Heading into Uber's (NYSE:UBER) fourth-quarter earnings report, investors were already bracing for an Omicron-related downturn in its Mobility segment.  And although Covid impacted the ride-hailing giant's business, the company delivered stellar results on the heels of a recovering economy and returning demand for its services.

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Uber's gross bookings rose 51% year-over-year to $25.9 billion, including Mobility gross bookings and Delivery gross bookings of $11.3 billion and $13.4 billion, respectively.

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Adjusted EBITDA projections of between $100 million and $130 million equate to a sequential growth of 33% at the midpoint. More notably, after years of unprofitability, the Delivery segment generated positive adjusted EBITDA for the first time.  

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The company, founded in 2009 and went public in 2019, has been under increasing pressure from investors to show it has a path to sustainable future profits.  

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Last year, the company posted a loss of $774 million. Uber, however, said it is expecting adjusted EBITDA to be around $5 billion in 2024. According to Chief Financial Officer Nelson Chai, the company expects to be cash-flow positive by the end of this year, outlining new bookings and earnings targets for investors Thursday.  

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It would mark the first time its underlying business generates more cash than it spends if Uber meets that goal.

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Quarterly revenue jumped 83% year-over-year to $5.78 billion, surpassing Street estimates of $5.34 billion. Similarly, for the full-year fiscal 2021, Uber's revenue advanced 57% to $17.45 billion.

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TURNING TO WALL STREET

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Analyst James Jee from Mizuho Securities has an optimistic view of Uber.  

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He recently said that "On the upcoming Analyst Day, we believe that management would highlight long-term profitability given its strong position in Mobility and disciplined investments in Delivery." He added, "We expect the company could exit markets where it does not have category-leading positions for Grocery delivery and invest back in core markets to optimize its path to positive margins.”

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On Thursday, shares in Uber fell 6%.

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To invest in Uber's stock visit MEXEM.

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