Uber's upcoming IPO

[FrodosNewPet]

I am not a financial adviser. Everybody's financial goals and risk tolerance is unique.

That said... be careful about jumping on the Uber IPO. Uber may end up turning the corner, monopolizing the personal transportation market, and start making profits by the boxcar load.

But keep the following in mind

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https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1543151/000119312519103850/d647752ds1.htm#toc647752_2

RISK FACTORS

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the following risks, together with all of the other information contained in this prospectus, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus, before making a decision to invest in our common stock. Any of the following risks could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operating results, or prospects and could cause the trading price of our common stock to decline, which would cause you to lose all or part of your investment. Our business, financial condition, operating results, or prospects could also be harmed by risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently do not believe are material.

Risks Related to Our Business

The personal mobility, meal delivery, and logistics industries are highly competitive, with well-established and low-cost alternatives that have been available for decades, low barriers to entry, low switching costs, and well-capitalized competitors in nearly every major geographic region. If we are unable to compete effectively in these industries, our business and financial prospects would be adversely impacted.

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To remain competitive in certain markets, we have in the past lowered, and may continue to lower, fares or service fees, and we have in the past offered, and may continue to offer, significant Driver incentives and consumer discounts and promotions, which may adversely affect our financial performance.

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We have incurred significant losses since inception, including in the United States and other major markets. We expect our operating expenses to increase significantly in the foreseeable future, and we may not achieve profitability.

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Our business would be adversely affected if Drivers were classified as employees instead of independent contractors.

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If we are unable to attract or maintain a critical mass of Drivers, consumers, restaurants, shippers, and carriers, whether as a result of competition or other factors, our platform will become less appealing to platform users, and our financial results would be adversely impacted.

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Our workplace culture and forward-leaning approach created operational, compliance, and cultural challenges, and a failure to address these challenges would adversely impact our business, financial condition, operating results, and prospects.

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Maintaining and enhancing our brand and reputation is critical to our business prospects. We have previously received significant media coverage and negative publicity, particularly in 2017, regarding our brand and reputation, and failure to rehabilitate our brand and reputation will cause our business to suffer.

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Our workforce and operations have grown substantially since our inception and we expect that they will continue to do so. If we are unable to effectively manage that growth, our financial performance and future prospects will be adversely affected.

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If platform users engage in, or are subject to, criminal, violent, inappropriate, or dangerous activity that results in major safety incidents, our ability to attract and retain Drivers, consumers, restaurants, shippers, and carriers may be harmed, which could have an adverse impact on our reputation, business, financial condition, and operating results.

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We are making substantial investments in new offerings and technologies, and expect to increase such investments in the future. These new ventures are inherently risky, and we may never realize any expected benefits from them.

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Our business is substantially dependent on operations outside the United States, including those in markets in which we have limited experience, and if we are unable to manage the risks presented by our business model internationally, our financial results and future prospects will be adversely impacted.

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We have limited influence over our minority-owned affiliates, which subjects us to substantial risks, including potential loss of value.

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We may experience significant fluctuations in our operating results. If we are unable to achieve or sustain profitability, our prospects would be adversely affected and investors may lose some or all of the value of their investment.

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If our growth slows more significantly than we currently expect, we may not be able to achieve profitability, which would adversely affect our financial results and future prospects.

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We generate a significant percentage of our Gross Bookings from trips in large metropolitan areas and trips to and from airports. If our operations in large metropolitan areas or ability to provide trips to and from airports are negatively affected, our financial results and future prospects would be adversely impacted.

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If we fail to develop and successfully commercialize autonomous vehicle technologies or fail to develop such technologies before our competitors, or if such technologies fail to perform as expected, are inferior to those of our competitors, or are perceived as less safe than those of our competitors or non-autonomous vehicles, our financial performance and prospects would be adversely impacted.

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Our business depends on retaining and attracting high-quality personnel, and continued attrition, future attrition, or unsuccessful succession planning could adversely affect our business.

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The impact of economic conditions, including the resulting effect on discretionary consumer spending, may harm our business and operating results.

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Increases in fuel, food, labor, energy, and other costs could adversely affect our operating results.

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We will require additional capital to support the growth of our business, and this capital might not be available on reasonable terms or at all.

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If we experience security or data privacy breaches or other unauthorized or improper access to, use of, or destruction of our proprietary or confidential data, employee data, or platform user data, we may face loss of revenue, harm to our brand, business disruption, and significant liabilities.

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If we are unable to introduce new or upgraded products, offerings, or features that Drivers, consumers, restaurants, shippers, and carriers recognize as valuable, we may fail to retain and attract such users to our platform and our operating results would be adversely affected.

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If we are unable to manage supply chain risks related to New Mobility products within our Personal Mobility offering such as dockless e-bikes and e-scooters and advanced technologies such as autonomous vehicles, our operations may be disrupted.

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And so on, and so on...

A lot of the risk factors are pretty generic. But there are a LOT of them that are pretty specific to Uber, based on a number of negative events, as well as a recognition of just how easy it is to invade their turf.

[RandySF]

1. Aren't they still losing money?

[FrodosNewPet]

2. Nearly $2 Billion in 2018

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/uber-releases-its-long-awaited-ipo-filing/ar-BBVQXpA

Uber reported 2018 revenue of $11.27 billion. The company posted net income of $997 million in 2018, but an adjusted EBITDA loss of $1.85 billion.

[greytdemocrat]

3. And

Lyft's IPO was far from stellar.

[DarthDem]

4. Any Justice And . . .

Uber will be gone within five years, maybe ten tops.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

5. Really?

I keep on reading that the personal car is dead, dead, dead. Very soon no one will own a car because of public transportation and ride sharing, like Uber or Lyft.

Yeah, right. Just like real physical books are dead, no one reads them any more, and in the very near future all cars will be electric.

A reality check here. First of all books. The sales of physical books are stronger than ever. Yes, eBooks are out there and won't go away, but "real" books aren't going to disappear any time soon.

Electric cars. Fabulous concept. Not so great in the execution. Electric cars, even if we overlook their insane cost, aren't practical for anyone who wants to take a cross country trip. So I am headed to Kansas, where I go once or twice a year (and that's by no means my only long drive) and I get 200 miles into the trip. Hooray! Wait, now it's time to recharge the battery. Not a problem, right? How long will it take me to recharge the battery? Six hours? What the hell? How long is it going to take me to make that 800 mile trip at this rate? Electric cars will be practical when the recharge takes about as long as putting gas in a gas engine car.

Uber and Lyft. I've taken Uber a couple of times when I want to be able to drink and not worry about driving home. Wonderful service. Meanwhile, I live in a city with reasonable public transportation which is not all that convenient for my needs. Such as going to the grocery store. The library. The local Target store. Yes, I could take Uber or Lyft, I'm sure, but it would probably cost a fuck of a lot more than my personal car. Especially since I use my personal car nearly every day. Oh, and it's a 2017 Honda Fit, which I purchased last September (Yes! Finally replaced the 2004 Honda Civic I'd been driving since 2007) and is incredibly economical on gas. And fun to drive, at least by my standards. Yours might be different.

Some years back someone here on DU said that if you're a homeowner, of course you need a pick-up truck for all the things a homeowner needs and does. I pointed out that honestly, not all homeowners need one. I, for one, have NEVER had a need for a pick up truck. And I'm completely certain that poster really did need one because they did things requiring a pick up truck. And more to the point, a ride sharing service just won't cut it. Okay, I suppose that if what you need is some large amount of topsoil or a cord of wood, you can have those things delivered. But just as I prefer to drive my car to the library or the mall, that pick up owner is going to prefer to drive their pick up to the wood or topsoil source.

So while I sincerely hope Uber or Lyft or their equivalents are here to stay, I also do not want to see the demise of personal cars.