Uber on Thursday posted a big rebound in third-quarter revenue thanks to riders and drivers returning from pandemic lockdowns, but its bottom-line loss was wider than Wall Street expected.

The San Francisco-based ride-hailing company said its third-quarter loss widened to $2.42 billion, or $1.28 per share, from $1.1 billion, or 62 cents per share, in the year earlier quarter.

The latest quarter included stock-based compensation costs as well as a hefty unrealised loss related to its investment in Didi.

The Chinese ride-sharing company went public on the New York Stock Exchange in late June and days later faced a cybersecurity review from China's internet watchdog.

Uber put the pretax impact of Didi's decline at $3.2 billion, partially offset by unrealised gains in Zomato and other investments.

Growth in revenue

Revenue in the quarter that ended September 30 grew 72 per cent year over year to $4.85 billion as gross bookings rose 57 per cent to $23.1 billion. The company noted that mobility gross bookings over Halloween weekend — after the quarter ended — surpassed 2019 levels.

On an average, analysts surveyed by FactSet forecast a loss of 33 cents per share on revenue of $4.42 billion.

Uber said its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation — or EBITDA — totaled $8 million during the quarter, turning positive for the first time in the company's history. Its restaurant delivery segment also is close to breakeven.

For the fourth quarter, Uber Technologies Inc. expects gross bookings of $25 billion to $26 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $25 million to $75 million.

Shares in Uber Technologies Inc. rose about 1 per cent in after-hours trading. The stock is down roughly 11 per cent in the year-to-date.

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