Gig Workers

Eats, Delivery pushing Uber toward profitability

Uber’s (NYSE: UBER) earnings results, announced on Wednesday, offer a mixed bag of news. On the Rides side, business continues to struggle to escape from the COVID-19 pandemic, but the remainder of the business is showing signs of strength. That led to CEO Dara Khosrowshahi declaring on CNBC Thursday morning that profitability is within sight, perhaps by the end of 2021.

KeyBanc and Cowen both raised their price targets for the company, with KeyBanc maintaining an overweight rating and raising...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/eats-delivery-pushing-uber-toward-profitability

FreightWaves focuses on gig economy with launch of Modern Shipper

As e-commerce and the gig economy have grown in the past year, the thirst for news and information has grown among the participants. Whether it is shippers moving online orders to consumers, or rideshare drivers supplementing declining volumes with on-demand food delivery, there is growing activity and interest in the space.

To help fill this information void, FreightWaves is launching Modern Shipper. Modern Shipper, which can be found at www.modernshipper.com, will sit squarely alongside both...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-focuses-on-gig-economy-with-launch-of-modern-shipper

Lyft executives confident in rebound

Lyft expects turnaround in Q2

Despite no real improvement in active riders, and a revenue decline year-over-year due in large part to the toll the COVID-19 pandemic has taken on the ridesharing business, analysts responded positively to Lyft’s (NASDAQ: LYFT) earnings results on Tuesday.

Wedbush raised Lyft’s price target to $72 from $53. Cowen analyst John Blackledge also boosted the price to $72.

“Last night LYFT delivered better than expected 4Q results, which were another major step in the right direction on the recovery...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/lyft-executives-confident-in-rebound

Lyft rider numbers remain depressed, revenue falls in Q4

The pandemic took its toll on rideshare companies in 2020, and Lyft (NASDAQ: LYFT) was no different, but its Q4 earnings, released Tuesday after market close, are showing some recovery.

Lyft reported Q4 revenue of $569.9 million versus $1.01 billion in Q4 2019, a 44% decrease. The Q4 2020 revenue, though, was up quarter-over-quarter from $499.7 million, and it beat analysts’ expectations of $561.23 million. Revenue was up 14% sequentially in Q4 and at the higher end of its forecast, co-founder...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/lyft-rider-numbers-remain-depressed-revenue-falls-in-q4

COVID didn’t kill gig economy, the pandemic accelerated it

A new survey of the gig economy found that it grew 33% to $1.6 trillion in 2020, despite the onslaught of havoc brought upon the economy by COVID-19.

The online survey of 2,788 U.S. adults by payments firm daVinci Payments also had some other surprising facts about the nation’s gig workforce. The survey is based on the 35% of respondents who identified themselves as gig participants.

Defined as temporary or part-time work conducted by independent workers, the survey found that 63% of gig workers...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/covid-didnt-kill-gig-economy-the-pandemic-accelerated-it

New coalition backed by gig companies pushes continued independence of workers

As the battle for worker classification for app-based drivers rages around the country, a new organization in New Jersey has formed to advocate for the workers.

The New Jersey Coalition for Independent Work was announced on Tuesday for the purposes of advocating for and protecting the continued independence and flexibility of app-based workers in the gig economy.

The group’s initial membership includes app-based companies DoorDash (NYSE: DASH), Instacart, Lyft (NASDAQ: LYFT), Postmates and Uber (N...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/new-coalition-backed-by-gig-companies-pushes-continued-independence-of-workers

Spiking sales draw Uber into on-demand alcohol business

Uber to buy on-demand alcohol provider Drizly

COVID-19 nearly crushed the restaurant and liquor industries. Stay-at-home orders and in-store customer limit restrictions were like taking a knife to butter – they instantly and drastically sliced away profits. Many restaurants tried to survive by turning to takeout.

Liquor stores felt the squeeze as well, with fewer people leaving their homes raising concern about lower sales. For liquor retailers, the answer was online sales. According to IWSR Drinks Market Analysis, global beverage alcohol...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/spiking-sales-draw-uber-into-on-demand-alcohol-business

News Alert: Uber acquires on-demand alcohol marketplace Drizly

Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE: UBER) is expanding its scope with the acquisition of Drizly, an on-demand alcohol marketplace.

Uber will pay approximately $1.1 billion in stock and cash, the company announced Tuesday. Uber said Drizly’s marketplace will be integrated with the Uber Eats app. The current Drizly app will be maintained as a separate entity.

Drizly works with local merchants to deliver beer, wine and spirits on demand in more than 1,400 cities across the country.

“Wherever you want to go...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/news-alert-uber-acquires-on-demand-alcohol-marketplace-drizly

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