Uber Technologies UBER has been benefiting from the fact that its ride-sharing and delivery platforms are gaining popularity. Upbeat gross bookings in both segments have been driving growth. UBER’s diversification-related efforts are also commendable.

Let us delve deeper to unearth the factors working in favor of this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company.

UBER’s Northward Earnings Estimates: In the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for current and next-year earnings has been revised upward by 76.7% and 11%, respectively. Such favorable estimate revisions indicate brokers’ confidence in the stock.

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Given the wealth of information at brokers’ disposal, it is in the best interest of investors to be guided by their expert advice and the direction of their estimate revisions. This is because it serves as a key indicator in determining the price of a stock.

Impressive Price Performance of UBER: Shares of UBER have gained 4.8% over the past six months compared with its industry’s growth of 1.3%.

Six-Month Price Comparison

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Other Tailwinds of UBER: With economic activities returning to normal levels in the post-pandemic scenario, people are traveling to work and other places as before. UBER’s Mobility business has been seeing buoyant demand. With customer traffic picking up, gross bookings from the unit are impressive.

Uber’s Delivery business is also performing well owing to the upbeat demand scenario. Total trips have been increasing as well. The company’s endeavors to expand into international markets are commendable and provide it with the benefits of geographical diversification. Prudent investments enable Uber to extend its services and solidify its comprehensive offerings. Continued cost discipline has also been driving the company’s results.

Bullish Industry Rank: The industry, to which UBER belongs, currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 31 (of 250 groups). Such a solid rank places the industry in the top 12% of the Zacks industries. Studies have shown that 50% of a stock price movement is directly tied to the performance of the industry group that it hails from.

In fact, an ordinary stock in a strong group is likely to outperform a robust stock in a weak industry. Therefore, taking the industry’s performance into consideration becomes imperative.

Other Stocks to Consider

Investors interested in the same industry may also consider stocks like Crexendo CXDO and Lyft LYFT, both carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present.  You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Crexendo provides cloud communication platforms and services, as well as video collaboration and managed IT services.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 earnings has remained stable in the past 60 days and is currently pegged at 24 cents per share. CXDO beat on earnings in each of the trailing four quarters, the average beat being 21.7%.

Lyft has been gaining from the improving ride-sharing market.  As a reflection of this, gross bookings increased 16% year over year in the September quarter to $4.1 billion. This uptick was driven by the record active riders of 24.4 million in the quarter. Active riders increased 9% year over year.

The total number of rides in the quarter reached a record 217 million, indicating a year-over-year increase of 16%. These exceptional numbers highlight that the innovations introduced by LYFT this year to attract drivers and riders are bearing fruit. Lyft's recent collaborations highlight its ambitions in the lucrative and emerging autonomous vehicle market.
 

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