Uber has recently "pulled back" its investments on driver acquisition as a shortage eases, Uber Technologies CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said during a Wednesday second-quarter earnings call.
Earlier this year, Uber heavily invested in incentives to lure drivers back to its platform amid the shortage. "We had to take action very quickly because the marketplace was not in a place that we considered healthy," said Khosrowshahi. "We wanted to lean in to get wait times down, surge levels down and all of these metrics in general, as far as surge and wait time, are heading in the right direction. In a bunch of cities, they are pretty much back to normal." Uber reported 30 percent month-over-month growth in driver acquisitions in July.
Many of the acquired drivers originally left the platform for safety concerns. "The majority of drivers that have come back to the platform are what we call resurrected drivers," said Khosrowshahi. "One reason they had not driven was safety concerns. As vaccination rates rise, we are seeing the resurrected drivers come back."
Meanwhile, the drivers' return has helped to spur a slowdown in ground-hail rate increases, Khosrowshahi said. "As far as pricing trends in the second half, in July and early August we are seeing pricing ease," he said. "It's still up year on year, but the pace of the price increases looks like it's easing as we get into a more normalized [driver] supply situation, which we think is a great and is a real positive for the marketplace."
Uber's revenue for the second quarter rose 35 percent quarter over quarter and 105 percent year over year to $3.9 billion. Uber's mobility segment saw growth of 90 percent quarter over quarter and 106 percent year over year. Uber's delivery segment grew 13 percent quarter over quarter and 122 percent year over year.
Uber's gross bookings rose 114 percent year over year to $21.9 billion, with $8.6 billion for mobility and $12.9 billion for delivery.
Net income totaled $1.1 billion. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization amounted to $509 million, down $150 million quarter over quarter but up $328 million year over year. Mobility adjusted EBITDA amounted to $179 million, down $119 million from the first quarter but up $129 million year over year.
Delivery adjusted EBITDA reached $161 million, up by $39 million from the last quarter and up by $71 million year over year.
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