UBER Q2 Outlook Brightens: BoA Raises Gross Bookings Forecast to $47.1B, Maintains Buy Rating

BoA Securities analyst Justin Post maintains a Buy rating on Uber Technologies with a price target of $115, expecting solid Q2 outperformance driven by strong Mobility and Delivery trends, favorable foreign exchange tailwinds, and early signs of success in autonomous vehicle partnerships. Post raised his Q2 gross bookings forecast to $47.1 billion and raised full-year 2025 estimates to $190 billion in gross bookings and $51.1 billion in revenue. He sees Uber's valuation as attractive, trading at 17 times EV/EBITDA versus its four-year average of 22 times.

Title: Uber and Lyft Prepare for Earnings Reports Amidst Robotaxi Revolution

Uber Technologies (UBER) and Lyft (LYFT), two dominant players in the American rideshare market, are set to report their earnings this week. The anticipation is high, as both companies navigate the emerging landscape of robotaxis and autonomous vehicles.

Uber's Earnings Preview:
- Earnings Date: Wednesday, August 6th, before the market opens.
- EPS: The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EPS is $0.62, a significant increase of over 31% compared to the $0.47 reported in the same quarter last year [1].
- Revenue: Analysts are forecasting revenue of approximately $12.46 billion, indicating a year-over-year increase of over 16% from the $10.7 billion in Q2 2024.
- Gross Bookings: The company's own guidance for the quarter projects Gross Bookings in the range of $45.75 billion to $47.25 billion, suggesting a strong growth of 16-20% on a constant-currency basis.

Lyft's Earnings Preview:
- Earnings Date: After the market close on Wednesday, August 6th.
- EPS: Zacks Consensus Estimates predict EPS of $0.27, which compares favorably to the $0.03 reported in the same quarter last year.
- Revenue: The consensus revenue forecast is approximately $1.61 billion, representing a notable year-over-year increase from the $1.44 billion reported in Q2 2024.

Impact of Robotaxis:
Both Uber and Lyft are exploring the robotaxi revolution, with Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Waymo and Tesla (TSLA) already operating autonomous ride-hailing services in several cities. Uber is forging partnerships with Waymo, Baidu (BIDU), Lucid (LCID), and Nuro to deploy 20,000 autonomous vehicles by 2032. Lyft has partnered with Mobileye (MBLY) to provide autonomous ride-hailing services. The robotaxi revolution could significantly impact the companies' long-term profitability by reducing driver payouts and improving operational efficiency.

Analyst Outlook:
BoA Securities analyst Justin Post maintains a Buy rating on Uber with a price target of $115, expecting solid Q2 outperformance driven by strong Mobility and Delivery trends, favorable foreign exchange tailwinds, and early signs of success in autonomous vehicle partnerships [2]. Post raised his Q2 gross bookings forecast to $47.1 billion and full-year 2025 estimates to $190 billion in gross bookings and $51.1 billion in revenue.

Conclusion:
Investors will closely watch how each company is navigating the robotaxi revolution and its impact on their earnings. The earnings reports will provide insights into the companies' strategies and financial health as they continue to innovate and adapt to the changing landscape of the rideshare industry.

References:
[1] https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/navigating-robotaxi-revolution-uber-lyft-eps-preview
[2] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ubers-autonomy-bet-could-quietly-111500277.html