Uber Technologies, Inc. (UBER) Business Profile

What it does

Uber is a technology platform that connects people and businesses with providers of transportation, delivery and logistics services. Founded in 2009, it is headquartered in San Francisco and led by chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi.

Its Mobility business connects riders with independent drivers for trips. The platform also offers access to other transportation options, including taxis, rentals, carsharing, micromobility and public transit. Riders use Uber’s applications to find transportation, while drivers use them to find earning opportunities.

The Delivery business connects consumers with restaurants, grocers and other retailers, as well as couriers who deliver orders. Consumers can also arrange pickup. Uber Direct lets retailers and restaurants offer delivery under their own brands. Both Mobility and Delivery include advertising offerings.

Uber Freight connects shippers that need goods moved with carriers that transport them. Carriers can find and book shipments through the platform, while shippers can arrange capacity and track shipments. Freight also provides transportation management and logistics services to businesses ranging from smaller companies to global enterprises.

Uber One is a membership program spanning rides, delivery and grocery and retail purchases. It offers members benefits including discounts, cash back, special pricing and priority service. Uber also works with autonomous-vehicle partners to offer driverless rides through its platform.

How it makes money

Uber generates substantially all of its revenue from fees paid by drivers and merchants for using its platform. In many transactions, Uber acts as an agent arranging a service provided by another party. It reports revenue net of driver and merchant earnings and driver incentives in those arrangements.

In certain markets, Uber is responsible for the Mobility or Delivery service, and it is responsible for Freight services in most markets. In those cases, it reports revenue from consumers or shippers on a gross basis and records payments to drivers or carriers in cost of revenue. The accounting treatment therefore differs across services and markets.

Mobility includes rides and other transportation options, financial partnership products and advertising. Delivery includes restaurant orders, grocery and retail delivery, Uber Direct and advertising. Freight provides shipment booking, managed transportation and logistics services. Uber One adds a cross-platform membership offering, while advertising lets merchants and brands reach users on Uber and Uber Eats.

Revenue was $52.0 billion in 2025; it was reported on 3 November 2026 that the Q3 2026 revenue consensus was $14.7 billion.

Uber expects revenue to fluctuate with trip volume, driver supply, economic conditions, travel activity, pricing and promotions. Its marketplace technology includes pricing, matching and dispatching tools. The company typically expects higher Mobility and Delivery Gross Bookings in the fourth quarter; Mobility bookings are typically lower in the first quarter as holiday demand slows.

Customers and how it sells

Uber serves riders seeking transportation and consumers ordering meals, groceries and other goods. Its platform also serves drivers, couriers and merchants, as well as freight shippers and carriers. Freight customers range from small and medium-sized businesses to global enterprises.

Consumers access rides and delivery through Uber’s applications, including Uber Eats. Merchants can use Uber Direct to offer delivery under their own brands. Uber One connects benefits across rides and delivery; Uber said it had approximately 55 million Uber One members in Q3 2026.

Uber’s technology was available in over 70 countries as of December 31, 2025. Its principal regions include the United States and Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Freight operations are principally based in North America and Europe.

United States and Canada revenue was $26.5 billion in FY2025, while EMEA revenue was $16.4 billion. Uber reported 215 million monthly active platform consumers in Q3 2026. For the three months ended December 31, 2025, approximately 58% of first-time Delivery consumers were new to the Uber platform.

Suppliers and costs

Uber’s services depend on independent drivers and couriers, merchants, freight carriers and other platform participants. It also depends on internet, mobile and other infrastructure outside its control. Its disclosed cost structure includes payments to drivers, couriers and freight carriers where Uber is responsible for providing the service.

Cost of revenue also includes certain insurance costs, credit card processing and bank fees, data center and networking expenses, mobile service costs, chargebacks and other credit card losses. Operations and support expenses include employee compensation, customer support and driver background checks.

Sales and marketing costs include advertising, product marketing, consumer discounts, promotions, credits and refunds. Research and development spending includes engineering, design and product development personnel and maintenance of existing services. General and administrative expenses include corporate personnel, legal costs, occupancy and insurance.

In 2025, Mobility insurance expense increased by $851 million, primarily because of an increase in insurance rate per mile and miles driven. Uber said elevated fuel prices had meaningfully affected driver supply in Brazil and India during Q3 2026, and it was making targeted investments in driver acquisition, retention and engagement.

Competitive position

Uber competes in fragmented mobility, delivery and freight markets. In Mobility, it competes for riders and drivers with ridesharing companies including Bolt, Didi, Lyft and Ola. Alternatives also include personal vehicles, taxis and public transportation. Alphabet’s Waymo, Amazon’s Zoox and Tesla are developing or introducing autonomous vehicles or technologies that compete or may compete with Uber.

In Delivery, rivals include DoorDash, Instacart, Gopuff, Rappi, Delivery Hero, Just Eat Takeaway and Amazon, alongside merchants that deliver their own orders. In Freight, competitors include C.H. Robinson, Total Quality Logistics, RXO, XPO, Echo Global Logistics and DHL. Uber expects new entrants because of low barriers to entry in its industries.

Uber’s network brings together consumers and service providers across its businesses. For the three months ended December 31, 2025, consumers using both Mobility and Delivery generated over three times the Gross Bookings of single-offering consumers in countries where both were offered. Uber also has proprietary marketplace, routing and payments technologies, and local operations teams.

Our reading: The cross-platform network is a meaningful potential advantage because the same consumer can use several services, but competing providers and alternatives limit its protection. Our reading: Marketplace technology and local operating relationships support execution, though the available evidence does not establish how difficult they are for rivals to replicate.

Growth opportunities

Uber is investing in attracting more users and increasing activity among existing users. It intends to add platform offerings and expand its grocery and retail selection, affordability and customer experience. Uber One is designed to encourage use across rides and delivery, while advertising gives merchants and brands ways to reach consumers on the platform.

In 2025, revenue rose 18% year-over-year, primarily as Gross Bookings increased with Mobility and Delivery trip volumes. In Q3 2026, Delivery Gross Bookings rose 23% year-over-year. Uber said its grocery and retail business was at a $15 billion run rate and growing 40% on a year-on-year basis; it estimated the grocery and retail market at $10 trillion.

Uber is also developing its autonomous-vehicle offering through partners. It said Waymo was operating on its platform in the United States, while WeRide and Baidu were providing driverless service in international markets. Uber expects approximately 700 fully driverless vehicles on its platform by year-end 2026 and more than 2,000 by the end of 2027.

The company has also pursued acquisitions to extend its geographic reach and add specialized capabilities. It expects to focus more on organic growth and autonomous vehicles while integrating announced deals.

Structural risks

• Driver classification: Uber’s business would be adversely affected if drivers were classified as employees, workers or quasi-employees. Uber expects significant additional compensation expenses under such a change, and driver supply could decline if drivers opt out because of reduced flexibility.
• Competition and supply: Uber faces competition in each offering and needs to attract and retain drivers, couriers, consumers, merchants, shippers and carriers. Mobility growth fell below Uber’s expectations in Q3 2026 because driver supply did not keep pace with demand in several international markets.
• Regulation: Mobility products face differing and sometimes conflicting rules across jurisdictions, including licensing, insurance and screening requirements. Some jurisdictions restrict or ban certain ridesharing products; developing autonomous-vehicle rules could delay or limit deployment.
• Safety and third parties: Uber cannot control or predict the actions of platform users and third parties and may be unable to provide a safe environment for drivers and consumers. Its operations also depend on internet and mobile infrastructure outside its control.
• International exposure: Operating abroad exposes Uber to regulatory differences, currency fluctuations, political instability and the resources needed to adapt its products and operations to local markets.

Bottom line

Our reading

Our reading: Uber is a multi-sided marketplace whose rides, delivery and freight services depend on keeping customers and service providers engaged. Its cross-platform usage and technology can reinforce that network, but competition and the need to maintain driver supply constrain it. [item1] [call_prepared]

Our reading: Growth opportunities in delivery and autonomous vehicles sit alongside exposure to driver-classification rules, local regulation and the costs of supporting the marketplace. [item7] [item1a] [call_qa]