Uber Technologies, Inc. — FY2021 Form 10-K
Reporting period: Fiscal year ended December 31, 2021; filed February 24, 2022. This is an annual report, not a standalone fourth-quarter filing. Uber operates Mobility, Delivery and Freight platform businesses in approximately 72 countries.
Financial and operating performance
| Metric | FY2021 | FY2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $17.455 billion | $11.139 billion | +57% |
| Operating loss | $3.834 billion | $4.863 billion | Improved $1.029 billion |
| Net loss attributable to Uber | $496 million | $6.768 billion | Improved $6.272 billion |
| Adjusted EBITDA loss | $774 million | $2.528 billion | Improved $1.754 billion |
| Cash used in operating activities | $445 million | $2.745 billion | Cash use decreased |
| Cash and cash equivalents | $4.295 billion | $5.647 billion | Down $1.352 billion |
| Outstanding debt, principal | $9.388 billion | $7.914 billion | Up $1.474 billion |
FY2021 operating loss was 22% of revenue, versus 44% in FY2020; net loss was 3% of revenue, versus 61%. These improvements do not mean Uber was profitable: it continued to report a substantial operating loss.
- Revenue by segment: Mobility $6.953 billion (+14%); Delivery $8.362 billion (+114%); Freight $2.132 billion (+111%). Growth reflects Mobility recovery, Delivery expansion and demand, and Transplace’s acquisition and Freight network growth.
- Segment Adjusted EBITDA: Mobility profit of $1.596 billion, compared with $1.169 billion; Delivery loss of $348 million, compared with $873 million; Freight loss of $130 million, compared with $227 million.
- Platform activity: Fourth-quarter MAPCs were 118 million, up 27% year over year. Annual Trips were 6.368 billion, up 27%; Gross Bookings were $90.415 billion, up 56% (53% in constant currency). Fourth-quarter Gross Bookings were $11.340 billion in Mobility, $13.444 billion in Delivery and $1.082 billion in Freight.
- Liquidity: Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash totaled $7.805 billion, including $4.295 billion of cash and cash equivalents. The company reported no borrowings under its $2.3 billion revolving credit facility and compliance with debt covenants; $247 million of letters of credit reduced facility availability.
- Other balance-sheet items: Insurance reserves were $3.988 billion; investments were $11.806 billion and equity-method investments $800 million. Current liabilities of $9.024 billion exceeded current assets of $8.819 billion.
Changes versus FY2020 and unusual items
- Revenue growth was led by Delivery, whose Gross Bookings benefited from higher order volumes, larger baskets and continued geographic expansion; Mobility Gross Bookings grew as trip volumes recovered. Freight results included Transplace, acquired in November 2021.
- Cost of revenue increased 81% to $9.351 billion, faster than revenue, principally due to higher Courier payments and incentives, insurance expense and Freight carrier payments. Sales and marketing rose 34% to $4.789 billion, including increased advertising and consumer promotions.
- Net loss narrowed substantially, but FY2021 results included a $1.644 billion gain on the sale of the Advanced Technologies Group (ATG) business to Aurora and significant investment fair-value gains and losses. Other income, net was $3.292 billion, versus expense of $1.625 billion in FY2020; it included investment and divestiture effects, including a $3.0 billion unrealized loss on Didi, partly offset by gains on other investments. These items are not a proxy for recurring operating performance.
- Operating cash use declined to $445 million, in part reflecting a $1.0 billion cash inflow related to the legacy auto-insurance transfer. Investing activities used $1.201 billion, including acquisitions; financing activities provided $1.780 billion, including proceeds from debt issuance.
- Uber acquired Drizly and Transplace, and bought the remaining Cornershop interest in an all-stock transaction. The acquisitions increased goodwill and intangible assets; Drizly and Transplace’s preliminary purchase-price allocations remained subject to revision.
Outlook, risks and contingencies
- The filing provides no specific numerical revenue, profit or cash-flow guidance. Management expected operating expenses to rise in absolute dollars as activity recovered and the company continued investing, while seeking greater efficiency and improved profitability. Uber cautioned that it may not achieve or sustain profitability.
- COVID-19 continued to affect travel demand and driver/courier availability. Management said Mobility demand was recovering faster than driver supply and Delivery demand continued to exceed Courier availability; it had increased driver incentives to improve near-term availability. The pandemic’s further effects remained uncertain.
- Driver classification is a major contingent risk. Uber reported more than 150,000 U.S. drivers had filed or expressed intent to file arbitration demands asserting misclassification claims; it had paid approximately $372 million in settlements through year-end. UK drivers were treated as workers with specified pay and benefit protections. California Proposition 22 faced ongoing legal challenge, and proceedings in other jurisdictions remained unresolved.
- Accrued liabilities for legal, regulatory and non-income-tax matters totaled $2.2 billion, including $1.3 billion related to non-income-tax matters. The company said adverse outcomes beyond its estimates could materially affect results, liquidity or cash flows; some potential losses could not be estimated.
- Other key risks include intense competition and incentive spending; regulatory restrictions, licensing and pricing rules; safety incidents and insurance-reserve uncertainty; privacy and cybersecurity; tax assessments; and exposure to volatile minority investments. Uber had $9.388 billion of debt principal and stated debt obligations and covenants may constrain flexibility.
- Management and the auditor concluded internal control over financial reporting was effective as of year-end, but Drizly and Transplace were excluded from the assessment and audit because they were acquired during 2021. The auditor issued an unqualified opinion on the financial statements and internal controls.
Important facts for investors to verify
- How much of the net-loss improvement reflects ongoing operating progress versus the ATG sale and volatile investment revaluations; compare GAAP results with Adjusted EBITDA and its exclusions.
- Whether Mobility can restore driver supply without sustained incentives, and whether Delivery can improve profitability as pandemic-related demand and promotional spending change.
- Developments in driver-classification cases, Proposition 22 appeals, UK historical claims and related tax or benefit liabilities.
- Cash generation after the one-time insurance-transfer inflow, acquisition spending and debt service; also verify unrestricted cash and actual availability under the revolving facility.
- Future fair-value changes, sale restrictions and potential tax effects for Didi, Grab, Aurora, Zomato and other investments, as well as integration and purchase-accounting outcomes for Transplace and Drizly.