the Otto fiasco ?) and is hypothetically the least advanced of them all!

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

#98

Post by warp_factor »

justfor1comment wrote: post #80

Uber is getting more expensive with time as they try to consolidate losses. For my commute to work nowadays Express Pool costs the same as UberX did a year ago. And of course express pool includes overtly long sight seeing detours and dangerous pick up/drop off points. This is getting prohibitively expensive and I plan to switch to an electric scooter + public transit in a few months.

This is a good summary of the VC economy: Use it as long as it is subsidized by VC Money, then switch back to whatever you used before.

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

#99

Post by jartelt »

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…

If they are ultimately successful, branding will be part of it. Everyone knows about Uber and thus many people have the app on their phone.

Furthermore, having a large network of riders and drivers enables lower wait times and better carpooling utilization.

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

#100

Post by burlesona »

justfor1comment wrote: post #80

Uber is getting more expensive with time as they try to consolidate losses. For my commute to work nowadays Express Pool costs the same as UberX did a year ago. And of course express pool includes overtly long sight seeing detours and dangerous pick up/drop off points. This is getting prohibitively expensive and I plan to switch to an electric scooter + public transit in a few months.

I highly recommmend the electric scooter. So fast and so fun. I got this one:

https://ecorecoscooter.com/product/l5

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