Uber jumps 4% after reporting record bookings for March driven by delivery business
- Uber jumped as much as 4% on Monday after it revealed record gross-billings last month.
- Uber's March business surge was driven by record Uber Eats billings and the strongest ride-hailing bookings since March 2020.
- "As vaccination rates increase in the United States, we are observing that consumer demand for Mobility is recovering faster than driver availability," Uber said.
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Uber surged as much as 4% on Monday after it revealed in a business update that it experienced record gross-billings in March.
The business surge was driven by record gross billings in its delivery business, which crossed a $52 billion annualized gross bookings run-rate last month, representing year-over-year growth of more than 150%.
Uber's ride-hailing business was also strong in March, hitting its best levels since March 2020, which was the start of COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns spreading across the country. Uber said its ride-hailing business crossed the $30 billion annualized gross bookings run-rate, with average daily gross bookings up 9% month-over-month.
Uber sees the strong demand continuing, as more and more Americans are vaccinated and the economy fully reopens. According to Bloomberg's vaccine tracker, nearly a third of the US population has already received at least one COVID-19 vaccination dose.
"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 8-K filed with the SEC.
To shore up the shortage in drivers, Uber said last week it is offering $250 million in temporary driver incentives to get more Uber drivers back on the road.
With a business set to soar as the economy reopens, Uber continues to expect to reach quarterly adjusted EBITDA profitability in 2021, according to the SEC filing.