Uber Techologies, Inc. marked 2021 third quarter as one where it saw incredible progress.
The milestone included record-high gross bookings and active driver growth.
"Big week all around for the @Uber family - Uber team hits EBITDA profitability, @aurora_inno team building the autonomous future as a public company and now @limebike with a super impressive fundraise," Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi wrote in a tweet.
Gross bookings for Uber grew 57% year-over-year (YOY) to $23.1 billion with mobility gross bookings of $9.9 billion and delivery gross bookings of $12.8 billion. Trips grew 39% YOY to 1.64 billion with an average of 18 million trips through Uber per day. Mobility take rate recovered 240 base points quarter-over-quarter (QOQ) to 21.1%.
"All in all, our monthly active driver and courier base in the U.S. has grown by nearly 640,000 since January," Khosrowshahi said. "Against a backdrop of historic labor shortages and an abundance of choice for workers, this is a strong endorsement of Uber’s value—and the value of independent, flexible work. In a world where flexibility is increasingly becoming a non-negotiable for workers across the economy, we believe Uber will be an even more attractive option going forward."
Drivers and couriers for Uber earned a total aggregate of $8.6 billion through the company during the third quarter, a 60% earning increase YOY. Beginning the end of August through October, Uber also experienced 10 straight weeks of driver growth, according to the Uber press release. Khosroshahi said the number of active drivers for the company is up a total of 65% since January 2021 and 20% since June 2021, resulting in surge pricing being cut nearly in half and wait times for customers, to now be below an average of five minutes.
"We have built a good foundation with Uber Pass and Eats Pass, and recently announced strong partnerships with Hulu and Aeroplan, while further deepening our engagement with American Express," Khosrowshahi said regarding how the company will continue to tap into grocery, convenience and alcohol delivery through Uber's marketplace, as well as growing its freight division.
Uber Technologies, Inc. did have a net loss of $2.4 billion with a $2.0 billion net headwind, or loss due to a factor that inhibits growth, due to equity investments. The adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for Uber ended the third quarter at $8 million, up by $517 million QOQ. Mobility adjusted EBITDA improved by $365 million QOQ, and delivery adjusted EBITDA improved by $149 million QOQ.
Trips for the quarter grew 9% QOQ and 39% YOY, with the main growth being in mobility and delivery trips. Active customers on the platform monthly reached 109 million, a growth of 8% QOQ and 40% YOY. Part of that growth is attributed to Uber Reserve at airports, which contributed 12% to the mobility gross bookings for the quarter for a total growth of 35% QOQ and 203% YOY.