CNN
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Uber on Wednesday reported strong revenue growth in the final three months of last year, defying a slowdown that has pummeled much of the rest of the tech sector.
The ride-hailing giant reported revenue of $8.6 billion for the quarter, beating Wall Street’s estimates and marking a 49% increase from the prior year.
Its growth was fueled by a surge in ridership. The company said trips during the quarter hit 2.1 billion, an all-time quarterly high and representing approximately 23 million trips per day on average.
In a statement with the results, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi called it the company’s “strongest quarter ever.”
Uber shares rose as much as 8% in pre-market trading Wednesday following the results.
In recent months, many of the biggest names in the tech industry have experienced a slowdown in sales as broader economic uncertainty pushes advertisers and some consumers to rethink spending. The tech industry, which boomed during the pandemic as people were forced to spend more time online, has also had to confront a shift away from that behavior as people return to their offline lives.
That shift appears to be benefiting Uber, however.
“Uber is continuing to see healthy growth as the driver supply appears to be stable while the company continues to benefit from travel returning, shifting to the office, and other post-pandemic trends which continue to hold in major cities,” Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said in a note Wednesday after Uber’s results were released.
Uber expects the growth to continue in the current quarter. The company forecast that its gross bookings would grow between 20% to 24% from the prior year. In a statement with the results, CFO Nelson Chai said the company is set up “for yet another record year.”
