Uber’s revenue comes in lower than expected in the fiscal fourth quarter

Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE: UBER) said on Wednesday that its per-share loss in the fiscal fourth quarter came in slightly narrower than expected. Its revenue, however, fell shy of Wall Street estimates in Q4 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that continues to restrict people to their homes.

The Coronavirus crisis has so far infected more than 27 million people in the U.S. and caused a little under half a million deaths. In related news from the United States, Uber’s smaller rival, Lyft Inc. reported narrower than expected per-share loss in the fiscal fourth quarter on Tuesday.

Uber’s Q4 financial results versus analysts’ estimates

According to Refinitiv, experts had forecast the company to print £2.59 billion of revenue in the fourth quarter. Their estimate for per-share loss stood at 40.49 pence. In its report on Wednesday, Uber posted a lower £2.29 billion of revenue in Q4 but a narrower 39.04 pence of loss per share.

On a GAAP basis, Uber reported £699.88 million of loss in the recent quarter versus the year-ago figure of a higher £800 million. The ride-hailing company’s net loss in fiscal 2020 as a whole came in at £4.89 billion that represents a 20% annualised decline.

At £4.91 billion, gross mobility bookings saw a 50% year over year decline in the fourth quarter. Gross delivery bookings, on the other hand, registered at £7.27 billion in Q4 or 130% higher than last year.

Earlier in February, the American technology firm expressed plans of buying Drizly (an app for on-demand alcohol delivery) for £800 million in stock and cash combined. Uber wishes to integrate Drizly into its food-delivery service, Uber Eats.

CEO Dara Khosrowshahi’s comments on Wednesday

CEO Dara Khosrowshahi commented on the financial report on Wednesday and said:

“While 2020 certainly tested our resilience, it also dramatically accelerated our capabilities in local commerce, with our Delivery business more than doubling over the year to a nearly $44 billion annual bookings run-rate in December.

Uber shares were reported about 0.5% down in after-hours trading on Wednesday. The stock is now exchanging hands at £45.46 per share versus a low of £10.72 per share in March 2020.

Uber Technologies performed largely upbeat in the stock market last year with an annual gain of close to 65%. At the time of writing, the San Francisco-based company has a market cap of £84.57 billion.