Uber announces 7 billion buy back, share price soars to record highs on Wall Street
The company comes from a very positive 2023, which brought it into the S&P 500 index
1' min read
1' min read
It's buy back time for Uber, which will buy back up to $7 billion of shares, announcing what is effectively its first plan to return capital to shareholders. A buy back that comes on the heels of the company achieving a steady positive operating profit and free cash flow in 2023, and which has clearly sparked excitement on Wall Street, with the stock galloping to over 10% gains.
A long overdue boost for a company that has been in the midst of a thousand controversies (and legal diatribes) in its history, and that has been in its darkest period during the pandemic.
The buyback plan 'is a vote of confidence in the company's strong financial momentum,' said the Californian company's CFO, Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah, adding that the company will be 'thoughtful' in the pace of this buyback operation, 'starting with shares that partially offset share-based compensation and working towards a consistent reduction in the number of shares.
This buy back marks a milestone in the financial health of the San Francisco-based rideshare and delivery company, after it was often forced into cost-cutting operations in recent years.
Last week, Uber declared that it had achieved its first full year of profitability since its founding more than 14 years ago. In December, it was also included in the benchmark S&P 500 index.
