Uber's corporate culture has been under fire. But the company is focusing on a different message for investors and employees: business is soaring.
The ride-hailing service said on Friday that its gross bookings - or the amount of money it garnered from providing rides, excluding costs - rose to $US20 billion ($26 billion) in 2016, double the amount in 2015. Net revenue, or the amount of money Uber makes from rides after its drivers are paid, totalled $US6.5 billion.
More BusinessDay Videos
- Video duration
- 04:01
How Uber's controversial CEO built an ...
How Uber's controversial CEO built an empire
The story of Travis Kalanick and how he went from UCLA dropout to CEO of the world's most valuable technology startup, Uber.
Up Next
Insurance company was 'filming my children'
- Video duration
- 02:21
- Video duration
- 02:21
Insurance company was 'filming my ...
Insurance company was 'filming my children'
Former police officer Adam Watts details the lengths his insurance company went to deny him his workers compensation after being medically discharged from the force.
Up Next
There's no housing bubble ... in some places
- Video duration
- 01:46
- Video duration
- 01:46
There's no housing bubble ... in some ...
There's no housing bubble ... in some places
No, Australia isn't suffering a housing bubble. Sydney and to a lesser extent Melbourne might be, but the whole nation is starting to pay the price for it.
Up Next
What if inflation rises and wages don't?
- Video duration
- 01:58
- Video duration
- 01:58
What if inflation rises and wages don't?
What if inflation rises and wages don't?
Australia has more economic challenges than just Sydney and Melbourne housing prices, for example wages growth is stubbornly low and so is inflation. Michael Pascoe comments.
Up Next
Internet's 'undisputed fitness queen' is... an Aussie
- Video duration
- 00:44
- Video duration
- 00:44
Internet's 'undisputed fitness queen' ...
Internet's 'undisputed fitness queen' is... an Aussie
In it's inaugural list of industry influencers, Forbes names Adelaideâs Kayla Itsines as the worldâs most influential fitness identity.
Up Next
United Airlines shares nosedive
- Video duration
- 01:22
- Video duration
- 01:22
United Airlines shares nosedive
United Airlines shares nosedive
Following the forceful removal of a passenger from a United plane, shares in the company have fallen and the CEO has called the incident âtruly horrificâ.
Up Next
The month of budget rabbits
- Video duration
- 02:10
- Video duration
- 02:10
The month of budget rabbits
The month of budget rabbits
With a month left for the final push and shove and lobbying that goes into formulating a budget Scott Morrison has to pull several rabbits out of his hat. Michael Pascoe comments.
Up Next
Phil Mickelson's $1.3m for insider trading
- Video duration
- 01:06
- Video duration
- 01:06
Phil Mickelson's $1.3m for insider trading
Phil Mickelson's $1.3m for insider trading
After claims he earned money in an insider trading scheme, professional golfer Phil Mickelson agrees to forfeit approximately $1.3 million.
How Uber's controversial CEO built an empire
The story of Travis Kalanick and how he went from UCLA dropout to CEO of the world's most valuable technology startup, Uber.
Even as Uber continues to grow, spending remains brisk, and the company is not making money.
Last year, its adjusted net loss totalled $US2.8 billion, excluding the cost of its Chinese subsidiary, Uber China. Uber, which is privately held, spent billions of dollars developing its operations in China before selling them to Chinese rival Didi Chuxing last year.
The release of the numbers, which were reported earlier by Bloomberg and confirmed by Uber, is the first time Uber has allowed a public peek into its financial data.
Some information about its financial performance has leaked in the past, and the company discloses numbers quarterly to employees and some investors. But Uber made the figures public on Friday as it grappled with questions about its workplace and negative consumer sentiment.
In February, a former employee published a blog post detailing what she said was a history of sexual harassment at Uber, setting off a firestorm about its corporate culture. Travis Kalanick, Uber's chief executive, is under scrutiny for setting the tone.
Uber did not disclose its numbers for this year's first quarter, but it told Bloomberg they were in line with those at the end of 2016. Uber had roughly 128 million monthly users in the first quarter of 2017, according to estimates from Apptopia, an app analytics company.
Uber also said it had spent more than $US8 billion since it was founded in 2009, a reflection of the cost of subsidies and driver recruitment efforts it had undertaken to expand.
The company's cash reserves are substantial.
Uber, which has regularly raised money from venture capital firms and increasingly from large institutional investors like Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, said it still holds $US7 billion in cash, with a $US2.3 billion credit facility it has not tapped. The company, which is based in San Francisco, is valued at nearly $US70 billion.
New York Times