Uber's Fourth-Quarter Profit Guide Missed Expectations as Revenue Growth Slowed to Its Weakest Since 2021

Uber guided fourth-quarter adjusted earnings to $0.95 to $0.99 a share, below the $1.06 analysts expected, even as third-quarter bookings rose 20%.

Uber Technologies runs the world's largest ride-hailing network, plus food delivery and freight. Its shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange as UBER. It reported results for the three months ended September 30, 2026.

The profit guide came in light

For the fourth quarter, Uber announced adjusted earnings guidance of $0.95 to $0.99 a share. Analysts had expected $1.06, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters. The shortfall is the story of this release. It lands even after a solid third quarter.

Uber also announced gross bookings guidance of $63.25 billion to $65.25 billion for the fourth quarter. Gross bookings are the total value of rides and deliveries booked. That is growth of 18% to 22% on a constant-currency basis. LSEG put expectations at $64.42 billion, inside the range but above its midpoint.

The announced guide implies adjusted EBITDA of $3.13 billion to $3.23 billion. LSEG had expected $3.19 billion, inside that range. Uber assumed about one percentage point of currency headwind, and a larger Middle East drag.

Investors have to weigh two lines at once. Demand, measured by bookings and trips, still grew 20%. The guide says supplying that demand costs more than expected.

Revenue growth slowed to its weakest since 2021

Third-quarter revenue rose 10% to $14.77 billion. Reuters called that the slowest growth since the first quarter of 2021. The Journal sequenced it: 14% in the first quarter, then 12% in the second.

Revenue still beat the LSEG expectation of $14.69 billion, per Reuters. But bookings grew far faster. Gross bookings rose 20% to $59.82 billion. The gap has a stated cause, not a demand cause.

Uber said business model changes reduced total revenue growth by eight percentage points. The Journal tied those changes to the U.K. market. Currency was not the drag. Bookings and revenue matched their reported growth on a constant-currency basis.

Trips and audience kept climbing

Trips rose 16% to 4.06 billion in the quarter. Monthly active platform consumers, people who used Uber that month, rose 14% to 215 million. Trips per consumer rose 2%. It was the fifth straight quarter of bookings growth at 20% or more.

Adjusted profit and cash rose

Adjusted EBITDA rose 31% to $2.96 billion. Its margin reached 5.0% of gross bookings, up from 4.5% a year earlier. Non-GAAP operating income rose 38% to $2.30 billion. Non-GAAP earnings were $0.88 a share, up 35%. Non-GAAP net income rose 29% to $1.80 billion.

Finance chief Balaji Krishnamurthy pointed to the margin line in the release. Non-GAAP operating income reached a record 3.9% of gross bookings, he said. Operating cash flow was $2.64 billion. Free cash flow was $2.54 billion.

Uber ended the quarter with $10.1 billion in unrestricted cash and short-term investments. That cushion funds both the driver spending and the autonomy push.

The GAAP drop is a comparison, not a collapse

GAAP net income was $512 million, or $0.25 a share. A year earlier it was $6.63 billion, or $3.11 a share. The 92% drop says more about last year than this one.

The year-earlier quarter included a $4.9 billion tax valuation release benefit. It also included a $1.5 billion revaluation benefit. This quarter carried the opposite item: a $476 million pre-tax revaluation loss.

GAAP income from operations rose 30% to $1.45 billion. That line sits above the revaluation swing. It is the cleaner read on the operating business this quarter.

The segments split three ways

Mobility gross bookings rose 18% to $29.51 billion. But Mobility revenue fell 2% to $7.52 billion. Segment operating income still rose 27% to $2.36 billion.

Delivery gross bookings rose 22% to $28.54 billion, nearly Mobility's total. Delivery revenue rose 23% to $5.49 billion. Segment operating income rose 30% to $1.06 billion.

Freight gross bookings rose 35% to $1.77 billion. Freight revenue rose 34% to $1.76 billion. The segment still lost $33 million on an operating basis.

Driver supply is the constraint

"Elevated fuel prices and tighter driver availability weighed on supply growth in several international markets," Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi said in prepared remarks, per Reuters. The Journal cited competition for drivers in India and Brazil.

The Middle East conflict cut Mobility bookings growth by 75 basis points in the quarter, per Reuters. Uber assumes a 100 basis-point hit in the fourth quarter. That larger assumed drag sits inside the announced guide.

Uber is spending more to recruit, keep and reactivate drivers. Mobility trends improved in October, the company said. The spending protects supply, and pressures the margin just rewarded.

"Our focus on autonomous is now on commercial execution," Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi said in the release. Uber expects about 700 fully driverless vehicles on its platform by year-end, and over 2,000 in 2027.

Uber also agreed to buy catering marketplace ezCater, per Reuters. Apart from autonomy, it expects minimal to no further deals through at least 2027.

Shares rose in premarket trading

UBER shares closed on November 3 at $66.60, down 0.16%. In premarket trading on November 4, they rose to $67.35, up 1.13% as of 7:30 a.m. Eastern, per Nasdaq. Premarket trading is thin, so the open may differ. The print is a premarket print, not a close.

What remains unknown

What remains unknown starts with driver supply. Uber has not said how much the recruitment and retention spending will cost. Nor how long fuel and labor pressure lasts in its international markets.

The Middle East assumption is also untested. Uber guides for a 100 basis-point drag next quarter. Whether the conflict's effect stays near that level is outside its control.

The revenue question stays open too. Business model changes explain this quarter's bookings-revenue gap. Uber has not said how long that drag runs.

What to watch next

What to watch next starts with the earnings call. Watch the November 4 call, at 8:00 a.m. Eastern, for driver-spending detail. Watch whether management sizes the recruitment push it is funding.

Watch fourth-quarter bookings against the announced guide. Watch Mobility revenue after October's improvement. Watch whether driver supply, not demand, remains the binding constraint on growth.

Watch the autonomy count against the announced path. About 700 driverless vehicles are expected by year-end, and over 2,000 in 2027. Watch the cash session against the premarket print.