Uber still flying high

The years go by and remain much the same for the company that has given its name to a whole new branch of contemporary capitalism. In 2025, it continues its impressive growth rate in segments that it already dominates.

The number of monthly active users is up 17% compared to the same period last year, from 161 million to 189 million; booking volume rose by 21%, while revenue is up 20%. These are impressive results for a group whose revenues are soon expected to reach $50bn.

However, the situation is much less positive in terms of operating profit, which is under pressure, even though Uber reports a 33% increase in "adjusted" earnings. However, this figure does not take into account stock option compensation or various costs that Uber considers exceptional—even though they have an unfortunate tendency to be quite recurrent.

Even so, Uber continues to enjoy success. Financed by its mobility business, its meal delivery business continues to expand and is now showing positive operating profits. Revenue in this segment increased by 29% this quarter.

Under pressure from its shareholders, the group has put a stop to the stock option compensation it distributed to its executives. These have ceased their inflationary trend, while revenue growth, as we have seen, continues at a steady pace: another plus point here.

Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber's CEO who arrived in 2017, replacing founder Travis Kalanick, also came under pressure from shareholders, who ordered him to ease up.

The appointment of a chief operating officer—a first for Uber in six years—follows serious concerns about Khosrowshahi's overly direct control of the company, which still operates on a largely pyramid-shaped structure, like Tesla.

Last summer, Uber announced a massive $20bn share buyback program. This raised a few eyebrows on the eve of a new major investment cycle for the group, whose position in the new value chain of robotaxis and autonomous driving remains unclear, given the ambitions of Waymo and Tesla, amongst others.

A week ago, Uber committed to purchasing at least 20,000 Lucid electric vehicles for its robotaxi service in San Francisco. This is a strange turnaround for a group that prided itself on being the world leader in passenger transport without owning any vehicles.