Uber (Uber (UBER)) shares rose Wednesday after the ride-hailing and delivery giant reported first-quarter 2026 results that showed strong growth across trips, bookings, and users, while adjusted earnings edged past Wall Street estimates.
Revenue came in at $13.20 billion, up 14% year over year but slightly below the $13.29 billion analysts were looking for. Adjusted earnings of $0.72 per share beat the $0.70 consensus. That's the headline number, but the real story is in the operational metrics.
Trips during the quarter hit 3.64 billion, up 20% from a year ago. Monthly Active Platform Consumers grew 17% to 199 million. Gross bookings climbed 25% to $53.72 billion (21% on a constant-currency basis). The company is essentially printing money from people moving and eating.
On a GAAP basis, income from operations was $1.92 billion, up 57% from a year earlier. GAAP net income attributable to Uber fell 85% to $263 million, but that was due to a $1.5 billion headwind from revaluations of equity investments — not an operational issue. Adjusted EBITDA rose 33% to $2.48 billion.
Breaking it down by segment: Mobility revenue grew 5% to $6.80 billion, Delivery revenue jumped 34% to $5.07 billion, and Freight revenue rose 6% to $1.34 billion. Mobility gross bookings increased 25% to $26.39 billion, while Delivery gross bookings rose 28% to $25.99 billion. Both segments are firing on all cylinders.
CEO Dara Khosrowshahi emphasized that Uber is expanding beyond transportation into travel and commerce. "As we highlighted at GO-GET, from innovative travel integrations to new ways to shop, we're continuing to deepen the role Uber plays in daily life," he said. Uber One membership surpassed 50 million users during the quarter, with members now accounting for half of gross bookings across Mobility and Delivery. That's a sticky ecosystem.
On the earnings call, management highlighted growing investments in autonomous vehicle partnerships and AI tools aimed at improving customer engagement and cross-platform usage. Uber now has more than 30 autonomous vehicle partners and expects to operate in up to 15 cities by the end of 2026. The future is coming, and Uber wants to be the platform that connects it all.
The company also repurchased approximately $3 billion of stock during the quarter and generated $2.29 billion in free cash flow. That's a lot of cash being returned to shareholders while still investing for growth.
Looking ahead, Uber expects second-quarter gross bookings between $56.25 billion and $57.75 billion, representing constant-currency growth of 18% to 22%. The company forecast adjusted earnings of $0.78 to $0.82 per share, compared with analyst estimates of $0.79. So the momentum is expected to continue.
Uber shares were up 6.58% at $77.75 during premarket trading on Wednesday. Investors liked what they saw.
