How did Uber lose $5 billion in 3 months?

Uber just posted the biggest loss in its history. It has turned into “the magical money burning machine,” says one analyst – and to turn things around, it needs to expand into industries where customers are more loyal

Uber is the largest ride-hailing app in the world – valued at upwards of $80 billion (£66bn) – but it has never turned a profit.

Now, the company has posted its biggest-ever quarterly loss, a staggering $5.24bn (£4.3bn) in the three months to the end of June. This news, coupled with the company’s slowest-ever revenue growth in the same quarter, have caused its shares to slide 10 per cent.

“To say that earnings were disappointing would be an understatement,” says Alyssa Altman, transportation lead at digital consultancy Publicis Sapient. “Uber has turned into the magical money burning machine.”

So what has happened? How did Uber lose more than $5bn in such a short space of time?

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Uber just posted the biggest loss in its history. It has turned into “the magical money burning machine,” says one analyst – and to turn things around, it needs to expand into industries where customers are more loyal