Slow Research Academy › Uber › Unit 5 “Growth and Limits”, lesson 3
Spreading is slowing: the quarterly gain in margin is about 0.1 percentage points
This unit asks: Where can Gross Bookings still grow, and will margin gains slow?
Segment profit as a share of Gross Bookings has risen every quarter for ten quarters, but over the last six quarters it has gained only about 0.10 percentage points a quarter on average, and the ratio of profit growth to Gross Bookings growth has fallen from over 4 to about 1.6.
After each quarterly report, turn to the segment note, add up the segment profit of Mobility, Delivery and Freight, and divide by the three segments' combined Gross Bookings. That gives a ratio.
For full-year 2024 the ratio was 4.79%; for 2025 it was 5.30%.
Per $100 of Gross Bookings, segment profit rose by about $0.5 in one year.
Segment profit as a share of Gross Bookings has risen every quarter
Add up the three segments' segment profit and divide by the three segments' combined Gross Bookings, and you get the most direct reading of spreading (fixed costs divided over larger Gross Bookings, Unit 1, Lesson 3).
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