Uber Technologies Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

Uber delivered strong Q2 growth: Gross bookings increased 22% year over year to more than $58 billion, while non-GAAP EPS rose 35% and trailing 12-month free cash flow exceeded $10 billion for the first time.

Autonomous vehicles remain a major investment priority: Uber is live in seven cities and targets 15 by year-end, with plans to invest approximately $10 billion in the AV ecosystem and commitments involving as many as 120,000 vehicles.

Uber is expanding delivery while managing competitive and capital-allocation pressures: The planned Delivery Hero acquisition could nearly double the number of markets offering both mobility and delivery, but Brazil competition and the deal contributed to lower near-term buyback activity and mobility revenue margins.

Uber Technologies NYSE: UBER said second-quarter gross bookings rose 22% year over year to more than $58 billion, exceeding the high end of its guidance range and marking its fourth consecutive quarter of growth above 20%. Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi said the company also produced 35% growth in non-GAAP earnings per share and surpassed $10 billion in trailing 12-month free cash flow for the first time. Khosrowshahi said the results allow Uber to invest across its growth priorities, including autonomous vehicles, delivery expansion and product development. The company recently announced an agreement to acquire Delivery Hero, a transaction Uber expects will expand its reach to nearly 100 markets and roughly double the number of markets in which it can offer both mobility and delivery services.

Uber said it is focused on becoming a leading commercialization platform for autonomous vehicles, with launches and service quality among its key near-term measures of progress. Khosrowshahi said Uber is currently live in seven cities and expects to operate in 15 cities by year-end. Upcoming launches include Nuro and Lucid in the San Francisco Bay Area, Zoox in Las Vegas, Wayve in London and Tokyo, Baidu in London, and Pony and Verne in Zagreb, according to Khosrowshahi. He added that Uber expects Rivian to potentially enter San Francisco and Miami in 2028, while NVIDIA is expected to be operating in Los Angeles and San Francisco in 2027 and in 28 cities globally by 2028.

The CEO said Uber evaluates autonomous vehicle operations based on service quality, vehicle utilization and economics. He said Uber’s demand network has supported utilization in the mid-to-high 20s and low 30s in trips per vehicle per day for certain autonomous vehicle partners. Uber also outlined a multiyear plan to invest approximately $10 billion in the autonomous vehicle ecosystem. Chief Financial Officer Balaji Krishnamurthy said the investments include equity investments in autonomous-vehicle software partners and selective balance-sheet support for fleet operations, real estate and original equipment manufacturers. Uber has discussed commitments involving 120,000 vehicles over the next several years, he said. Krishnamurthy said that for every dollar Uber has invested in partners so far, those partners have raised an additional $2.50 from other investors. He said Uber would provide more detail on the income-statement and cash-flow effects of its autonomous vehicle investments as deployments move closer to scale. Uber is also creating AV Labs to collect high-fidelity, rideshare-specific data using hundreds of vehicles equipped with robotaxi-grade sensors. Khosrowshahi said the data c...