US – Uber food delivery business dubbed Uber Eats has out shined the company’s core rides services to become the company’s top revenue source in the three months ending September 30.
According to Uber’s financial statements, Uber Eats business generated US$1.45 billion in revenue, up 125% from a year ago as restaurants relied on Uber for delivery.
Its mobility business, which includes ride-hailing, scooters and bikes, accounted for US$1.37 billion of that, down 53% from the same time last year.
Despite the decline, the rides business showed improvement from the second quarter, when it brought in just $790 million.
Total third quarter revenues brought in US$3.13 billion in revenue, down 18% from the same time last year.
The company revealed that it lost $1.09 billion in the three months that ended Sept. 30 as many customers were still staying out of shared vehicles.
Uber’s food delivery business Steller performance during the third quarter however shows just how much consumer behavior has changed — and how far the company has adapted — since the pandemic struck.
Uber Eats continued to add restaurants to its app, and its partnerships with restaurants grew by more than 70% compared with last year.
It also added a contactless payment feature to allow customers who are dining in restaurants to order or pay using their Uber Eats app.
Uber also expanded its grocery delivery service, which is now operating in 10 countries outside the US It also launched a prescription drug delivery pilot program in Dallas and Seattle.
“Without question, the (pandemic’s) impact on the world has been one of the most significant impacts of our lifetimes, and we moved quickly as a company to respond,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, in a conference call with investors Thursday.
Khosrowshahi explained that Uber has girded itself against the pandemic’s impact by cutting $1 billion in fixed costs.
Uber’s quarterly performance was better than feared given the brutal COVID backdrop for ridesharing, said Dan Ives, managing director of equity research at Wedbush Securities.
The quarterly figures were released after Uber scored a major victory Tuesday in California after voters granted Uber, Lyft, Doordash and others an exception to a law that sought to classify their drivers as employees an expense that analysts thought would have pummeled Uber’s business in the nation’s most populous state.
Liked this article? Subscribe to Food Business Africa News, our regular email newsletters with the latest news insights from Africa and the World’s food and agro industry. SUBSCRIBE HERE
