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Gross Bookings Strong at Uber: Is There Room for Further Upside?

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Key Takeaways

  • UBER's Q1 gross bookings rose 14% year over year, driven by strong mobility and delivery demand.
  • UBER expects Q2 gross bookings of $45.75-$47.25 B, up 16-20% from Q2 2024 on a constant-currency basis.
  • UBER's shares are up 55.7% YTD, outperforming the broader Internet-Services industry's 2.7% decline.

Uber Technologies (UBER - Free Report) , the ride-hailing giant based in San Francisco, CA, is benefiting from the upbeat gross bookings.  The company’s gross bookings, for both the mobility and delivery segments, are increasing at healthy double-digit rates. This highlights the strong demand for its services.

In the first quarter of 2025, total gross bookings grew 14% year over year and 18% on a constant currency basis at the same period. Double-digit growth was witnessed across its key segments. Gross bookings at the mobility segment grew 13% year over year and 20% on a constant currency basis during the same period. This key metric registered year-over-year growth of 15% (18% on a constant currency basis) at the delivery segment.

Despite currency-related headwinds, Uber’s strong performance concerning gross bookings is likely to continue in the June quarter as well. Uber expects gross bookings in the June quarter in the $45.75-$47.25 billion band, indicating growth of 16-20% on a constant-currency basis from second-quarter 2024 actuals. Our estimate for second-quarter 2025 gross bookings is pegged at $45.7 billion. Strong gross bookings growth in the June quarter is likely to have kept Uber’s top line in good shape.

Comparable Metrics of Other Ride-Hailing Entities

Gross bookings are strong at rival Lyft (LYFT - Free Report) as well, mainly owing to the growing active rider base, expansion into new markets and the success of its customer-friendly "Price Lock" feature. In the March quarter, gross bookings increased 13% year over year to $4.6 billion. Management stated that this was the 16th consecutive quarter where Lyft demonstrated double-digit year-on-year growth in the key metric. The uptick was driven by the record active riders of 24.4 million. Active riders increased 11% year over year in the quarter.

The total number of rides in the quarter reached a first-quarter record of 218.4 million, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 16%. For the second quarter of 2025, Lyft expects gross bookings in the $4.41-$4.57 billion range, indicating 10-14% growth from second-quarter 2024 actuals.  

Singapore-based Grab (GRAB - Free Report) is benefiting from strong growth in its On-Demand Gross Merchandise Value (“GMV”). On-Demand GMV refers to the sum of GMV of the mobility and deliveries segments. In the first quarter of 2025, On-Demand GMV increased 16% year over year at Grab. Grab expects 2025 revenues between $3.33 billion and $3.40 billion, indicating 19-22% year-over-year growth.

Uber’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates

Shares of UBER have gained 55.7% so far this year against the Zacks Internet-Services industry’s 2.7% decline in the same timeframe.

Zacks Investment ResearchImage Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, UBER trades at a 12-month forward price-to-sales of 3.58X. UBER is inexpensive compared with its industry.

Zacks Investment ResearchImage Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for UBER’s 2025 and 2026 earnings has been revised upward over the past 60 days.

Zacks Investment ResearchImage Source: Zacks Investment Research

UBER's Zacks Rank

UBER currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

 


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