(Bloomberg) — Uber Technologies Inc. issued a bookings outlook that just met analyst estimates and said fierce competition in the key Brazil market weighed on trips volume, compounding concerns from investors about the company’s ability to evolve in the robotaxi era.
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Total gross bookings — a key metric that includes ride hails, delivery orders and driver and merchant earnings but not tips — will be $58.25 billion to $60.25 billion for the quarter ending in September, the company said Wednesday. Analysts, on average, were looking for $59.3 billion, according to Bloomberg-compiled estimates. The company blamed currency headwinds, which it said shaved off roughly one percentage point from reported growth for the gross bookings guidance. Uber sees third-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 84 cents to 88 cents, also in line with analyst projections.
Meanwhile, trips — which includes ridesharing and deliveries — grew 18% to 3.87 billion in the second quarter, compared with an analyst estimate of 3.9 billion. The company said the moderation in trips growth was “entirely attributable to Brazil,” its highest-volume market globally. Competition in the region has increased as Chinese rivals like Didi Global Inc. and Meituan have boosted their investments in the country and ratcheted up competition for local delivery bikers. Adjusted earnings per share for the period were also in line with estimates.
An outlook for Uber’s core business that merely met expectations is unlikely to impress investors who have been seeking assurance that Uber can maintain growth as robotaxis become more commonplace. Those concerns have sent the stock down 12% so far this year in the lead-up to Wednesday’s report. The shares fell 1.4% in premarket trading after the results were released.
The lukewarm reaction overshadowed $58 billion in second-quarter gross bookings, fueled in part by significant demand spikes during the World Cup. Wall Street had been expecting $57.2 billion in bookings for the period.
The earnings report will set expectations for the broader ride-hailing and food-delivery industries. Delivery rival DoorDash Inc. is scheduled to release earnings on Wednesday afternoon, while Lyft Inc. and Instacart will report on Thursday.
