Key Highlights
- First quarter adjusted earnings per share reached 72 cents, surpassing Wall Street’s 69-cent projection
- Total revenue hit $13.2 billion, reflecting 14.4% annual growth, marginally missing the $13.3 billion consensus
- Platform gross bookings climbed 21% to reach $53.7 billion, exceeding the $52.8 billion analyst target
- The Delivery segment saw revenue spike 34% annually to $5.06 billion
- UBER shares climbed 7.8% following the results; shares had declined 11% for the year prior to the announcement
Shares of Uber surged 7.8% during Wednesday’s trading session following the release of first quarter 2026 financial results that exceeded Wall Street’s bottom-line projections and demonstrated robust booking momentum across its platform.
The company delivered adjusted earnings of 72 cents per share, marking an improvement from 50 cents in the prior-year period and beating the Street’s 69-cent forecast. Total revenue reached $13.2 billion, representing 14.4% year-over-year expansion, though it narrowly missed the anticipated $13.3 billion figure.
Heading into the earnings release, UBER shares had retreated 11% since the beginning of the year, making the positive surprise a welcome development for shareholders.
Gross bookings—representing the aggregate dollar value of all transportation and food delivery transactions processed through the platform—expanded 21% to $53.7 billion on a constant currency basis. This figure topped analyst estimates of $52.8 billion. The Mobility segment saw bookings increase 20%, while Delivery bookings accelerated 23%.
Adjusted EBITDA reached $2.48 billion for the three-month period, up 33% from the same quarter last year and exceeding the company’s own guidance range of $2.37 billion to $2.47 billion.
Performance by Business Unit
The Mobility division, accounting for 51.5% of overall revenue, generated $6.79 billion in sales, up 5% year over year. The Delivery business expanded 34% to produce $5.06 billion in revenue. Freight operations contributed $1.33 billion, reflecting 6% growth.
Free cash flow generation totaled $2.28 billion during the quarter. The company concluded Q1 with $5.55 billion in cash reserves, down from $7.10 billion at the prior quarter’s end.
William Blair analyst Ralph Schackart maintained an Outperform rating on the shares, highlighting four consecutive quarters of accelerating expansion across mobility, delivery, and overall bookings metrics.
Self-Driving Vehicle Strategy
Uber’s approach to autonomous vehicles differs from competitors—rather than developing proprietary self-driving technology, the company is establishing itself as the marketplace that links AV manufacturers with consumers seeking rides and deliveries.
During the first quarter, the platform welcomed Rivian Automotive and Zoox as new autonomous vehicle collaborators. Robo-taxi trips facilitated through the platform multiplied tenfold compared to the previous year.
CEO Dara Khosrowshahi attributed the company’s success in attracting AV partnerships to a fundamental advantage: demand density. “We have shown that the utilization of these cars — which are very, very expensive — on our platform, is higher,” he explained during the quarterly conference call.
The platform currently operates robo-taxi services across eight metropolitan areas and intends to extend availability to 15 markets before 2026 concludes.
Looking ahead to the second quarter of 2026, Uber projected gross bookings between $56.25 billion and $57.75 billion, suggesting 18-22% constant currency growth. Adjusted earnings per share are anticipated to land between 78 and 82 cents. Adjusted EBITDA guidance was set at $2.70 billion to $2.80 billion.
Analyst consensus had called for Q2 adjusted EPS of 78 cents and gross bookings of $56.17 billion—both figures falling within Uber’s forecasted ranges.
Lyft, Uber’s primary domestic competitor, advanced 1% on Wednesday. Lyft is scheduled to unveil its own first quarter 2026 financial performance on May 7.
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