Stock Market Today, Aug. 5: Uber Falls 5% on Weak Guidance Despite Strong Bookings Growth

Today’s Change

(-5.29%) $-3.81

Current Price

$68.18

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$147BMarket cap calculated using publicly traded shares outstanding only. Does not include unlisted, private, or dual-class non-traded shares. Implied market cap may vary.

Day’s Range

$66.73 – $69.42

52wk Range

$65.41 – $101.99

Volume

50.1M

Avg Vol

20.1M

Gross Margin

34.17%

Uber Technologies (UBER -5.29%), a global ride-hailing and delivery platform, closed at $68.18, down 5.29%. Shares fell after second-quarter results showed bookings and profit topping estimates, but third-quarter guidance missed expectations. Investors are watching earnings and bookings guidance next. Trading volume reached 46.2M shares, coming in about 125% above its three-month average of 20.5M shares. Uber Technologies IPO’d in 2019 and has grown 64% since going public.

How the markets moved today

The S&P 500 (^GSPC -0.17%) fell 0.19% to 7,722, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC -0.83%) declined 0.83% to 26,363. Among ride-hailing, delivery, and urban mobility platform services, Lyft (LYFT -1.49%) closed at $16.48, down 1.49%, while DoorDash (DASH +2.42%) ended at $207.27, up 2.42%, as delivery peers tracked earnings-day sentiment.

What this means for investors

While Uber’s Q2 results were “mixed” compared to analysts’ expectations, it seemed like a solid quarter otherwise:

• monthly active platform customers (MAPCs) rose 16%
• trips jumped 18%
• sales and bookings increased 11% and 22%, respectively
• adjusted EPS spiked 35%
• offering guidance for Q3 bookings and adjusted EPS to grow by 20% and 31.5% at the midpoint

Uber also announced that autonomous mobility capabilities were live in seven cities and would be launching in eight more by year’s end in California, the U.K., Germany, Spain, and Japan.

Trading at 15 times FCF and 20 times forward earnings, Uber remains one of my favorite stocks to buy right now. Still, investors should beware that the company is seemingly hurtling toward a head-on (figurative, hopefully) collision with Waymo, Alphabet’s AV mobility operation, though I think it is far too early to declare anyone a winner in the nascent AV industry. Uber’s 208 million MAPCs, its massive platform, and its reach across more than 100 countries position it well to remain a leader in the highly valuable mobility and delivery niches.