Uber Freight continues to struggle to get into positive EBITDA, and its quarterly revenue was the lowest full-quarter figure since it absorbed Transplace in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for Uber Freight was negative $12 million. That actually is the strongest performance on that measurement since the fourth quarter of 2022, when Uber Freight posted negative EBITDA of $8 million. Its only positive EBITDA quarter was in the third quarter of 2022, at $1 million.
But it was revenue that came in at a new low for Uber Freight following its acquisition of Transplace at the end of 2022. In that quarter, revenue for Uber Freight was $1.082 billion, but that only reflected a combined business from Nov. 12 onward.
Second-quarter 2024 revenue was $1.273 billion. That is just under the $1.279 billion recorded a year ago in the second quarter, which was followed by three quarters during which revenue topped $1.28 billion. It is now below that figure.
And it is 30.5% less than Uber Freight’s best top-line quarter, when it posted revenues of $1.832 billion in the second quarter of 2022.
“Revenue was flat [year-on-year], driven by an increase in loads, offset by a decrease in revenue per load as a result of the challenging freight market cycle,” Uber said in its earnings statement, which otherwise highlighted an earnings report that sent the company’s stock price higher.
A spokeswoman for Uber Freight said of the quarterly numbers, “The financials this year indicate business stability quarter over quarter.”
Whereas Uber Freight previously would have been described strictly as a digital brokerage, the acquisition of Transplace means it is both that and a transportation management system. In an interview held in conjunction with the release of the company’s first-quarter earnings, CEO Lior Ron said Uber Freight was the “largest transportation management and TMS provider in the industry, with $18 billion of freight under management.”
Uber Freight was mentioned only once in passing in the parent company’s earnings call with analysts.
In the Uber news release about its earnings, the company touted three developments at Uber Freight.
One was what Uber Freight said was “the success and rapid adoption of Uber Freight Exchange.”
When Uber Freight Exchange was introduced last fall, Ron called it the company’s first SaaS product.
At the time, Uber Freight described Uber Freight Exchange as “a reimagined procurement solution.” “The standard procurement process of using RFPs and signing annual contracts for rates is often cumbersome, time consuming and fragmented,” Uber Freight said in supporting material for the rollout. The product is to be used by shippers and carriers.
The second-quarter earnings report said that platform is being expanded.
The other Uber Freight development highlighted in the earnings statement was the launch of Premier Autonomy. It debuted in late June as a joint product with Aurora Innovation, designed to enable better access for carriers to autonomous vehicles.
The third point was a nonspecific reference to Uber Freight expanding the company’s presence in Mexico, “which will help facilitate our cross-border efforts.”
More articles by John Kingston
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