Uber Technologies
has officially reported enough positive earnings to qualify the ride-sharing company to join the
S&P 500.
Among the criteria for inclusion in the S&P 500 index, the sum of the company’s most recent four consecutive quarters’ earnings should be positive, as should the most recent quarter, according to S&P Global.
Uber,
with a market capitalization of $98 billion, is currently the largest U.S. company not in the S&P 500. That far exceeds the market value of some companies that are currently in the index, such as
Generac Holdings
(GNRC), with a market cap of $6.38 billion, and
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings
(NCLH), valued at $5.58 billion.
However, on Tuesday, Uber reported third-quarter earnings of 10 cents a share, beating the consensus estimate of 7 cents a share. That puts the sum of the last four quarters’ earnings into positive territory and would qualify Uber to be added into the S&P 500.
S&P Global declined to comment on potential index constituent changes, but instead pointed Barron’s to the S&P Global methodology document that details eligibility criteria for index inclusion.
Shares of Uber (ticker: UBER) rose 1.8% Tuesday after the company’s latest earnings report. The stock has jumped 98% this year.
Shares of competitor
Lyft
(LYFT) were rising 0.4%. Lyft is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings after Wednesday’s market close.
For the third quarter, Uber reported revenue of $9.29 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting the ride-share company to post revenue of $9.54 billion. In the same period last year, Uber posted revenue of $8.34 billion.
Uber’s third-quarter gross bookings were $35.3 billion in the period, above Wall Street estimates of $34.6 billion and an increase of 21% from last year’s $29.1 billion.
The company’s ride-hailing, or mobility segment, saw revenue jump 33% from the prior year to $5.1 billion as trip volumes increased. The delivery segment, or Uber Eats, revenue gained 6% year over year. Freight revenue, however, declined 27% from the prior year to $1.3 billion.
“Assuming the macroeconomy does not deteriorate significantly, we believe the 2024 setup continues to remain favorable for Uber given the product enhancements made and the company’s ability to maintain costs and expand margins,” William Blair analyst Ralph Schackart, who rates the stock as Outperform without a price target, wrote Tuesday.
For the fourth quarter, Uber expects to report bookings between $36.5 billion to $37.5 billion, which is in line with analysts’ estimates of $36.52 billion.The company also expects to post fourth-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization between $1.18 billion and $1.24 billion, above Wall Street expectations of $1.15 billion.
“Consumer activity remains robust heading into our busiest period of the year,” Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi said on the earnings call.
Write to Angela Palumbo at [email protected]
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