Slow Research Academy › Uber › Unit 1 “How the Business Works”, lesson 3
Gross margin barely moved in three years; profit improved because costs were spread thinner
This unit asks: How much does Uber keep from each order, and what makes profit grow?
Gross margin stayed between 39.4% and 39.8% in 2023 to 2025, and revenue per $100 of Gross Bookings did not rise. Operating income rose from 0.80% to 2.88% of Gross Bookings because the four expense lines and depreciation were spread over larger bookings.
Search Uber's annual reports and earnings materials and you won't find the term gross margin.
The company talks about the revenue margin and segment profit, but never reports a gross margin.
To see it, you have to calculate it from revenue and cost of revenue yourself.
Calculated from revenue and cost of revenue, gross margin stayed between 39.4% and 39.8% in 2023 to 2025
To compute gross margin, divide cost of revenue (money spent directly on each order) by revenue, then subtract the result from 1. Uber does not report gross margin directly; the table below is estimated from the revenue and cost of revenue it discloses.
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