Uber's booking forecast outweighed weak earnings data. Shares jumped

Shares of passenger transportation giant Uber rose by 7% in trading on May 6. The company's forecast of gross bookings for the second quarter of 2026, which exceeded analysts' expectations, CNBC notes. At the same time, Uber reported earnings per share and revenue for the first quarter below Wall Street estimates.

- In the first three months of 2026, 3.6 billion rides were taken in Uber - 20% more than in the same period last year. At the same time, the total amount of money passengers paid for those rides (gross bookings) increased 25% year-over-year (or 21% in constant currency) to $53.7 billion, exceeding Wall Street's consensus of $52.8 billion, CNCB points out.

- For the second quarter of 2026, Uber forecasts gross booking value in the range of $56.25 billion to $57.75 billion (18-22% year-over-year growth in constant currency), while the analyst consensus forecast calls for the figure to be $56.17 billion.

Such expectations, CNCB notes, have supported the company's quotes - Uber's other results were not as positive. In particular:

- The company reported first-quarter EPS of $0.13, while Wall Street analysts had forecast the figure to be $0.7, LSEG data shows, CNCB writes.

- Uber's quarterly net income was $263 million; the revaluation of the company's stakes in Asian Didi and Grab reduced the result by $1.5 billion, according to the report. Year-on-year, the indicator decreased by 85%.

- Meanwhile, Uber's revenue for the first three months of 2026 amounted to $13.2 billion against analysts' expectations of $13.29 billion, CNBC writes. At the same time, the figure increased by 14% year-on-year - or 10% in constant currency.

- Revenue from Uber's delivery segment - one of the company's fastest-growing business segments - increased year-over-year by 34% to $5.07 billion, beating analysts' forecast of $4.89 billion, with growth in Australia, Japan and the United Kingdom. "Consumers are spending money, spending money locally, and we don't see any signs of that trend abating at this point," CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told CNBC.

- Operating profit in the passenger transportation segment (mobility business) increased year-on-year by 28% to $2 billion.

Uber faced a "challenging macroeconomic environment characterized by weather disasters, geopolitical tensions and volatile gasoline prices," Khosrowshahi said in a conference call following the results of the report, CNBC writes. Since the fighting in the Middle East began in February, gasoline prices in the U.S. have jumped by about 50%, the channel recalls.

Rising fuel prices are putting particular pressure on Uber drivers, who pay their own fuel costs. In this regard, in late Ma, Uber introduced a program of discounts on gasoline and other benefits for partners, which will be in effect until almost the end of Ma. At the same time, in an interview with CNBC, Khosrowshahi noted that Uber has hardly noticed the impact of rising energy prices on consumers, although the company's business in the Middle East has felt the effects of the conflict. Khosrowshahi did not specify how exactly Uber's performance in the region has changed.

Nevertheless, despite the difficult macroeconomic situation, Uber continues to develop the direction of unmanned transportation. Thus, the company is investing in unmanned cars and plans to purchase autonomous vehicles from such partners as Waabi, Wayve, Rivian and Nuro, CNBC writes, pointing out that Uber plans deals after the safety of such vehicles for operation without the presence of a human controller or driver on board is confirmed.

The company's autonomous driving partners include robotaxi service providers, notably Waymo (part of Alphabet) and WeRide in China, which are looking to make their unmanned cars available through the Uber app.

Overall, the mobility business grew faster than the company's overall business in the first quarter, according to Khosrowshahi. At the conference call, the head of the company noted that he expects this trend to continue as Uber plans to launch ride-hailing services in 15 cities by the end of 2026.

In parallel, the company is developing B2B services, providing representatives of the autonomous driving industry with specialized insurance and maintenance services. Uber is also actively introducing artificial intelligence into its business processes. According to a company report, 95% of Uber's engineers use AI tools to write code every month, and more than 10% of the company's total program code is now created by "autonomous AI agents."

On the background of the publication of the reports Uber shares rose by 7%. Since the beginning of the year they are down 4%. The consensus forecast of Wall Street analysts on Uber securities remains at the level of "Buy" (Buy). 50 experts gave the company's securities ratings of "Buy" and "Overweight" (Overweight), seven - recommend to keep Uber securities in the portfolio; and only one - to sell.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor