Uber shares skid as quarterly loss soars

SAN FRANCISCO: Uber shares tumbled Thursday after the leading ride-share company reported its loss eclipsed Wall Street expectations in the recently ended quarter.

The San Francisco company said revenue grew 14 percent to $3.2 billion but it lost $5.2 billion as compared to losing $848 million in the same period last year.

Stock related compensation expenses took a huge bite out of its revenue, according to Uber, which operates ride hailing in global markets and has several related transportation services.

Uber shares were down more than seven percent in after market trades that followed release of the earnings figures.

"While we will continue to invest aggressively in growth, we also want it to be healthy growth, and this quarter we made good progress in that direction," said chief financial officer Nelson Chai.

The Uber Eats restaurant meal delivery service grew more than 140 percent compared to the same quarter last year, according to Chai.

Meanwhile, revenue from an Uber Freight service that matches truckers with shippers saw revenue up tenfold.

The earnings report came just weeks after Uber confirmed it is cutting 400 jobs from its marketing team of more than 1,200 workers to reduce costs and improve efficiency.

Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi and marketing team boss Jill Hazelbaker announced the restructuring internally, along with an aim of making the company´s brand message more consistent, according to the company.

Khosrowshahi in June tightened his grip on the wheel at the ride-hailing firm in the wake of a bumpy stock market debut.

After debuting in May at $45 for the initial public offering -- translating to a market value of $82 billion -- Uber shares went into reverse and has struggled to get back to the offering value.

The company has moved into electric bikes and scooters, as well as meal deliveries and has long-term projects on autonomous vehicles and flying taxis.

Uber rival Lyft reported higher losses Wednesday for the quarter but maintained it is seeing "positive momentum" that will help the company cut losses over the rest of 2019.