UBER JPM Global TMT 2025

Call Details

• Call Title: Uber Technologies, Inc. JPMorgan Chase & Conference
• Event Name: JPM Global TMT 2025
• Event Type: Conference
• Date: May 15, 2025 at 12:00 PM UTC
• Management Team:
  • Dara Khosrowshahi, Chief Executive Officer

INDUSTRY CONTEXT

• Uber reported $163 billion in gross bookings for the prior year, providing the scale context for unit economics across rides and delivery.
• Management reiterated mid- to high-teens gross bookings growth targets and EBITDA objectives described at 2024 Investor Day, and stated they are "on track or ahead" of those targets.
• The company characterizes its cost base as roughly 75% variable, which management says makes the model resilient in downturns because costs move with activity.
• Membership is a central affordability and frequency lever, with over 30 million members company-wide and ~60% of Delivery gross bookings claimed to come from members, which management says materially raises frequency.
• Delivery transaction growth was described at ~15% in the most recent quarter, while Delivery gross bookings growth has run ~17–18% for seven consecutive quarters, indicating improving throughput and monetization in that segment.
• Key forward-looking operational signals management emphasized are active audience growth (14% last quarter), frequency (+3% last quarter), membership penetration, and merchant-funded offers, which they cite as higher-leverage, low-cash-cost levers to drive demand elasticity and retention.
• Management flagged material cost pressure from commercial auto insurance (described as "double digits" inflation historically and consuming a "significant" share of fares), but reported that insurance inflation is easing to single digits and that they are implementing product and safety measures to lower claims and costs.
• Management disclosed no new formal GAAP guidance during the presentation and emphasized targets from Investor Day; there were no new quarter-by-quarter GAAP vs non-GAAP reconciliations provided on the call.
• Management repeatedly mixed high-level non-GAAP directional statements (e.g., EBITDA objectives) with factual operational metrics (transactions, membership penetration), so forward guidance is predominantly directional rather than newly quantified.
• Regulatory posture is a persistent variable; management flagged progress in some states (Florida, Georgia, Nevada) on insurance/regulatory reforms but identified California and New Jersey as "problematic," indicating material geographic variance in policy risk that can alter unit economics.

### Strategic Commentary

• Dara stated the long-term growth formula is "increasing audience, increasing frequency and then hopefully, price being neutral," which places product-led adoption and membership at the center of strategy.
• Management reiterated midterm Investor Day targets for mid- to high-teens gross bookings growth and EBITDA in the "mid-30s to 40%," and said they are "on track or ahead" of those targets, which signals continued focus on operating leverage.
• The company is prioritizing affordability as a strategic lever and noted that membership and merchant-funded offers are primary tools to sustain demand without raising prices.
• Expansion into less dense geographies is a deliberate strategic priority, with management reporting 20% of Mobility gross bookings now from less dense markets and faster growth in those areas than in core urban markets.
• Management is intentionally scaling adjacent growth bets—Reserve 2-wheelers/3-wheelers, Uber for Business, Hailables/taxis, Direct (delivery-as-a-service), grocery/retail—while noting these bets carry lower base margins than core Eats but are improving over time.
• Dara called autonomous vehicles (AV) a "huge TAM extender" and reiterated multi-pronged AV strategy: platform demand layer, software, operators (fleet), owners and vehicle financing, indicating willingness to invest across the stack while testing economics in early markets.
• Management emphasized advertising as a strategic high-margin growth contributor, noting >$1 billion in ad revenue growing "over 50%," which they position as a margin-accretive revenue stream tied to marketplace scale.

### Market / Industry View

• Management described Uber's categories (food, transportation, grocery) as relatively recession-resilient and argued these categories historically show less discretionary volatility in downturns compared with travel or home improvement.
• Geographic diversification is highlighted as a hedge, with Uber operating in 70 countries and over 50% of bookings outside the U.S., providing some insulation from single-market macro shocks.
• Dara emphasized the correlation between revenue and supply costs, arguing that weaker consumer spending tends to reduce driver/courier costs and vice versa, which he presented as a natural counter-cyclical mechanism in unit economics.
• Insurance inflation was called out as a major industry-wide headwind that has materially impacted Mobility pricing and margins, and management said that insurance pricing pressure is starting to moderate from "double digits" to "single digits."
• Competitive dynamics were framed positively for Uber in Delivery, where management claims market position gains in "10 out of our top 10 markets" and #1 position in "8 of our top 10 markets," implying consolidation benefits and pricing power in core metros.
• Management described grocery and retail as a materially larger category than online food delivery and stated that cross-category adoption is rising, with 18% of Eats users trying grocery/retail historically and up to 30% in some markets, which indicates TAM expansion and potential share gains.
• Dara argued that merchant behavior is shifting toward delivery channels (merchant-funded offers) as foot traffic softens, which he said supports higher merchant-funded promo penetration and reduces Uber's cash promotion load.
• Management sees the AV supplier ecosystem maturing with multiple viable providers (Waymo, Pony.ai, WeRide, etc.), and positions Uber as uniquely exposed across mobility, delivery and freight use cases, giving them early visibility into AV progress.