Uber drives forward in Q2

Uber’s gross bookings were up 17% in the second quarter, with the number of trips taken rising 150% in the past year, Uber tells Axios.

Their drivers have earned $50 million in tips since the program started in late June.

Uber spent most of the quarter under the cloud of a well-publicized internal investigation into sexual harassment and other unsavoury aspects of company culture, and ended it with the forced resignation of CEO Travis Kalanick. The ride-hail giant’s core business, however, appears to have kept humming along.

Gross bookings rose 17% in the second quarter to $8.7 billion (and doubled from a year earlier).

Adjusted net revenue was $1.75 billion in Q2 vs $1.5 billion in Q1 and around $800 million in Q2 2016. Adjusted net loss fell almost 9% quarter-over-quarter to $645 million and over 14% year-over-year. The $645 million is adjusted EBIT, while Uber’s Q2 EBITDA loss was $534 million (down from $598 million in Q1). Uber’s global ride-share business was margin positive last quarter, which is a flip from Q1.

Global trips increased 150% year-over-year, including 90% growth in developed markets and over 250% growth in developing markets. This excludes China, which Uber exited last summer in exchange for an equity stake in Didi Chuxing. It includes Russia, where Uber’s recently-announced partnership with Yandex has yet to be approved by local regulators.