Uber Technologies Inc. improved its loss forecast for the year but gross bookings, food delivery and monthly active users were all below expectations for the third quarter.

The company beat estimates for quarterly revenue and loss. Adjusted loss for the third quarter widened to $585 million, compared with $485 million during the same period last year.

Adjusted revenue for the ride-hailing company increased 33% to $3.5 billion in the third quarter. Uber revised its annual loss forecast to between $2.8 billion and $2.9 billion, an improvement of $250 million.

“Our results this quarter decisively demonstrate the growing profitability of our Rides segment,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO. “Rides Adjusted EBITDA is up 52% year-over-year and now more than covers our corporate overhead. Revenue growth and take rates in our Eats business also accelerated nicely. We’re pleased to see the impact that continued category leader
=ship, greater financial discipline, and an industry-wide shift towards healthier growth are already having on our financial performance.”

During the third quarter of 2019 Uber reorganized its financial reporting into five segments. The company's five operating and reportable segments are: Rides, Eats, Freight, Other Bets, and Advanced Technologies Group (“ATG”) and Other Technology Programs.

Financial Highlights for Third Quarter 2019

• Gross Bookings grew $3.7 billion year-over-year to $16.5 billion, representing 29% year-over-year growth, or 32% on a constant currency basis.
• Revenue growth accelerated to 30% year-over-year from 14% in the second quarter of 2019.
• Adjusted Net Revenue (“ANR”) growth accelerated to 33% year-over-year, or 35% on a constant currency basis as both Rides and Eats ANR take-rates improved quarter-over-quarter to 22.8% and 10.7%, respectively.
• Net loss attributable to Uber Technologies, Inc. of $(1.2) billion, which includes $401 million in stock-based compensation expense, improved quarter-over-quarter in part due to revenue growth of $647 million.
• Rides Adjusted EBITDA of $631 million was the Rides segment’s 8th positive Adjusted EBITDA quarter in a row and covered our Corporate G&A and Platform R&D of $623 million.
• Adjusted EBITDA of $(585) million improved $71 million quarter-over-quarter.
• Unrestricted cash and cash equivalents were $12.7 billion, which was up $0.9 billion from the second quarter of 2019 primarily due to the sale of $1.2 billion of senior unsecured notes and the closing of the $1.0 billion investment in ATG.

“We expect ANR growth to accelerate again in Q4 and continue to focus on financial discipline. As such, we are improving our full year Adjusted EBITDA guidance by $250 million to a loss of $2.8-2.9 billion,” said Nelson Chai, CFO. “We are also providing additional disclosure, both to deliver more visibility into our business and to further align our internal focus on efficiency with our external reporting.”

The San Francisco-based company seeks to reassure investors it can evolve from a simple ride-hailing service to a global all-in-one transportation platform.

On a conference call with reporters following the report, Uber executives said the company would turn an adjusted profit in 2021. “We will be driving discipline across the company and only doing investments that we can afford,” said Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi.

Uber’s business strategy hinges on convincing existing ride-hailing customers to use more services, including bikes, scooters, helicopters and public transportation, as well as food and grocery delivery. Uber’s newer initiatives, including a job matching service for gig workers in Chicago and financial services for drivers, further demonstrate the company’s grand ambitions.