# Uber blew as much as $3.2 billion on advertising alone in 2018 on its way to one of the biggest US IPOs on record



## SLuz (Oct 20, 2016)

https://www.businessinsider.com/ube...on-on-marketing-in-2018-before-its-ipo-2019-5
excerpt-
{Uber shelled out $3.2 billion on sales and marketing in 2018, 25% more than in 2017, the company reported in its filing. Competitor Lyft, which also recently went public,  spent $800 million on sales and marketing in 2018.}


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## Matt Uterak (Jul 28, 2015)

Seems out of proportion to revenue.


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## peteyvavs (Nov 18, 2015)

How much of that 3.2 billion was shuffled to their buddies, I wouldn’t be surprised if half or more was kicked back to Uber’s executives.


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## TwoFiddyMile (Mar 13, 2015)

Nothing surprises me anymore.


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## ANT 7 (Oct 14, 2018)

peteyvavs said:


> How much of that 3.2 billion was shuffled to their buddies, I wouldn't be surprised if half or more was kicked back to Uber's executives.


In Brasil at least 25% would have been "propina" to government officials...........

The whole article has left me speechless, I don't know what to say.


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## Soars (Jan 2, 2019)

I wonder how much of that was spent on trying to recruit new ants.


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## everythingsuber (Sep 29, 2015)

Matt Uterak said:


> Seems out of proportion to revenue.


As it is including recruitment of drivers it's about right. That's the cost of doing business.
Uber spends 600 dollars for the replacement of every driver it loses and it adds up.


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## TwoFiddyMile (Mar 13, 2015)

Pro tip:
Click every Uber ad you see, most net ads are pay to click.

I estimate I've cost Uber and Lyft over $50,000 in clicked ads.


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## goneubering (Aug 17, 2017)

everythingsuber said:


> As it is including recruitment of drivers it's about right. That's the cost of doing business.
> Uber spends 600 dollars for the replacement of every driver it loses and it adds up.


It seems excessive.


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## uberdriverfornow (Jan 10, 2016)

nothing Uber or Trump does surprises anyone anymore


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## Ride-Share-Risk-Manager (Mar 16, 2017)

The positive news about Uber and Lyfdiculous going public is that we now have thousands of analysts and journalists eyes on them examining how they are spending investor capital and what return they are getting from those expenditures.


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## itsablackmarket (May 12, 2015)

This new CEO is terrible.


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## uberdriverfornow (Jan 10, 2016)

the more you think of $3.2 billion the more you wonder how dara still has a job and how there literally is no internal oversight at all at Uber

you really gotta wonder who got rich off that $3.2 billion


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## Kodyhead (May 26, 2015)

uberdriverfornow said:


> the more you think of $3.2 billion the more you wonder how dara still has a job and how there literally is no internal oversight at all at Uber
> 
> you really gotta wonder who got rich off that $3.2 billion


Uber was trying to rebrand itself and prepare for the ipo to the general public. The figure sounds high to me but I do remember seeing uber commercials all the time especially sports.

Too early to tell but seems like they wasted money so far


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## I_Like_Spam (May 10, 2015)

The market is less than enthusiastic about Uber right now. Today's first day of trading for Uber options, an institution bought millions of dollars of january 2021 put options with a $25 strike price at $2.85. The stock would have to fall to 22 and change for the trade to be a good one.

https://thefly.com/landingPageNews....buyer-opens-M-position-in-longdated-Uber-puts


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## Michael1230nj (Jun 23, 2017)

While back someone caught hell for saying he wished Travis came back. I am beginning to see the wisdom in that statement.


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## uberdriverfornow (Jan 10, 2016)

Kodyhead said:


> Uber was trying to rebrand itself and prepare for the ipo to the general public. The figure sounds high to me but I do remember seeing uber commercials all the time especially sports.
> 
> Too early to tell but seems like they wasted money so far


thats BILLION with a B



Kodyhead said:


> Uber was trying to rebrand itself and prepare for the ipo to the general public. The figure sounds high to me but I do remember seeing uber commercials all the time especially sports.
> 
> Too early to tell but seems like they wasted money so far


so basically they spent $3.2 billion to get back $9 billion .. you think that was wise ?


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## Kodyhead (May 26, 2015)

uberdriverfornow said:


> thats BILLION with a B
> 
> 
> so basically they spent $3.2 billion to get back $9 billion .. you think that was wise ?


They had to do something lol every week someone was getting raped, killed or shouldn't of been driving in the first place lol.

I dont think the figure is correct but there is no doubt that they have spent a ton of money since around the big announcement on advertising and trying to change their public image.


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## nonononodrivethru (Mar 25, 2019)

This is all on par with startup companies. Amazon stayed in the red for years until they WANTED to start showing a profit.


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## goneubering (Aug 17, 2017)

Michael1230nj said:


> While back someone caught hell for saying he wished Travis came back. I am beginning to see the wisdom in that statement.


Wishing for the good old days with TK running the show??!! That guy was a management disaster. The board was smart to get rid of him.


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## Michael1230nj (Jun 23, 2017)

We were promised 180 Days of change. That’s exactly what we got. Dimes-Nickels-Pennies.


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## UberTrent9 (Dec 11, 2018)

uberdriverfornow said:


> nothing Uber or Trump does surprises anyone anymore


Why does EVERY thread have to be ruined by someone else's political views, seriously? WTH does Trump have to do with this topic? Absolutely ZERO.


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## Michael1230nj (Jun 23, 2017)

Perhaps some people see a connection between Billionaire Startups and Billionaire Presidents.


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## uberdriverfornow (Jan 10, 2016)

UberTrent9 said:


> Why does EVERY thread have to be ruined by someone else's political views, seriously? WTH does Trump have to do with this topic? Absolutely ZERO.


both are absolutely horrible

Trump is a horrible president and Uber is a horrible company

you act like it's a far leap


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## XPG (Oct 4, 2017)

everythingsuber said:


> As it is including recruitment of drivers it's about right. That's the cost of doing business.
> Uber spends 600 dollars for the replacement of every driver it loses and it adds up.


And how much of the 600 goes into new driver's job training? Ah yes, Uber is a tech company that hires anyone with a vehicle right! No training, no experience, no skills, no knowledge required. Looks like "hiring anyone" strategy works pretty well for Uber.


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## Stevie The magic Unicorn (Apr 3, 2018)

XPG said:


> And how much of the 600 goes into new driver's job training? Ah yes, Uber is a tech company that hires anyone with a vehicle right! No training, no experience, no skills, no knowledge required. Looks like "hiring anyone" strategy works pretty well for Uber.


Except of each driver they recruit, many may not EVER generate enough revenue to cover that $600 in recruitment costs.


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## XPG (Oct 4, 2017)

Stevie The magic Unicorn said:


> Except of each driver they recruit, many may not EVER generate enough revenue to cover that $600 in recruitment costs.


Do you have a breakdown for that $600? Also what is the $ amount for recruiting a new rider?


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## everythingsuber (Sep 29, 2015)

XPG said:


> Do you have a breakdown for that $600? Also what is the $ amount for recruiting a new rider?


The break down comes down to Advertising for drivers bonus payments to drivers and staff at the hubs to manage new drivers. Uber while figures are leaked though it's S-1 filing I don't think itemised the specific cost per process just the combined total spend and that's very easy to believe when you look at drivers turnover.
At a minimum of 94% of Uber drivers being turned over per annum how many drivers is that per week that need to be replaced? Uber claims 2 million? That's approximately 5150 drivers per day that need be to replaced. That's a lot of advertising and a lot of management.
About 3 million a day spent at 600 dollars per driver? That's a very easy figure to believe.


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## No Prisoners (Mar 21, 2019)

More proof that their model is flawed. In SEC filings uber's growth receding while losses increasing. Uber waited too long to go public and now growth is no longer a factor to attract investors. 
Wallstreet realized uber's not a technology company nothing more than a retail taxi dispatcher with a model that's never going to be profitable. 
Uber burned through $20+ billion from VC subsidy trying to gain market share. As per IPO filing they admit no path to profitability while burning almost$4 billion annually. 
Question is how is uber going to subsidize operations going forward while loses mounting. 
IPO capital won't last 2.5 years at current burn rate. How are they going to raise additional capital with $3 billion plus is junk bonds.


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## goneubering (Aug 17, 2017)

everythingsuber said:


> The break down comes down to Advertising for drivers bonus payments to drivers and staff at the hubs to manage new drivers. Uber while figures are leaked though it's S-1 filing I don't think itemised the specific cost per process just the combined total spend and that's very easy to believe when you look at drivers turnover.
> At a minimum of 94% of Uber drivers being turned over per annum how many drivers is that per week that need to be replaced? Uber claims 2 million? That's approximately 5150 drivers per day that need be to replaced. That's a lot of advertising and a lot of management.
> About 3 million a day spent at 600 dollars per driver? That's a very easy figure to believe.


I don't believe $600 per driver. I joined Uber for nearly zero cost. No referral fee was paid when I signed up.


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## getawaycar (Jul 10, 2017)

Not surprising at all.

When Uber has saturated every TV channel and radio station imaginable with their endless barrage of cheesy recruitment commercials non-stop, night and day. They are more annoying than junk email spammers and telemarketers.


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## Fozzie (Aug 11, 2018)

Uber and Lyft don't understand math. They think that they can throw around money and new people will flock to them. 

Over the years Uber and Lyft have alienated MILLIONS of drivers. Say you have 2 million hostile former drivers. Many of those drivers have a spouse. They have 2-3 kids. They have 2 parents. They have 4 grandparents. They have 2 siblings. They have 10 cousins. They have 20 nieces and nephews. They have a dozen close personal friends and co-workers in the office. You have millions of potential riders, but they won't use the service because they know how bad Uber and Lyft treat their driver family member/co-workers/friends. 

I may only be one driver, but my recommendation(s) resonate with dozens of family members/acquaintances. Uber and Lyft can make as many propaganda ads as they want, but they'll never succeed until they treat drivers right.


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## No Prisoners (Mar 21, 2019)

Fozzie said:


> Uber and Lyft don't understand math. They think that they can throw around money and new people will flock to them.
> 
> Over the years Uber and Lyft have alienated MILLIONS of drivers. Say you have 2 million hostile former drivers. Many of those drivers have a spouse. They have 2-3 kids. They have 2 parents. They have 4 grandparents. They have 2 siblings. They have 10 cousins. They have 20 nieces and nephews. They have a dozen close personal friends and co-workers in the office. You have millions of potential riders, but they won't use the service because they know how bad Uber and Lyft treat their driver family member/co-workers/friends.
> 
> I may only be one driver, but my recommendation(s) resonate with dozens of family members/acquaintances. Uber and Lyft can make as many propaganda ads as they want, but they'll never succeed until they treat drivers right.


The theory of diminishing returns by creating oversupply of drivers which has evolved into the most disgruntled labor force in modern history. A self-fulfilling prophecy. 
Uber may a household brand. But it's a brand with incredible negative perception. They have caused irreparable damage to their brand.


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## everythingsuber (Sep 29, 2015)

goneubering said:


> I don't believe $600 per driver. I joined Uber for nearly zero cost. No referral fee was paid when I signed up.


No. You answered an advertisement and filled out a form which was looked by someone or something that was located somewhere that had to be paid for.
You paid nothing Uber did.


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## goneubering (Aug 17, 2017)

everythingsuber said:


> No. You answered an advertisement and filled out a form which was looked by someone or something that was located somewhere that had to be paid for.
> You paid nothing Uber did.


True. They had some cost but there's no way it should cost $600 per driver year after year. To me it sounds like funny accounting which isn't at all surprising since it's Uber. I know high referral fees were paid in the past but in my case recruiting should have only cost them a few dollars.


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## Fozzie (Aug 11, 2018)

goneubering said:


> True. They had some cost but there's no way it should cost $600 per driver year after year. To me it sounds like funny accounting which isn't at all surprising since it's Uber. I know high referral fees were paid in the past but in my case recruiting should have only cost them a few dollars.


Abuse of the referral system is the problem. Hundreds of idiots on YouTube begging new drivers to use their code. Telemarketers trying to recruit desperate ants using someones referral code. Working referrals has gotten to the point where it's as profitable/more profitable than actually driving.

What needs to be done is implementation of a limit on the number of referrals a person can have per week, say one per week, and only for people that sign up in the same market.


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## Stevie The magic Unicorn (Apr 3, 2018)

goneubering said:


> I don't believe $600 per driver. I joined Uber for nearly zero cost. No referral fee was paid when I signed up.


I had 5 uber/lyft commercials hit me playing stupid games on my phone, TODAY

Come drive for uber adds are still everywhere and in the last year they have gone as far as putting ads on TV. All of that is massive cost divided by their number of signups and yo have over $600 per driver.



everythingsuber said:


> No. You answered an advertisement and filled out a form which was looked by someone or something that was located somewhere that had to be paid for.
> You paid nothing Uber did.


Background checks cost money to perform, an employee punching numbers has a cost, access to databases has costs.

Checkr background checks have a cost.


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## goneubering (Aug 17, 2017)

Fozzie said:


> Abuse of the referral system is the problem. Hundreds of idiots on YouTube begging new drivers to use their code. Telemarketers trying to recruit desperate ants using someones referral code. Working referrals has gotten to the point where it's as profitable/more profitable than actually driving.
> 
> What needs to be done is implementation of a limit on the number of referrals a person can have per week, say one per week, and only for people that sign up in the same market.


Wow!! Does that really work? If so it definitely would be more lucrative than actually driving.


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## Drivincrazy (Feb 14, 2016)

At the Uber Greenlight hub in Las Vegas, you'll see about 10 employees and a lot of new drivers signing up who think they are going to make some money now. GL.


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## ABC123DEF (Jun 9, 2015)

goneubering said:


> Wow!! Does that really work? If so it definitely would be more lucrative than actually driving.


People like Harry the Rideshare guy and Uberman were doing stuff like this YEARS ago!!


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## Lowestformofwit (Sep 2, 2016)

itsablackmarket said:


> This new CEO is terrible.


Good wording!
I'm thinking that it's a post you'll be able to keep recycling, unchanged, every time there's a change at the top.


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## itsablackmarket (May 12, 2015)

Lowestformofwit said:


> Good wording!
> I'm thinking that it's a post you'll be able to keep recycling, unchanged, every time there's a change at the top.


Correct, and I'll be right because he sucks.


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## nouberipo (Jul 24, 2018)

SLuz said:


> https://www.businessinsider.com/ube...on-on-marketing-in-2018-before-its-ipo-2019-5
> excerpt-
> {Uber shelled out $3.2 billion on sales and marketing in 2018, 25% more than in 2017, the company reported in its filing. Competitor Lyft, which also recently went public,  spent $800 million on sales and marketing in 2018.}


I presume the propaganda these companies spew out falls under advertising. As for the company reporting it in its filing, it also reported that the take rate was 21.7 which maybe in 2015 it was (which would technically not make this a lie if they didn't disclose the year they were talking about). Either way it is a lie thus any other numbers in the IPO prospectus should be taken with a grain of salt. As we all know, Uber and Lyft seem to be protected from regulators thus lying to drivers, passengers, and investors isn't of concern to them until it ends up in the courts and in the media. I don't believe a single word that comes out of Uber and Lyft headquarters. They have lied to drivers and passengers for years thus the culture of lying is imbedded in their very being.....now that investors are involved though do you think they overnight changed that culture? Of course not.



uberdriverfornow said:


> nothing Uber or Trump does surprises anyone anymore


they both seem to be missing the same ethical and moral compasses


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## Lowestformofwit (Sep 2, 2016)

nouberipo said:


> I presume the propaganda these companies spew out falls under advertising.


Thanks for that clarification/reminder.
Seems we've all overlooked these "cash for comments" shill pieces in various places - must be a fair bit of money paid for them, worldwide.


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