# Why is uber losing money?



## Kimoverman (Oct 22, 2019)

Drivers pay for everything . Long list so no need to beat the dead horse. Somebody explain to me what's really going on. 🤷🏼‍♀️😡


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## IR12 (Nov 11, 2017)

Kimoverman said:


> Drivers pay for everything . Long list so no need to beat the dead horse. Somebody explain to me what's really going on. &#129335;&#127996;‍♀&#128545;


It's the ONLY thing Uber does well&#129315;.
Imagine that.


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## doggerel (Apr 23, 2017)

Uber is an app. That is all it is, at bottom. No way their customer service team in India is costing them a hundred million dollars. 

My guess is that R&D is a big part of their budget, and the legal department, also. And having to buy off politicians. 

There is really no reason they can't be profitable. But Uber's upper management probably takes in a hundred mill a year, too. 

The company is/was just badly run.


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## Kimoverman (Oct 22, 2019)

doggerel said:


> Uber is an app. That is all it is, at bottom. No way their customer service team in India is costing them a hundred million dollars.
> 
> My guess is that R&D is a big part of their budget, and the legal department, also. And having to buy off politicians.
> 
> ...


Just seems like money is hiding in a safe or mattress. Buried maybe &#128580;

first three years of a business often show a loss but I'm thinking hair salon not UBER around the world. &#129318;&#127996;‍♀


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## AveragePerson (May 18, 2018)

according to : https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/UBER/financials/
in the most recent report,

50.9% of all revenue goes to "Cost of Revenue" (for every $1 in revenue, it cost 50.9 cents to generate it using marketing and promo incentives, loss leaders,etc - this includes uber,UberEats, Scooters, other products)
34.1% of all revenue goes to "R&D" (self driving, new products, refinements, etc)
56% of all revenue goes to "Selling General and Administrative operational cost" - cost of running the business (salaries, insurance, rent, etc)

50.9 + 34.1 + 56 = 141%. In other words, they spend 41% more than they brought in, so therefore they are losing money. You will be losing money too if you spend $1.41 for every $1 you generate.

Uber lost $8.6 billion year to date (for 2019), which means *Uber lose about $23.5 million/day or almost $1 million/hour in loss, 24/7 for a year*.
That is a 286% increase in loss from the previous year (2018) of $3 billion in losses, or about $8.22 million/day or about $342,000/hour in loss, 24/7 for a year.

*In exchanged for losing this money, they are valued at $60,000,000,000 ($60billion).*


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## Mole (Mar 9, 2017)

They are in the Red because the prices are to low.


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## Mista T (Aug 16, 2017)

The ride sharing portion IS profitable, and has been for quite some time.

All the other junk, and investments, and lawsuits, and legal payments, and payoffs etc etc etc adds up.

But it doesn't matter, because all losses are carried forward, so when profits DO come in, they wont be paying taxes on anything for a decade.


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## JustTreatMeFair (Nov 28, 2017)

multi-million dollar salaries and bonuses.


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

Kimoverman said:


> Drivers pay for everything . Long list so no need to beat the dead horse. Somebody explain to me what's really going on. &#129335;&#127996;‍♀&#128545;


Because Uber Corporate cant find their Buttocks with Both Hands in a Well Lit Room Full of Mirrors !

( WILLFUL INCOMPETENCE ! )


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## Kimoverman (Oct 22, 2019)

AveragePerson said:


> according to : https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/UBER/financials/
> in the most recent report,
> 
> 50.9% of all revenue goes to "Cost of Revenue" (for every $1 in revenue, it cost 50.9 cents to generate it using marketing and promo incentives, loss leaders,etc - this includes uber,UberEats, Scooters, other products)
> ...


Thank you for explaining this..
As I'm writing this a news flash on tv claimed that riders to prepare...uber raising prices.&#128513;


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## Uberchampion (Oct 17, 2015)

Kimoverman said:


> Drivers pay for everything . Long list so no need to beat the dead horse. Somebody explain to me what's really going on. &#129335;&#127996;‍♀&#128545;


Creative Accounting


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## 25rides7daysaweek (Nov 20, 2017)

Uber signed a 10 year lease for 
345,000 square feet in downtown 
Chicago for the headquarters of
the uber freight division


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## njn (Jan 23, 2016)

it took amazon about 15 years before becoming profitable. give it time to grow.


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## itsablackmarket (May 12, 2015)

Lawsuits, bribes, failed marketing attempts, investing recklessly, paying out insurance claims, general stupidity


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## DriverMark (Jan 22, 2018)

Kimoverman said:


> Thank you for explaining this..
> As I'm writing this a news flash on tv claimed that riders to prepare...uber raising prices.&#128513;


And probably won't raise driver pay........

Posted in other threads. Uber needs to ditch UberEats, Scooters, bikes etc. Sell those divisions off. Then also sell off their Self Driving Car division and partner with one of the big dogs similar to Lyft. Cutting those divisions frees up a ton of overhead as well. That would bring them to profitability. And focus on the 1 thing you started on. Do that better than anyone else.

I think Waymo or another big dig might buy up Lyft. Not necessarily for their app, but their clients lists. If I was putting money on someone it would be Google getting to market first (whenever that might be, may be 5 years or 10 years). Google/Waymo have unlimited pockets and cash to burn.


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## Asificarewhatyoudontthink (Jul 6, 2017)

Kimoverman said:


> Drivers pay for everything . Long list so no need to beat the dead horse. Somebody explain to me what's really going on. &#129335;&#127996;‍♀&#128545;


Overhead. 
Excessive executive pay. 
3000ish marketing people w/6 figure pay. 
An entire SDC group with zero% chances of generating income (name 1 auto manufacturer that will pay them to license it). 
27000+ fulltime employees with benefits worldwide. 
Hundreds of millions of dollars of fines and court judgments with multiple future judgments pending based on established precedent... (which is why most companies settle, avoids establishing precedent).

Need more common sense examples?


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## TemptingFate (May 2, 2019)

Uber is a scam that exploits drivers and investors. 
https://www.businessinsider.com/where-uber-spends-its-money-lost-5-billion-second-quarter-2019-8


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## Asificarewhatyoudontthink (Jul 6, 2017)

AveragePerson said:


> according to : https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/UBER/financials/
> in the most recent report,
> 
> 50.9% of all revenue goes to "Cost of Revenue" (for every $1 in revenue, it cost 50.9 cents to generate it using marketing and promo incentives, loss leaders,etc - this includes uber,UberEats, Scooters, other products)
> ...


Pretty old report since as of the IPO their value plummeted to 45 billion


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## AveragePerson (May 18, 2018)

Asificarewhatyoudontthink said:


> Pretty old report since as of the IPO their value plummeted to 45 billion


they are currently valued at $55billion in the open market (was $59 billion yesterday, when I posted this).



https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/UBER/


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## Kimoverman (Oct 22, 2019)

Asificarewhatyoudontthink said:


> Overhead.
> Excessive executive pay.
> 3000ish marketing people w/6 figure pay.
> An entire SDC group with zero% chances of generating income (name 1 auto manufacturer that will pay them to license it).
> ...


Nope, you explained it. Thank you ❤


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## BAKAD (Feb 22, 2016)

It's really pretty simple.

*Uber and Lyft for many reasons dropped their prices so low they are selling their service below cost. *

If they start to raise prices, (not the games they are playing to get more profit) really raise the prices their revenue would drop causing issues with investors and stock holders.

Uber X started out at $3.25 per mile. If they stayed anywhere close to this fee, they would be a much smaller company, but making so much money they would be trying to figure out what to do with all the cash they have on hand.

Now they are running out of cash at a 1 billion dollar loss per quarter with less and less ways to raise capital. Some reports say they could be out of cash in 2 1/2 to 3 years.

Don't' believe what the CEO is saying about being profitable by 4Q20. It's all funny numbers not real accounting, it will bite the company later. This is what CEOs do when they know they are in trouble, promise the world, if it all works out they are fine if not they get fired which they knew was coming.


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## Giantsfan1503 (Sep 18, 2019)

Kimoverman said:


> Drivers pay for everything . Long list so no need to beat the dead horse. Somebody explain to me what's really going on. &#129335;&#127996;‍♀&#128545;


my guess is cooked books and everyone at the top is making billions


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## Jo3030 (Jan 2, 2016)

Scams never end.


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## joebrick (Feb 27, 2020)

Asificarewhatyoudontthink said:


> Overhead.
> Excessive executive pay.
> 3000ish marketing people w/6 figure pay.
> An entire SDC group with zero% chances of generating income (name 1 auto manufacturer that will pay them to license it).
> ...


OVERHEAD ?!?!?!??! oh you mean the fleet of cars they bought for us drivers ! ? 
All they do is pair us up with a paying customer. They are full of shit if they are losing money ? our car, our gas, our tires, our time,our oil , our phone plan. OUR EVERYTHING ! how can they be losing money ?!?!?!?


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## Paulie0902 (Jun 5, 2015)

Given their tendency to lose money perhaps they should change the name to WeDrive.


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## LyftUberFuwabolewa (Feb 7, 2019)

Kimoverman said:


> Drivers pay for everything . Long list so no need to beat the dead horse. Somebody explain to me what's really going on. &#129335;&#127996;‍♀&#128545;


They are a public company. You can read the filings and see why they're losing money.

You do realize it's a start up don't you?


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## Kimoverman (Oct 22, 2019)

LyftUberFuwabolewa said:


> They are a public company. You can read the filings and see why they're losing money.
> 
> You do realize it's a start up don't you?


Didnt realize it's a start up
Thank you ❤


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## LyftUberFuwabolewa (Feb 7, 2019)

Kimoverman said:


> Didnt realize it's a start up
> Thank you ❤


De nalgas


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## Asificarewhatyoudontthink (Jul 6, 2017)

joebrick said:


> OVERHEAD ?!?!?!??! oh you mean the fleet of cars they bought for us drivers ! ?
> All they do is pair us up with a paying customer.


Are you really this dense that you think the only overhead in transportation is the vehicle and it's assigned expenses?
Do you really know nothing about running a business?
FFS if you ever own a business you need, MUST without question, to hire a professional accountant to ensure your overhead expenses are properly assessed.



> They are full of shit if they are losing money ? our car, our gas, our tires, our time,our oil , our phone plan. OUR EVERYTHING ! how can they be losing money ?!?!?!?


Uber, quite literally, has made not one penny of profit. In point of fact the lowest Losses I have seen posted for a quarter were 1.1Billion, yes Billion with a B.

What you fail to understand is that, while you are correct about the only part of the company you do work for, there is so much more going on in the background at Uber.
None of it that has nothing to do with the only revenue generation portions should ever have existed.
No, they don't need multi million dollar physical property overhead.
No, they don't need multi million dollar Board of Directors salaries.
They never needed a Hundreds of Millions of Dollars Self Driving Car tech development division.
They also never needed the over 3000 six figure salaried Marketing employees.
They also never needed the 27,000 Global salaried employees.

After all this is "just an app" that matches drivers to riders and food orders to delivery drivers... but that wouldn't have gotten them
billions and billions of dollars in Investment Capitol now would it. They had to market themselves as the next Apple or Google. And, 
to do that, they needed to do all those unnecessary things above which is why they have never, no not even once, posted a single quarter of profits. No, not even a single penny.

Yet.

But, you are entirely to dense to look past your own experience with the company to understand Why Uber was mismanaged and has only ever posted losses.


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## BigRedDriver (Nov 28, 2018)

Kimoverman said:


> Drivers pay for everything . Long list so no need to beat the dead horse. Somebody explain to me what's really going on. &#129335;&#127996;‍♀&#128545;


Because if they made money they'd have to change their name?


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## Kodyhead (May 26, 2015)

Part of it has to do with all the new cool features uber has made for drivers and riders , which is costly and expensive to make which drivers like yall dont appreciate

Like the several million uber spent to create the I AM HERE button that riders can press once, to automatically type a text message to the driver that says I AM HERE, which saves times for the customer to type all the letters for I AM HERE which will never help a driver or rider in any situation anyone can think of


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## Mista T (Aug 16, 2017)

Kodyhead said:


> Part of it has to do with all the new cool features uber has made for drivers and riders , which is costly and expensive to make which driv


And badges. Dont forget the badges. Those were REALLY expensive to create, and even more to maintain.


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## joebrick (Feb 27, 2020)

Asificarewhatyoudontthink said:


> Are you really this dense that you think the only overhead in transportation is the vehicle and it's assigned expenses?
> Do you really know nothing about running a business?
> FFS if you ever own a business you need, MUST without question, to hire a professional accountant to ensure your overhead expenses are properly assessed.
> 
> ...


Man you sound angry A F...... and by the way , all nonsense


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## Oscar Levant (Aug 15, 2014)

Kimoverman said:


> Drivers pay for everything . Long list so no need to beat the dead horse. Somebody explain to me what's really going on. &#129335;&#127996;‍♀&#128545;


Uber is losing money for a number of reasons:

1. Not charging what the public will bear ( the retail rate should be close to what taxis are charging ).

2. Wasting millions on driverless cars that have no hope of being viable for a long time.

3. Extravagant spending in expensive offices, mac computers, tons of technical personnell, bloated staff, etc.

4. Operating in regions that are not profitable.

5. High turnover in the driving ranks, low morale in the driving ranks ( due to low pay, because of #1 above ).

All of the above are based on my 10 years of being a taxi driver, on my observation of how Taxi companies do not operate, and they were breaking even but became profitable when they converted their operations to a cooperative.

On #3, above, Uber, in San Diego, moved the Hub from the expensive space they had on Miramar road, to some divey spot downtown on the east side, which is how taxi companies DO operate, so they took my advice on that point. So,no doubt they are doing this globally, and are engaged in belt tightening, 'bout time. They had it good with venture capital for so long, they forget what it's like to run a real business.

The reason for #1, is because of the Travis Kalanick's philosophy that "riding in an Uber should be cheaper than owning a car". 
That philosophy is the singular reason for Uber's failed business model, thus far. Travis forgot, while it would be nice if riding in an Uber was cheaper than owning a car, but, hey, Travis, 'who owns the frickin' car?" HInt, it ain't you.


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## Asificarewhatyoudontthink (Jul 6, 2017)

joebrick said:


> Man you sound angry A F...... and by the way , all nonsense


Point out anything that is nonsense and make sure to provide a valid argument against.



Oscar Levant said:


> Uber is losing money for a number of reasons:
> 
> 1. Not charging what the public will bear ( the retail rate should be close to what taxis are charging ).
> 
> ...


Um, no, they are most certainly Not tightening any belts adequately enough to offset their opulent spending elsewhere.
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/commercial-real-estate/uber-confirms-huge-old-post-office-lease


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