Uber India’s ride-hailing losses soar 4X to Rs 1,407 Cr in FY25 with flat gross revenue

Uber India Systems Pvt Ltd, the Indian arm of ride-hailing giant Uber, saw its net revenue from ride-hailing collapse in FY25 even as commissions from ride (gross revenue) activity remained flat.

According to its consolidated financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2025, net revenue from ride-hailing fell 89% to Rs 88 crore in FY25 from Rs 807 crore in FY24. Interestingly, the sharp decline comes despite the ride-hailing biz's gross revenue (commissions from rides) remaining flat at Rs 2,604 crore during the year.

The gap between flat gross revenue (commissions from rides) and plunging net revenue highlights what really played out during the year: deeper incentives and discounts. Uber increased its spending on incentives and discounts by 33% to Rs 2,516 crore in FY25. Since these payouts are adjusted against gross revenue, the higher outgo significantly reduced the reported net revenue from ride-hailing.

It is worth noting that Rapido moved to a zero-commission, flat subscription model in FY25, prompting Uber to offer deeper incentives in response in FY26. While the revenues of the two firms are not directly comparable, Rapido reduced its net losses by 30.5% to Rs 258 crore. In comparison, Uber reported a consolidated loss of Rs 1,512 crore in FY25.

As per the firm’s accounting policy, incentives paid to drivers are netted off from revenue from operations. In simple terms, the more Uber spends on driver payouts and discounts is netted off from the topline. This accounting treatment materially compressed the topline contribution of the mobility business in FY25.

Despite the hit in net ride revenue, Uber India’s overall operating revenue grew 2.3% to Rs 3,849 crore in FY25 from Rs 3,762 crore in FY24. The bulk of this continued to come from support services provided to its parent and group entities. Revenue from support services rose to Rs 3,664 crore in FY25 from Rs 2,936 crore in the previous fiscal.

The company also generated Rs 79 crore from shift transportation services during the year. This segment includes pickup and drop-off services between offices and employees’ residences, along with other related transport support services.

According to industry experts, intensifying competition, growing reliance on incentives, and the shift towards subscription-based models instead of pure commission have started to weigh on the economics of the ride-hailing business. Thin margins, combined with fixed operating costs, make the segment increasingly sensitive to incentive-led spending.

According to the Uber Spokesperson, “These figures from Uber India’s statutory filings are not representative of demand, scale or growth of the platform in the country. India remains one of Uber’s key growth markets globally. We’re seeing strong rider demand and continued growth in earners on the platform, and we remain focused on investing in products tailored for Indian consumers”.

At the bottom line, Uber India reported a consolidated loss of Rs 1,512 crore in FY25, a sharp jump from Rs 89 crore in FY24. On a specific ride-hailing, its losses zoomed over 4X to Rs 1,407 crore in FY25, compared to Rs 330 crore in FY24.

The Indian ride-hailing market has seen changes over the past two years, with Rapido emerging as the leading player in terms of the number of rides, followed by Uber. Ola has slipped to third place with a declining market share. Uber’s growth may remain under pressure as it shifts to a pure subscription model. SensorTower data also indicates stronger growth for Rapido in terms of monthly active users and downloads.

With the kind of explosion of vehicles on these platforms we see, it’s a pity that no clear numbers are shared on drivers linked to these platforms. The figures we hear about range from 2.5 to 3 million. For those kind of numbers, Uber, with over a million drivers of its own, simply doesn't show numbers that add up, to be honest. Accounting links aside, the platforms still seem to worry about drawing too much attention with big declarations. One hopes Uber is genuine about its interest in India, especially with the Bharat taxi launch to play out yet. A successful run for the government backed app could mean bad  news for the original aggregators, or at least a cost structure that is more aligned to Indian markets. For now, after tracking years of losses, it does feel like these are firms that spend in dollars to earn in Rupees,  if one had to try and explain the poor financials with no sign of any improvement.