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Bloomberg
Uber Technologies Inc Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi vowed to get his company to profitability while pursuing growth from emergent arenas such as India, addressing investors’ concerns about the ride-sharing company’s mounting losses and global regulatory challenges.
Uber, which lost about $5.2 billion in the second quarter alone, is having a tough time convincing the market of its growth potential, or that it can turn a profit anytime soon. Its stock has plummeted 27% since a disappointing initial public offering in May. Khosrowshahi, who this month unveiled a final round of job cuts, said the core rides business would achieve profitability even as newer lines such as Eats gained traction.
Khosrowshahi was brought in to clean up the ride-sharing company in the summer of 2017, after a series of scandals brought down flamboyant co-founder Travis Kalanick. It had already become one of the world’s most valuable startups by aggressively pushing into new markets, bringing its model to places where few rules existed to deal with the emergent phenomenon of ride-hailing.
Now, Uber is advancing at a more even clip after exiting markets such as China, expanding existing business lines while exploring new markets.
The company will soon roll out Uber Works, a listing service for temp workers of all stripes.
“If I rated myself based on accounting of the last quarter, I wouldn’t be doing so well. But I live in the real world,†Khosrowshahi said, seated in a conference room sporting a bright-red Uber-monogrammed Indian silk waistcoat.