• Revenue at Uber’s delivery unit, including Uber Eats, more than doubled to $1.45 billion, its highest ever, but the unit continues to lose money despite narrowing losses over the past quarters;
• Results per region results showed Latin America placing as the market with the sharpest drop, recording a 39% decline from US$ 527 million in the third-quarter revenue of 2019, to US$ 320 million reached during July to September this year.

Uber announced this Thursday its financial results for the quarter ended in September with delivery bookings once again outpacing bookings for rides, as the pandemic continues to impact mobility.

Gross bookings declined to $14.7 billion, down 10% compared to the same quarter last year. Mobility gross bookings decreased 50%, while delivery gross bookings rose 135% year-over-year.

The ride-hailing and tech giant reported an 18% year-over-year decline, mobility revenue declined 53% and delivery revenue grew 125% year-over-year.

Overall, Uber recorded $3.13 billion in third-quarter revenue, falling short of analysts’ average estimate of $3.2 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. As for results per region, Latin America figured as the market with the sharpest drop, recording a 39% decline from US$ 527 million in the third-quarter revenue of 2019, to US$ 320 million reached during July to September this year.

In the US and Canada, Uber reported a 30% revenue drop, plunging from $2.4 billion during the third quarter of 2019 to $1.67 billion this year’s Q3.

Demand for ride-hailing trips, responsible for nearly two-thirds of Uber’s revenue prior to the pandemic, continued to recover from an 80% drop in April at the height of the pandemic. “As consolidated growth returns, it will return to a more profitable foundation,” said Uber CFO Nelson Chai.”

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Revenue at Uber’s delivery unit, including Uber Eats, more than doubled to $1.45 billion, its highest ever, but the unit continues to lose money despite narrowing losses over the past quarters.

Uber continues to spend money to gain market share over food-delivery competitors. The company is hoping to close its $2.65 billion acquisition of smaller delivery rival Postmates in the first quarter of 2021 to expand further.

Uber’s third-quarter results come just two days after it scored a significant win in its California home market, where voters passed a company-sponsored ballot measure that went at the heart of the gig economy business model Uber helped create.

With a 58% majority, California voters cemented app-based food-delivery and ride-hail drivers’ status as independent contractors, not employees entitled to costly benefits including unemployment pay and health insurance.

California drivers instead will receive more limited benefits, including minimum pay rates, healthcare subsidies and accident insurance.

Uber, its smaller rival Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart, and Postmates, who jointly spent more than $200 million on the ballot campaign, hope to turn the California decision into a model for the nation.

Uber Pass and the Cornershop deal

Uber also announced that it has exceeded 1 million paid subscribers, by surpassing 1 million paid Uber Pass and Eats Pass members during Q3. The subscription plan Uber Pass is available in the US, Brazil, and Mexico.

Gross bookings for the grocery business were also highlighted with more than $1 billion annualized run-rate in September, as Uber’s grocery offering is live in over 10 countries, including Chile and Brazil.

The company also launched the Cornershop integration to expand access to its grocery business across the Americas and continued to develop key partnerships such as the one with french retailer Carrefour in Brazil and Chile.

But the integration with Chilean-based Cornershop has been facing some hurdles in Mexico, where Uber is still waiting for a green light. “We are looking forward to getting into Mexico as Cofece approves the deal,” CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said during the conference call.