Uber delivered a mixed financial performance in its final quarter of 2025, showcasing robust revenue expansion driven by its food delivery operations while facing headwinds that dampened profit margins. The ride-hailing and delivery giant disclosed quarterly figures that surpassed revenue expectations but left investors uneasy about near-term profitability prospects.
The San Francisco-based technology company reported total revenue reaching $14.37 billion for the three months ending in December, edging past analyst projections of $14.32 billion. This marked a significant jump from the $12 billion recorded in the same period one year prior, representing a 20% year-over-year increase that underscored the company’s continued market penetration.
Delivery Division Outperforms Expectations
The standout performer in Uber‘s portfolio was its delivery segment, which encompasses restaurant meals, groceries and retail items. This division generated $4.9 billion in revenue, soaring 30% from the previous year and significantly exceeding the $4.72 billion analysts had anticipated. The delivery business has evolved far beyond its restaurant roots, now incorporating partnerships with diverse retailers spanning multiple continents.
Strategic collaborations with OpenTable, Shopify and major retail chains including Loblaws in Canada, Biedronka in Poland, Seiyu in Japan and Coles in Australia have expanded the platform’s reach. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi highlighted that delivery growth achieved its highest momentum in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region during the year.
Meanwhile, the mobility segment, which handles traditional ride-hailing services, pulled in $8.2 billion in revenue. While this represented a 19% climb from the prior year, it fell slightly short of the $8.3 billion analysts had forecast. The company now serves 202 million monthly active platform consumers, reflecting an 18% increase year over year.
Profit Margins Face Pressure
Despite the revenue success, Uber’s bottom line told a more complicated story. Net income for the quarter totaled $296 million, a dramatic decline from the $6.88 billion reported in the same quarter of the previous year. The company attributed this contraction to a $1.6 billion pre-tax impact from revaluations of equity investments, alongside continued investments in AI infrastructure supporting pricing, logistics and operational efficiency.
Additional factors weighing on profitability included elevated tax obligations and deliberate pricing strategies aimed at making rides more affordable. These customer-friendly initiatives, designed to boost bookings and attract new users, compressed margins in the short term. Adjusted earnings per share came in at 71 cents for the period.
Gross bookings, a key performance indicator measuring total transaction value across the platform, reached $54.1 billion for the quarter. This surpassed analyst estimates of $53.1 billion and signaled healthy consumer demand. For the current quarter, Uber projects gross bookings will grow at least 17% to land between $52 billion and $53.5 billion.
Autonomous Vehicles Represent Future Frontier
Khosrowshahi used the earnings presentation to reinforce his conviction about autonomous vehicles reshaping the transportation landscape. He described AVs as unlocking a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity and emphasized that autonomy would amplify the existing platform’s strengths rather than disrupt its business model, pointing to advances in cloud computing and artificial intelligence from companies such as Microsoft as key enablers of large-scale deployment.
In Atlanta and Austin, where Uber introduced autonomous ride options during 2025, the company observed accelerated trip growth across all driver types, including human operators. Even in San Francisco, where Uber hasn’t yet deployed its own robotaxi service but where Alphabet’s Waymo operates, the overall ride-hailing market has expanded as autonomous supply enters the ecosystem.
Uber has set ambitious targets for autonomous vehicle integration. By the close of this year, the company expects to facilitate AV trips in up to 15 cities globally, split between domestic and international markets. The planned expansion includes Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Munich, Hong Kong, Zurich and Madrid. Looking further ahead, Khosrowshahi declared Uber’s intention to become the world’s largest facilitator of autonomous vehicle trips by 2029.
Strategic Investments and Market Reaction
The company continues investing in its Uber One subscription program, which drives higher engagement and spending among members. Advertising revenue also represents a growing focus area as Uber monetizes its vast user base and transaction data.
Embracing artificial intelligence trends, Uber has integrated with ChatGPT to enhance service discovery. Users can now explore restaurants and services through conversational interfaces before completing transactions, reflecting the company’s efforts to leverage generative AI for customer acquisition.
Following the earnings announcement and analyst call, shares dropped approximately 6% as investors digested the softer first-quarter profit guidance despite the autonomous vehicle optimism. Uber stock had rallied throughout 2025 but has faced headwinds in early trading during the current year.
Source: CNBC
