By Preetika Rana

Uber Technologies' stock fell Wednesday after its quarterly results revealed weaker-than-expected growth and highlighted its plans to prepare for the arrival of robotaxis.

The adoption of Waymo self-driving cars in cities like San Francisco and Tesla's robotaxi plans have investors pondering if the technology poses a threat or opportunity for Uber.

The company aims to become the platform for robotaxis. It is building new app features, investing in physical infrastructure and training support staff, and has inked deals with autonomous-vehicle companies, including one with Waymo in Austin.

"Naturally, investors are debating whether AVs pose a risk or present a massive opportunity for Uber," Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi said. He said Uber is spending an enormous amount of energy to be ready for that future.

The company's share price fell around 5% in pre-market trading.

Here's how Uber did in the December quarter:

-- Operating income rose from a year earlier to $770 million-but significantly undershot the $1.19 billion that analysts had expected.

-- Net income jumped to $6.88 billion, thanks largely to a tax valuation release.

-- Gross bookings, or the value of transactions on Uber's app, rose by a stronger-than-expected 18%. That helped lift Uber's revenue-its cut of those bookings-by 20%.

For the current quarter:

-- Uber expects gross bookings of $42.0 billion to $43.5 billion. Consensus forecasts were near the top of this range.

-- It forecasts adjusted earnings, which strip out some costs, including taxes and interest, of $1.79 billion to $1.89 billion. That is broadly in line with analysts' forecasts.

This year, it expects U.S. ride prices to increase marginally, as it passes higher insurance costs onto passengers.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 05, 2025 07:38 ET (12:38 GMT)

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