Uber CEO balks after a reporter tells him the cost of his 2.9-mile Uber ride: ‘Oh my God. Wow.’::undefined

  • PolydoreSmith@lemmy.world
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    3 years ago

    Uber’s net profit for the twelve months ending March 31st, 2023 was $-3.36bn. That’s negative 3.36 billion dollars. They posted their first ever operating profit today. August 1st, 2023.

    So yeah, really cool company. Not at all some sort of horrifying demon of modern capitalism…

    • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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      3 years ago

      Pretty sure Uber’s sole existence is owed to cheap debt and a bubble in venture capital. Them and WeWork soaked investors for all they were worth and never gave a flying fig about profitability because there was always some one willing to float a cheap loan

      • fidodo@lemmy.world
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        3 years ago

        They got investment because they were building a monopoly first. It really just tells you how valuable monopolies are if it wasn’t obvious enough already. It’s more reason why we can’t let monopolies happen.

        • Regna@lemmy.world
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          3 years ago

          Like Amazon, which only had net losses for several years (from 1994 to 2002) in order to focus on aggressive growth and outcompeting other similar services by setting excessively low prices on books and media.

        • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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          3 years ago

          It was a sound business idea though. Just a shitty investment idea.

          The owners/founders made shitloads off it (at the expense of investors.)

            • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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              3 years ago

              oh, yeah. the gig economy and the startups that exploit is genuinely awful. Can’t say I feel bad for the duped investors, though. They invested in a genuinely shitty company. so. heh.