Uber growth stays strong as mobility supply tightens

Scale and profitability advanced together

Uber Technologies reported third-quarter gross bookings of $59.8 billion, up 20% year over year, revenue of $14.8 billion, up 10%, and non-GAAP EPS of $0.88, up 35%. The results slightly exceeded Wall Street estimates, which had projected adjusted EPS of $0.86 on $14.67 billion of revenue. Free cash flow reached $2.5 billion for the quarter and a record $10.4 billion for the trailing 12 months.

The quarter also expanded Uber's consumer reach: monthly active platform consumers increased 14% to 215 million, while trips rose 16% to 4.1 billion. Adjusted EBITDA increased 31% to $3.0 billion, equivalent to a 5% margin of gross bookings. These figures indicate that bookings growth continued to translate into stronger profitability, although business-model changes reduced revenue growth by eight percentage points.

Delivery supplied the strongest momentum

Delivery gross bookings reached $28.5 billion in the primary results summary, which reported a 22% increase. Management's prepared remarks separately said year-over-year growth was 23%. The transcript also attributed accelerating organic growth to broader selection, affordability and reliability improvements. Grocery and retail reached a $15 billion run rate, growing 40% year over year as merchant selection expanded.

Uber One membership rose to approximately 55 million and accounted for 70% of delivery gross bookings. The membership base strengthens engagement across mobility and delivery, while management said it is using AI to simplify transactions, personalize discovery and selectively explore new distribution channels. Those are operating initiatives rather than disclosed procurement opportunities.

Mobility supply constrained international growth

Mobility gross bookings were $29.5 billion, up 18% from a year earlier, but performance fell below management's expectations in several international markets. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi attributed the shortfall to driver supply not keeping pace with strong consumer demand. Uber is responding with targeted investment intended to improve driver availability and marketplace balance, with management reporting encouraging improvement in October.

CFO Balaji Krishnamurthy also warned that escalating conflict in the Middle East had produced global fuel-cost effects, particularly in price-sensitive emerging markets such as Brazil and India. The reviewed reporting does not quantify how much the supply constraint reduced bookings or establish whether fuel costs will improve. The immediate test is whether international mobility growth closes the gap with expectations without compromising profitability.

Autonomous vehicles moved toward execution

Management said Uber expected approximately 700 fully driverless vehicles on its network by year-end and more than 2,000 by the end of 2027. It also reported a 30% utilization premium for vehicles operating on the Uber network compared with off-network alternatives. These figures support a shift from testing toward commercial deployment, but they do not establish vehicle procurement orders, supplier commitments or completed autonomous-service economics.

Cash strength and guidance pointed upward

Uber ended September with $10.1 billion in unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments. For the fourth quarter, management guided to gross bookings of $63.25 billion-$65.25 billion, representing anticipated growth of 18%-22%, and non-GAAP EPS of $0.95-$0.99, representing 34%-39% growth. The guidance preserves a positive earnings trajectory, while international driver availability remains the clearest near-term operating variable.

Industry and product implications