In a striking display of growth, Uber Technologies has reported stronger-than-expected gains in its second-quarter results for 2023, characterized by robust demand across its service offerings. The company announced that revenue soared to $10.7 billion for the three-month period ending June 30, marking a significant increase from $9.23 billion year-over-year.
This figure not only surpassed the previous year's performance but also exceeded analyst estimates, which had set the average at $10.58 billion according to Capital IQ. Earnings per share saw a noteworthy advancement, rising to $0.47, up from $0.18 in the same quarter last year. This performance eclipsed the Street's expectations of $0.31, leading to a notable increase in the company's stock price, which climbed by 7.8% during trading on Tuesday. Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi expressed satisfaction with the company's trajectory, stating, "Uber's growth engine continues to hum, delivering our sixth consecutive quarter of trip growth above 20%, alongside record profitability.
The Uber consumer has never been stronger--more people are using the platform, and more frequently, than ever before." Breaking down the revenue by segments, Uber's mobility revenue experienced a remarkable 25% increase, totaling $4.89 billion. Meanwhile, delivery sales also grew, albeit at a slightly slower pace of 8%, reaching $3.06 billion.
The total number of trips taken on the platform surged by 21%, reaching 2.8 billion, and the monthly active platform consumers rose by 14%. Furthermore, gross bookings showcased impressive growth of 19%, amounting to $39.95 billion. Wedbush has reiterated its outperform rating on Uber's stock, setting a price target of $80, and labeled the reported results as "healthy," particularly noting that gross bookings surpassed market expectations by nearly 1%. Looking ahead, Uber has provided guidance for the third quarter, projecting gross bookings to fall within the range of $40.25 billion to $41.75 billion, which translates to an anticipated annual growth of between 18% and 23%.
Khosrowshahi further communicated his optimism during a conference call with analysts, stating, "Based on what we're seeing today, the Uber consumer is in great shape. While our consumers tend to be higher income, we're not seeing any softness or trading down across any income cohort." In terms of future developments, Khosrowshahi addressed the company's strategic positioning in the realm of autonomous vehicles.
He emphasized that Uber is well-prepared to offer value to players in the sector who are eager to implement their technology on a larger scale. The company is actively engaged in late-stage discussions with additional autonomous vehicle companies to join its platform and anticipates sharing updates in the forthcoming weeks and months. With stock trading at $63.28, a change of +4.80 represents a percent increase of +8.20 today, underlining the enthusiastic market response to Uber's promising financial performance and strategic outlook..