- Uber listed its public shares in May, in an IPO that was considered the biggest of the year, but it performed below expectations;
- The company disclosed its results for Q2 last week – and the profits presented did not satisfy investors.
Although it is the biggest mobility company in the ride-sharing model and it is a synonym of quality, the last months have not been easy for the giant from San Francisco, Uber. Last Thursday, August 8th, the company revealed its results for the last quarter in its quarterly report and saw its shares drop 12% on the same day – a product of the dissatisfaction of Wall Street with the results of the period.
Ever since it listed its shares publicly in May, in what was considered the biggest IPO of the year, Uber faces a delicate moment as it engages with investors. With a star in its pocket that performed below expected, the stocks of the company did not yet escalate above the value offered in the IPO, and the latest losses reported in Q2 – $ 5.24 billion, almost BRL 21 billion – were in large part used to compensation to employees related to the company’s initial public offering.
Even with a wave of difficulties, the biggest ride-sharing company seems confident that it is producing healthy results, primarily in the long-term, according to what Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi claimed in an interview with CNBC. And more than just talking about the numbers that prove the good performance of the company, the executive stressed the importance of one of the largest markets for the company: Latin America.
“Latin America is one of the best markets we have in the ride share business. It is a huge market. The GDP there is increasing.” said Dara, in addition to mentioning the relevance of Argentina for Uber. “You look at Argentina for example, Buenos Aires now is the fifth largest city for us globally in terms of trips for rides business. So, we know how to operate in Latin America.”
Khosrowshahi said that there is no reason for the company not to be as successful in Latin America, as they are in the North American market. And if to arrive at that point, said Khosrowshahi, what is needed is investment – they are ready to make that happen.
“So, just like Uber Eats has become a part of everyday lexicon to Americans, we think the same can be true in Latin America. Is it going to take investment? Yes. Is it going to take execution? Yes. But we have an enormous advantage in the Uber brand and the platform that we’ve built locally (…) The Uber name is beloved in Latin America.”
Concerning the numbers, Khosrowshahi made a point of stressing how much the sector had become brutally competitive, with shifts in the competition from Lyft and Didi.
But with outcomes that showed more than $15 billion of gross bookings, with an annual growth of 37% and more than 100 million monthly active users, growing over 30%, the North American giant definitely looks like it knows what it’s doing.
