Uber Aims To Gain Speed, 'Struck Right Tone': 7 Analysts Provide Investor Day Takeaways

Zinger Key Points
  • Uber Technologies guided to 3Y higher-than-expected gross bookings and adj. EBITDA, one analyst said.
  • The company’s $7B buyback authorization announcement was “surprisingly large,” another analyst added.

Shares of Uber Technologies Inc UBER rose sharply on Wednesday, after the company announced the share repurchase of up to $7 billion.

Last week, the ride-sharing giant announced its fourth-quarter results amid an exciting earnings season. Here are some key analyst takeaways from the company’s investor day.

  • Truist Securities analyst Youssef Squali maintained a Buy rating, while lifting the price target from $77 to $90.
  • Roth Capital Partners analyst Rohit Kulkarni reiterated a Buy rating, while raising the price target from $79 to $91.
  • BMO Capital Markets analyst Brian Pitz reaffirmed an Outperform rating, while lifting the price target from $82 to $92.
  • Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan maintained a Buy rating, while raising the price target from $81 to $87.
  • Needham analyst Bernie McTernan reiterated a Buy rating and price target of $90.
  • RBC Capital Markets analyst Brad Erickson reaffirmed an Outperform rating and price target of $85.
  • William Blair analyst Ralph Schackart maintained an Outperform rating on the stock.

Check out other analyst stock ratings.

Truist Securities: The investor day commentary was “incrementally positive,” with Uber guided to three-year gross bookings and adjusted EBITDA growth rates higher than the consensus expectations, Squali said.

The company announced a stock buyback program of $7 billion, “reflecting the growing underlying FCF generation of the model,” the analyst stated. “This outlook points to an increasingly healthy marketplace across both Mobility and Delivery, with improving unit economics and ample growth in users and in engagement still ahead, with benefits accruing disproportionately to the largest player,” he added.

Roth Capital Partners: Uber's buyback authorization announcement was “surprisingly large,” Kulkarni said. “We see this as a sign of confidence in the company's ability to predict profitable growth, generate significant cash flows, and control incremental dilution."

“Uber mgmt. laid out a compelling investment case for Uber to become a “must own” Internet/Tech asset among growth investors as its marketplace network effects have hit scale benefits resulting in serial compounding,” the analyst further stated.

BMO Capital Markets: Uber’s Mobility business is “positioned for a 3-year CAGR of high-teens Bookings growth,” Pitz stated. He added, however, that penetration rates remain low, with its airport bookings of $10 billion representing less than 10% of global airport trips.”

“Uber Delivery consumers, merchants, couriers, and frequency are rising in tandem,” due to the ongoing secular shift for food delivery, while frequency “unlocks EBITDA dollars,” the analyst.

Goldman Sachs: “UBER struck the right tone/message on each issue that investors had been focused on over the past six months,” Sheridan wrote in a note.

The commentary highlighted “the core advantage of being a multi-product platform which is increasingly seeing the positive impact/synergies of its Uber One subscription across its segments."

Needham: “UBER provided a better-than-expected 3-year outlook relative to consensus on bookings and adj. EBITDA,” McTernan said.

“Frequency was a key theme and expected driver of the expected mid- to high-teens bookings growth,” the analyst wrote. “We are intrigued by UBER leveraging technology and their data to drive frequency gains in addition to product rollout over the past few years."

RBC Capital Markets: “Management laid out the various drivers underneath the top-line outputs by segment where we felt the emphasis on the dramatic underpenetration on so many types of trips, supply modalities and trip cost segmentation served as strong evidence to support the mid-to-high teens 3 year growth outlook,” Erickson wrote.

“Further, UBER's broad and expanding cross-platform capabilities continue to highlight the structural scale advantage in driving more efficient acquisition & engagement of both customers and drivers,” he added.

William Blair: Uber Technologies guided to gross bookings growth in the mid- to high teens for the next three years, with adjusted EBITDA expected to reach 30%-40% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), Schackart said.

“While the three-year targets are largely in line with the Street through 2025, there could be some gross bookings growth upside versus consensus by a few hundred basis points in 2026, in our view,” he added.

UBER Price Action: Shares of Uber Technologies had declined by 0.39% to $78.84 at the time of publication Thursday.

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Posted In: Analyst ColorLong IdeasPrice TargetReiterationTop StoriesAnalyst RatingsMoversTrading IdeasBernie McTernanBMO Capital MarketsBrad EricksonBrian PitzEric SheridanExpert IdeasGoldman SachsmobilityNeedhamRalph SchackartRBC Capital MarketsRohit KulkarniROTH Capital PartnersStories That MatterTruist SecuritiesWilliam BlairYoussef Squali
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