- Uber reports third-quarter results after market close on Monday, November 4.
- After Lyft's rosy results, Wall Street is expecting that Uber will have a similarly strong quarter as the competitive landscape cools for both ride-sharing companies
- Still, analysts caution investors that Uber's post-initial public offering lockup period expires November 6, which could lead to further stock-price volatility.
- Here's what six analysts said about Uber before earnings.
- Watch Uber trade live on Markets Insider.
Uber, the popular ride-hailing company, reports third-quarter earnings Monday after market close, just days after rival Lyft reported its own third-quarter earnings that beat analyst expectations.
After Lyft's rosy results, Wall Street is expecting that Uber will show a similarly strong quarter as the competitive landscape cools down for both ride-sharing companies.
"In the US, we believe competitive intensity is easing somewhat, evidenced by Lyft's recent proclamation of sooner than expected profitability, with less coupons and discounting as a driver," wrote Youssef Squali, an analyst at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, in a recent note.
In addition, ride fees are set to generally increase going forward, meaning that ridesharing can be a growing and profitable business, wrote Tom White from D.A. Davidson.
This should offer a boost to Uber's revenue, which analysts estimate will be $3.9 billion in the quarter, and may also lead to a smaller loss on the bottom line. Analysts are expecting a loss of $1.5 billion, much less than the $5.2 billion loss Uber reported in the second quarter.
Reporting a smaller loss would help show analysts and investors that the company is on a path to profitability, especially after Lyft's recent announcement that it would become profitable in the fourth quarter of 2021, one year sooner than Wall Street had expected.
Uber has been less specific about when it will be profitable, but has said that it plans to reach the milestone before 2022, according to Bloomberg.
Analysts will also be watching shares as Uber's post-initial public offering lockup expiration date approaches. Its lockup ends November 6, two days after its earnings release, meaning that 763 million shares could become eligible to trade when the period expires. RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Mahaney estimates as many as 1.68 billion Uber shares could become available after the lockup. This could lead to further volatility in share price.
Even though Uber has underperformed in the market since its IPO, Wall Street remains largely bullish on the company. Uber has 26 "buy" ratings, 12 "hold" ratings, and only one "sell" rating, according to Bloomberg data.
Here's what analysts are saying about Uber before it reports earnings:
