Uber will report its first quarter earnings on Thursday after market close, following rival Lyft's results on Wednesday.
The report will give investors a glimpse at how the ride-sharing company fared amid the earliest weeks of the coronavirus pandemic, when states started shutting down major parts of their economies and consumers were told to practice social distancing.
On Wednesday, Uber announced in a regulatory filing that it will cut 3,700 jobs — 14% of its total workforce — to save money during the pandemic. Shares dipped as much as 4% during Wednesday's trading session.
The step is a "painful, but unfortunately a necessary move for Dara & Co. to make in this unprecedented COVID-19 environment," wrote Wedbush analysts led by Daniel Ives in a Wednesday note.
Here's what analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect:
Ives continued: "On the other side of this dark valley, the Uber business model will likely look a lot different for the next few years (at least) and the company must rationalize costs and a smaller operation to focus on attaining profitability in this 'new normal' backdrop."
Uber also reports results following its main rival in the sector, Lyft. Shares of Lyft surged as much as 19% in after-hours trading Wednesday when the company reported that its rider numbers in the first quarter of 2020 grew on the year despite the early impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Lyft also reported better-than-expected revenue in the quarter.
Uber shares were lifted by the results, gaining as much as 9% after market close Wednesday.
At the end of 2019, Uber said that it planned to turn a profit by the end of 2020, sooner than it had previously expected. But in April, the company withdrew the guidance it made in its fourth quarter earnings call because of the uncertainty caused by COVID-19.
The company also warned that it expects an impairment charge from declines in investments due to the global impact of the outbreak. Now, investors will likely be looking for an updated timeline on profitability, or a new guidance from Uber as the company navigates through the coronavirus crisis.
Uber has been in the spotlight amid the coronavirus pandemic as both riders and drivers worry about how to travel safely. While it's expected that rides will suffer in the quarter as consumers stay home, Uber Eats may benefit from an uptick in ordering in.
Uber stock has declined about 7% this year through Wednesday's close.
Here's what four analysts are saying about the ride-sharing company ahead of its earnings release:
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