Ride-hailing company Uber publicized some of its financial results for the first time ever in a Friday interview with Bloomberg. The firm revealed it recorded $6.5 billion in net revenue over the course of last year, with its adjusted net losses amounting to $2.8 billion. Furthermore, the company achieved $20 billion in gross bookings in 2016, which it claims is more than double of what it recorded in 2015. A more detailed breakdown of Uber’s first publicly revealed finances can be seen in the gallery below. The San Francisco-based company specifically pointed out that none of the numbers include its former China operations that were sold to local rival Didi Chuxing last August.
Overall, Uber revealed its revenue is growing much faster than its losses are piling up, obviously implying it will become profitable in the long run if it can maintain that trend, which is a strategy that many high-profile tech startups like Spotify and Snapchat have employed in the past or are still employing. Regarding the numbers themselves, they were calculated using standard accounting principles, the company said, noting how its revenue only includes the percentage of fares that goes to Uber, with the firm’s carpooling service UberPool being the only exception to that rule. On the other hand, the company’s recent losses don’t include portions of its compensation packages, vehicle purchases, and certain investments. On average, Uber lost $1 billion on an annual basis since being established eight years ago, though the tech giant claims it still has approximately $7 billion in cash and an unused credit facility worth $2.3 billion.
While the company’s newly revealed finances suggest Uber is on the right track to become profitable in the future, the ride-hailing giant is still losing a lot of money on a quarterly basis, industry analysts point out. It remains to be seen whether Uber manages to compensate for its losses with revenue growth, especially once it wraps up fundamental development of its self-driving solutions that’s believed to be costing the company billions of dollars. Uber’s decision to publicize a portion of its finances without any obligation to do so is likely an attempt to reassure investors that recent scandals won’t hurt the company’s prospects in the long term.
