Uber Files For IPO On NYSE, Says Personal Mobility A 'Vast' Market Opportunity

Ride-hailing service Uber filed Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "UBER," following its ride-hailing rival Lyft Inc LYFT to Wall Street. 

San Francisco-based Uber didn't list a targeted share price in its S-1 filing. Recent press reports suggest the company is hoping to raise about $10 billion, and reports suggest a valuation for the company of about $100 billion.

Uber reported 2018 revenue of $11.3 billion in its filing and net income of $997 million. The IPO will be one of the biggest ever.

Uber said that it has incurred "significant" losses since the company's genesis and posted an operating loss of $3 billion in 2018. 

"We expect our operating expenses to increase significantly in the forseeable future, and we may not achieve profitability," Uber said. 

The company also noted that its business would be "adversely affected" if its drivers were considered employees rather than independent contractors. 

'Undepenetrated Market Opportunity' 

The company said the rapid growth and scale of its ride-hailing service demonstrates enormous opportunity, noting that rideshare revenue grew from $3.5 billion in 2016 to $9.2 billion in 2018, with gross bookings more than doubling over the same period.

Consumers traveled about 26 billion miles in Uber vehicles in 2018, the company said.

"We believe that personal mobility represents a vast, rapidly growing, and underpenetrated market opportunity," the company said in the S-1 form, adding that it operates in 63 countries with an aggregate population of more than 4 billion. 

Uber said it believes only 2 percent of that population is using the Uber platform now — meaning there's a big opportunity for additional use.

Uber's main competitor, Lyft went public last month and saw its shares drop by about 11 percent. 

Lyft shares were up 1.48 percent at the close Thursday, but were falling more than 1 percent in after hours trading. 

Other Info Uber's S-1

• Fiscal 2018 net income of $997 million
• Fiscal 2018 sales of $11.27 billion 

Related Links:

On Its Way: Uber Plans To Sell $10B Of Stock In May IPO

Analyst: Uber Roadshow A 'Dark Shadow' Over Lyft

Photo courtesy of Uber.