Uber Writes Down Investments

Uber has been one of the companies that have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. The ride-hailing giant announced that it will be writing down about $2 billion of their investments and withdrew their 2020 guidance as operations stall due to a global shutdown, implemented by almost all of their operating countries.

Uber owns stakes in South East Asia's Grab and China based Didi Chuxing. The combined value of these businesses was $10.3 billion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2019. The company also said that ride volumes had tanked as much as 70% across its operations but some of it will be offset by food delivery. Not here in Mzansi though, our lockdown is much stricter than other countries.

We will have to wait for Uber's official results to see the full impact of the coronavirus on their business, and those will be released on the 7th of May. However, it is good to mention that since all of 2020's earnings are being written off, I am comfortable to say we will see Uber still operating in 2021 as they have a good cash buffer to make it through.