By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Uber (NYSE:UBER) shares were up a trifle short of 4% in Monday’s premarket as record numbers of people used its ride-hailing services last month.
Uber said its mobility segment posted its best month since March 2020, with gross bookings - running at an annualized rate of $30 billion. Average daily gross bookings were up 9% month-on-month.
Its delivery unit reached a record annualized run rate of $52 billion in gross bookings in March, growing more than 150% from the previous year. Uber's revenue is mainly commission taken as percentage of gross bookings.
Last month, Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives maintained a ‘buy’ on Uber, setting a price target of $60. That price point is 4% from the stock’s Friday close.
“As vaccination rates increase in the United States, we are observing that consumer demand for Mobility is recovering faster than driver availability, and consumer demand for Delivery continues to exceed courier availability,” Uber said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The cab aggregator said it is on track to reach quarterly adjusted EBITDA profitability in 2021.
Uber last week said it will spend $250 million to get drivers back on the road. The money will go toward bonuses for drivers, guaranteed pay and on-boarding new drivers. The plan comes as states begin to pull back some of their pandemic restrictions and roll out vaccines.
The ride-hailing service was among those hit hardest by lockdowns that governments in several countries imposed to curb the spread of th/e pandemic. As vaccine rollout happens, offices open up and more people get vaccinated, there are expectations that more people will use its services to travel and indulge themselves to beat the blues. The same phenomenon is expected to put pressure on its delivery business, as increasing numbers of its restaurant partners are allowed to open their doors again.