Uber Turnaround: From CEO Change to $10B Free Cash Flow

The Uber turnaround is the shift from a June 2017 CEO resignation to a company that reported $58.0 billion in Gross Bookings for the second quarter of 2026 and, for the first time, more than $10 billion in trailing twelve-month free cash flow, according to Uber's August 5, 2026 results. Uber's board appointed Dara Khosrowshahi CEO on August 29, 2017.

How did the Uber turnaround begin?

The Uber turnaround began on August 29, 2017, when Uber's board voted unanimously to appoint Dara Khosrowshahi, then CEO of Expedia, as chief executive. Uber announced the decision in a short email to employees that it also published in its newsroom. Co-founder Travis Kalanick had resigned as CEO in June 2017, as reported by The Next Web.

The announcement was brief and personal. It named the new CEO's background, including his years running Expedia, gave the date he would meet staff (August 30), and stated the board's goal of improving company culture. EPR's earlier coverage of Uber's Greyball scandal and litigation PR and of Uber's decade of legal conflict covers the period that led to the change.

Nine years later, Uber describes its mission as creating opportunity through movement and says it has completed more than 79 billion trips since it started in 2010. The rest of this article uses Uber's own filings to show what the company looks like now.

What do Uber's 2026 results show?

Uber's 2026 results show growth above 20 percent in Gross Bookings alongside rising profit, based on three filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Gross Bookings is the total value of rides, deliveries and other services booked on Uber's platform, including taxes, tolls and fees but not driver tips.

Uber's chief financial officer, Balaji Krishnamurthy, said in the first quarter release that Gross Bookings growth exceeded 21 percent for the third consecutive quarter. In the second quarter release, he said trailing twelve-month free cash flow exceeded $10 billion for the first time in Uber's history.

The second quarter release also reports 208 million Monthly Active Platform Consumers, up 16 percent from 180 million a year earlier. Uber defines that figure as the number of unique consumers who completed a ride or received a delivery in a given month, averaged across the quarter, with each person counted once even if they use both services.

Which parts of Uber are growing fastest?

Delivery is Uber's fastest-growing large segment, with Gross Bookings up 26 percent to $27.5 billion in the second quarter of 2026, according to Uber's segment table. Mobility, which covers rides, is still larger at $29.0 billion and grew 22 percent.

Segment operating income tells a similar story. Mobility earned $2,215 million, up 28 percent, and Delivery earned $1,055 million, up 38 percent. Freight posted a small loss of $24 million, an improvement from a $26 million loss a year earlier. Corporate costs and platform research and development rose 18 percent to $1,103 million.

Delivery has now almost caught up with Mobility on bookings. The two segments were separated by about $2.0 billion in the second quarter of 2025 and by about $1.5 billion in the second quarter of 2026, based on EPR's arithmetic on Uber's segment table.

Why did revenue grow 12 percent when Gross Bookings grew 24 percent?

Uber's revenue grew 12 percent to $14.2 billion in the second quarter of 2026 while Gross Bookings grew 24 percent, and Uber said business model changes reduced total revenue growth by 8 percentage points. Revenue is the portion of Gross Bookings that Uber records as its own income, after amounts paid to drivers and merchants in certain business models.

The gap is visible in the Mobility segment, where revenue grew 1 percent to $7,363 million against 22 percent growth in bookings. Delivery revenue grew 28 percent to $5,245 million, slightly ahead of its 26 percent bookings growth.

These shares are EPR's arithmetic, dividing the revenue figures in Uber's release by the Gross Bookings figures. They show that the lower ratio comes from Mobility, which fits Uber's own statement that business model changes affected revenue growth. The release does not describe the changes in detail, so this article does not speculate about them.

For communicators, the lesson is about choosing the headline metric. Uber leads with Gross Bookings and profit measures, and it explains the revenue difference in the text. Readers who see only the revenue growth rate would reach a different conclusion about the business, which is why the explanation sits next to the number.

Is Uber's profit growing faster than its bookings?

Uber's earnings grew faster than its Gross Bookings in both 2026 quarters reported so far. In the first quarter, Gross Bookings grew 21 percent in constant currency while non-GAAP earnings per share rose 44 percent to $0.72. In the second quarter, Gross Bookings grew 22 percent in constant currency while non-GAAP earnings per share rose 35 percent to $0.81.

Krishnamurthy described the first quarter as earnings "scaling at more than twice our topline." The second quarter gap was narrower: 35 percent earnings growth against 22 percent bookings growth is about 1.6 times, EPR's arithmetic on Uber's published figures. A narrower gap is arithmetic, not a verdict, because Uber said in the first quarter release that it is also investing in autonomous vehicles and AI.

Uber's non-GAAP operating income was 3.7 percent of Gross Bookings, up from 3.3 percent a year earlier, and its adjusted EBITDA margin was 4.9 percent of Gross Bookings, up from 4.5 percent. Net income attributable to Uber was $2.4 billion, but that figure includes a $1.6 billion pre-tax net benefit from revaluing equity investments, which Uber states in the release. Non-GAAP measures exclude items like that, which is why the two profit figures differ.

Khosrowshahi added in the second quarter release that Uber had added more first-time users over the past twelve months than in any period of the past five years. New users matter to the profit story because they are the base that future membership and delivery sales draw from.

How much cash does Uber generate, and where does it go?

Uber generated $2.8 billion of free cash flow in the second quarter of 2026, up 13 percent, and $5.1 billion in the first half. Free cash flow is net cash from operating activities, $2.9 billion in the quarter, minus capital expenditures, which were only $70 million for property and equipment.

The cash flow statement shows several uses. Uber repurchased $518 million of its common stock in the second quarter and $3.5 billion in the first half. Its diluted share count fell to about 2.05 billion from about 2.13 billion a year earlier, a decline of roughly 3.5 percent by EPR's arithmetic. Krishnamurthy said Uber is continuing to reduce its share count.

Uber also reports $5.4 billion in unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments at the end of the quarter. Its quarterly report states that in June 2026 it entered a term loan facility of up to $3.0 billion, of which $2.0 billion had been borrowed by June 30, with the proceeds designated for general corporate purposes.

Why do Uber One members matter to the story?

Uber One members matter because they drive half of Uber's Gross Bookings across Mobility and Delivery, according to CEO Dara Khosrowshahi in the first quarter 2026 release. The membership program reached 50 million members in that quarter.

A membership base changes how a company communicates. A subscriber who uses both rides and delivery is a customer Uber can reach with one message about the whole platform, which is the cross-platform strategy Khosrowshahi described in the second quarter release. A single account can respond to a delivery offer and a ride offer from the same inbox.

What is Uber building next?

Uber says it is building toward autonomous vehicles and chauffeur services. In the second quarter release, Khosrowshahi said Uber will "build the world's largest platform for autonomous vehicles." Separately, Uber's quarterly report to the SEC states that on March 28, 2026 it agreed to acquire Berlin-based chauffeur service Blacklane for approximately $550 million in cash. For the earlier chapter of Uber's autonomous vehicle effort, see EPR's account of Uber's self-driving arc.

That acquisition is not complete. Uber's filing says it is subject to regulatory approvals, including antitrust review, and is expected to close in 2026.

What does Uber expect for the third quarter?

Uber expects third-quarter 2026 Gross Bookings of $58.25 billion to $60.25 billion, which it describes as growth of 18 to 22 percent in constant currency. The company also assumes a headwind of about one percentage point from currency on reported growth.

Publishing a range is a communications decision with consequences. A range tells investors and reporters where the company expects to land, and it creates a clear test when results arrive. Uber's release also carries standard forward-looking statement language, which lists competition, driver and courier relationships and regulation among the factors that could change results.

What can communicators learn from the Uber turnaround?

Communicators can learn five moves from the Uber turnaround, drawn from the public record above. EPR's reading of that record is summarized in the table.

For more on how Uber positions itself today, see EPR's pages on Uber public relations, Uber's marketing strategy, the Uber and Airbnb marketplace playbook and the Uber Women Preferences feature.

Where does the Uber turnaround story go from here?

The through-line is measurable progress. Uber's recovery from a leadership change to a $10 billion cash flow milestone is told in filings that anyone can read, which keeps the story tied to facts. The next test is whether the autonomous vehicle and Blacklane plans show up in the third quarter results, and whether Gross Bookings land inside the range Uber published.