Volumes - the number of bookings across all segments - are up 21% on the third quarter of last year, while consolidated sales are up 11%.

The mobility business - i.e. the cab business - saw total transaction value increase by 33%. Meal delivery, which is much more competitive, grew by only 6%.

The logistics business, marginal at 14% of consolidated sales, has not taken off: both volumes and revenues are down 27%.

In its traditional core business, Uber is defending its market share and absorbing inflation well. On the other hand, pressure on prices is pronounced in the meal delivery business, which is too competitive and therefore subject to a drop in operating margin this quarter.

The general configuration remains unchanged: as the only truly profitable segment, the mobility business subsidizes the development of the other two segments.

As such, it would hardly be surprising to see an activist investor come along and demand a separation of the three. This year, the mobility business alone generated $5 billion in operating profit before depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA.

At a price of $50 per share, the enterprise value of Uber as a whole is $109 billion, or roughly 22 times the operating profit of the mobility segment alone.

For the first nine months of the year, consolidated sales grew from $23.3 billion to $27.3 billion. By posting a consolidated free cash flow of $2.6 billion, a figure that is open to question, management is sending out a strong signal to investors.

This figure has not been adjusted for gargantuan stock-based compensation, which amounted to $1.5 billion in the first nine months of the year. At this stage, free cash flow remains largely a virtual reality.

These share-based payments, the vast majority of which are RSUs, have no exercise price and a highly dilutive impact. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi does have six million options, but their exercise price is $33, well below the current market price.

Last year, the CEO and CFO together pocketed $37 million. However, this does not seem to be upsetting investors, who are very positive about Uber's latest results.