Uber closed the year in the black for the first time since its foundation, achieving an annual operating profit of US$1.1 billion in 2023, according to the financial statement released on Wednesday (7). The amount, equivalent to R$5.49 billion at the day’s exchange rate, exceeded market expectations.
The result was widely celebrated by the transport app’s CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, who cited the year 2023 as a “turning point” for the platform. please note that the company ended 2022 with a deficit of US$1.8 billion (R$8.99 billion)as noted by the Business Insider.
The app recorded an average of 26 million daily trips in 2023, globally.Source: Getty Images/Reproduction
The company also reported net profit of US$1.9 billion (R$9.49 billion) at the end of last yearafter having recorded a considerable loss of US$9.1 billion (R$45.4 billion) in 2022. Another highlight of the reporto is a 24% increase in the number of trips and a 15% increase in the number of monthly active users of the servicein the fourth quarter.
“Our audience is bigger and more engaged than ever, with our platform generating an average of almost 26 million daily trips last year”, commented the chief executive, in a statement. Uber also reported a 15% growth in revenue compared to the previous year.
CEO’s work highlighted
The good financial result recorded by Uber in 2023 was driven by increase in demand for travel and food delivery service. But part of the success can also be attributed to the measures taken by Khosrowshahi, as highlighted by the The Verge.
In the position since August 2017, when he took over the vacancy left by the platform’s co-founder, Travis Kalanick, the CEO made unpopular decisions such as mass layoffs, investment cuts in some areas and the termination of subsidies that led to more expensive trips. But he also launched programs like Uber One to attract regular users.
Indications that the company could earn more money than it spent began to appear in August 2022, when it registered its first positive cash flow. Analysts speculate that the platform is preparing a share buyback program to launch soon.