Marti Technologies' Q2 2025: Contradictions Emerge on Monetization Strategy, Driver Supply, and Expansion Plans

The above is the analysis of the conflicting points in this earnings call

Date of Call: September 22, 2025

Financials Results

• Revenue: $14.3M for H1 2025, up 70% YOY (vs $8.4M in H1 2024)
• Gross Margin: Gross profit margin improved 49% YOY; absolute margin not disclosed

Guidance:

• 2025 revenue expected to be ~$34M (vs $18.7M in 2024), nearly doubling.
• Adjusted EBITDA expected to improve by ~$2.3M in 2025.
• No monetization in 6 new ride-hailing cities during 2025; focus on adoption.
• Targets by YE25: ~3.3M unique ride-hailing riders and ~450k registered drivers.
• Ride-hailing team to scale to ~260 by YE25.
• Significant upside to increase take rate from current high single digits over time.
• April 2025 $23M convertible note funds growth for ~12 months; no near-term raise expected.

Business Commentary:

* Ride-Hailing Service Growth: - Marti Technologies reported 2.28 million unique ride-hailing riders in Q1 2025, growing 107% year-over-year from 1.1 million in Q1 2024. - The growth was driven by the strategic decision to monetize ride-hailing services and the introduction of a dynamic pricing model.

• Revenue and Financial Performance:
• The company generated $14.3 million in revenue for the first half of 2025, a 70% increase compared to $8.4 million in the same period in 2024.

• This increase was primarily due to the monetization of ride-hailing services and cost efficiencies in the 2-wheeled electric vehicle business.

• Market Expansion and Driver Acquisition:

• Marti expanded its operations to 10 cities, representing approximately half of Türkiye's population and nearly 2/3 of its GDP.

• The company continues to grow its ride-hailing driver base, with 327,000 registered drivers in Q1 2025, a 92% increase from 171,000 in Q1 2024.

• AI Integration and User Experience:

• The company introduced an AI engineering team to optimize matching, pricing, and rider-driver experiences, enhancing overall efficiency.
• The redesign of the app and improved user experience led to a 2% increase in conversion rate and a 4.9 average App Store rating.

Sentiment Analysis:

• H1 revenue grew 70% YOY to $14.3M; cost of revenues down 25% YOY; gross profit margin improved 49% YOY. Adjusted EBITDA improved from -$11.3M (H1’24) to -$6.0M (H1’25). Management reiterated 2025 revenue guidance of ~$34M (vs $18.7M in 2024) and expects adjusted EBITDA to improve by ~$2.3M. Ride-hailing riders up 107% YOY to 2.3M; registered drivers up 92% YOY to 327k; expansion to 10 cities with strong demand.

Q&A:

• Question from Theodore O'Neill (Litchfield Hills Research, LLC): On 2-wheeled electric vehicles deployed, is there a target level, and are you taking it to zero?
  Response: They will keep all three modalities; EV fleet size will be reassessed ahead of summer 2026 based on decommissioning and customer needs, not reduced to zero.

• Question from Theodore O'Neill (Litchfield Hills Research, LLC): Comment on driver supply and how AI is helping the business.
  Response: No onboarding constraints; driver sign-ups are accelerating with network effects; AI team optimizes pricing, take rates, and funnels to match global best practices.

• Question from John Halpert (Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Research Division): Where are take rates now vs global benchmarks, and how will they evolve over 12–18 months? Also, what are you seeing in demand in new markets?
  Response: Take rates remain in the high single digits with significant room to rise; demand is strong in new cities with rising share outside Istanbul.

• Question from Rohit Kulkarni (ROTH Capital Partners, LLC, Research Division): How are you balancing growth vs profitability over the next 6–18 months, including monetization cadence?
  Response: They prioritize rapid growth while the market is uncontested, keeping take rates low but adjustable; could raise take rates quickly if needed to boost profitability.

• Question from Rohit Kulkarni (ROTH Capital Partners, LLC, Research Division): Mix of revenue/profitability across cities?
  Response: The initial 4 cities are contribution-margin positive even at high single-digit take rates; focus is on scaling those and launching new cities.

• Question from Rohit Kulkarni (ROTH Capital Partners, LLC, Research Division): Regulatory backdrop for ride-sharing in Türkiye?
  Response: They are actively engaging to shape and enable regulation, leveraging prior success introducing and regulating new mobility modalities.

• Question from Rohit Kulkarni (ROTH Capital Partners, LLC, Research Division): Rationale for crypto treasury strategy amid currency volatility?
  Response: They diversified a portion of non-operating 'rainy day' cash from USD into Bitcoin as a store of value; majority remains in USD; not a new business line.

• Question from Yanfang Jiang (The Benchmark Company, LLC, Research Division): Current rider/driver incentives and unit economics in six new cities vs first four?
  Response: Incentives are minimal; driver CAC pays back within a month; new cities have lower fares but also lower costs, targeting similar margins to the original cities.

• Question from Yanfang Jiang (The Benchmark Company, LLC, Research Division): Strategy and timing for autonomous driving/robotaxi in Türkiye?
  Response: Adoption will lag the US due to economics, but Marti is exploring partnerships to pioneer autonomous services in Türkiye when feasible.

• Question from Siddharth Havaldar (Crescent Enterprises): Capital needs vs increasing take rates to reach cash flow positive; any planned raises?
  Response: The $23M April convertible note fully funds ~12 months at current take rates; no near-term raise planned; trade-offs will be reassessed in 6–12 months.