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ReadyExamination5239 t1_j9ai7ii wrote

Uber has never made a profit. Nothing you can demand from them by protesting. It is like nonprofit organization at this point.

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mklbike t1_j9aym80 wrote

Not making a profit and extracting value are two different things. Plenty of salaries and shares paid out. Lots of value extracted form drivers and their cars.

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k1lk1 t1_j9b1ykt wrote

> Lots of value extracted form drivers and their cars.

...who all chose voluntarily to drive 🙄

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IloveSeaFoood t1_j9b5l3x wrote

What does this comment even mean

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AnacharsisIV t1_j9c5570 wrote

Every Uber driver is a business owner, with their car as an asset. If they feel they are losing money because of that asset's depreciation they can always stop driving it for work.

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IloveSeaFoood t1_j9celkn wrote

Right, and I’m sure you also agree that if someone is unhappy making minimum wage, they should just get another job

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AnacharsisIV t1_j9chzbh wrote

Literally yes. If you're an adult and you don't have a skill that you can sell for more than 7 bucks an hour, that's literally a skill issue and that's on you.

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TheGreatDoheeny t1_j9dnmb9 wrote

Surely you understand though that some people, through no fault of their own, aren't in a position to be making those changes? Should they be left out to dry?

/u/parkerpyne

I'm aware of all that and don't disagree, did you respond to the wrong person? My comment was general and had nothing to do with uber or this specific situation. This is what I was responding to:

> Literally yes. If you're an adult and you don't have a skill that you can sell for more than 7 bucks an hour, that's literally a skill issue and that's on you.

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parkerpyne t1_j9dzcw9 wrote

It doesn't change anything about Uber's flawed business model. They've been subsidizing both sides of the coin so far: subsidized ride fairs to ensure there's demand and somewhat inflated compensation for their drivers to ensure there's supply. This cannot scale and Uber knows this.

They are now tightening the screw on both ends, trying to raise fares as well as pushing down driver's compensations. Since Uber has a not insignificant corporate overhead it means rides will be more expensive than those of yellow cabs since those have much a lower overhead. This will instantly reduce their pie of the market to very little. Uber is a dying business and no driver should stake their fate on its survival.

>Surely you understand though that some people, through no fault of their own, aren't in a position to be making those changes? Should they be left out to dry?

That's not Uber's problem to solve even though they so far were allowed to thanks to ill-informed venture capitals. Since VC has finally dried up, Uber will go out of business and that will force the drivers to look for something else.

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seafoodgodddd t1_j9ewp28 wrote

Everyone always has an option to change, most people just can’t find the way or the drive to do it.

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AnacharsisIV t1_j9dofq7 wrote

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyse a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly.

Specialization is for insects.

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damnatio_memoriae t1_j9ed2e3 wrote

i... you know what? i'm on board with this. bring on the generation of actually-capable humans. enough of this unwashed masses bullshit!

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bottom t1_j9b8cek wrote

you cant ask for a fair wage unless a company has a profit?

​

are you an accountant or a lawyer ?

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Neoliberalism2024 t1_j9bhm8h wrote

Uber made a profit in Q4 2021, and has had positive cash flow for a while.

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KosherSloth t1_j9e3qr3 wrote

Was that the quarter they sold their self driving division?

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nycdataviz t1_j9bo013 wrote

“While Uber has seen tremendous growth over the past decade, the company has yet to make a profit.”

“Throughout its history, on an annual basis, Uber has never made a profit.” As of 2023

One wonders why they continue to struggle to make a profit, despite their operational costs being close to nothing, relative to their drivers, who face ongoing vehicle maintenance and rising fuel costs. Could it be, possibly, that their business model relies on exploitation, monopolization, and manipulation?

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Neoliberalism2024 t1_j9bouei wrote

You can literally look at their finance statements, they made a profit the quarter I referenced.

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nycdataviz t1_j9br3rh wrote

On one specific quarter? Do you even know why they were profitable that ONE specific quarter? If you knew as much as you’re acting you do you wouldn’t have cited this as proof they are profitable 😂

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Neoliberalism2024 t1_j9bsotr wrote

Do you know why they aren’t profitable? It’s because they are investing heavily in Capex, and could be very profitable the second they weren’t chasing growth.

Look at how late in the game Amazon chose to become profitable.

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mikere t1_j9f8y23 wrote

capex isn't expensed on the income statement for SEC reporting purposes, and even if they were, Uber only spent $300 million in capex last year vs a loss from operations of $1.8 billion

The only reason they realized a profit in Q4 2021 is because they sold off multiple businesses. They lost $550 million in Q4 2021 from operations

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Neoliberalism2024 t1_j9f9cxn wrote

What are you talking about? Capex absolutely is deducted from net profits. Are you mixing up net margin or EBITDA from net income?

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mikere t1_j9f9kvq wrote

no capex is not expensed on the income statement for SEC reporting purposes. It might be deducted from the income statement for IRS purposes if they elect bonus depreciation or section 179

The journal entries for capex goes:

Debit PP&E

Credit Cash (or accounts payable)

Nothing gets put on the income statement

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Neoliberalism2024 t1_j9f9qa8 wrote

Capex is deducted through depreciation of the Capex each year.

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mikere t1_j9fasaq wrote

Quote of the year for /r/accounting

up there with grocery stores taking tax deductions from those charity donations at the register

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Neoliberalism2024 t1_j9fl3p1 wrote

If you’re an accountant, yikes…

https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/112814/does-capital-expenditure-capex-immediately-affect-income-statements.asp

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mikere t1_j9fo0sq wrote

> Money spent on CAPEX purchases is not immediately reported on an income statement

literally in the second paragraph

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Neoliberalism2024 t1_j9fts0w wrote

Cool now keep reading where they explain how Capex flows through to depreciation and impacts the income statement, like I said three posts ago.

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mikere t1_j9fvcog wrote

Uber’s capex of 300 million last year results in a whopping $30-40m of annual depreciation assuming a 7-10 year average lifespan and straight line method

Is there any quarter in recent history in which Uber had positive operating income excluding depreciation? I think that would answer the question on whether capex/depreciation is the driver in keeping Uber’s net income negative

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oledirtycrustard t1_j9asss5 wrote

exactly... they are free to pony up for the medallion, but the golden era of subsidized ride sharing is over for both drivers and riders

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