A Second Tax-Driven Net Income Spike - Operating Growth Slows, But Stays Positive
Income from operations was $1,113 million, up just 5% from $1,061 million a year ago - a tenth consecutive positive GAAP quarter, but the smallest year-over-year percentage gain this site has recorded since the streak of positive quarters began in Q2 2023. Adjusted EBITDA rose 33% year-over-year to $2,256 million, a thirteenth straight positive quarter. Nine-month free cash flow reached $6,955 million, up 34% from $5,189 million in the first nine months of 2024; standalone Q3 free cash flow was roughly $2,230 million (nine-month total less the $4,725 million already reported through H1 2025), roughly flat with Q2 2025's $2,475 million.
Net income attributable to Uber jumped to $6,626 million, up 154% from $2,612 million a year ago - but this headline is again dominated by non-operating items, echoing the pattern from FY2024's 10-K. A $4.9 billion benefit from releasing the Netherlands' deferred tax valuation allowance accounts for the large majority of the increase, alongside a $1.5 billion net unrealized gain on debt and equity securities (Didi +$760 million, Grab +$530 million, other investments +$181 million net; Aurora was not called out this quarter, suggesting a smaller or roughly neutral move there). Strip out both items and the underlying quarter's profit would be far closer to the operating result of $1,113 million. Revenue grew 20% to $13,467 million. Mobility Adjusted EBITDA grew 21% to $2,038 million and Delivery Adjusted EBITDA grew 47% to $921 million, both new highs; Freight's loss widened slightly to $(20) million from $(19) million a year ago.
Total assets grew sharply to $63,344 million from $51,244 million at year-end, driven substantially by deferred tax assets rising to $10,710 million from $6,171 million on the tax valuation releases. Long-term debt rose to $10,615 million from $8,347 million; the company disclosed it intends to redeem its $1.15 billion 2025 Convertible Notes in December 2025.
The Prescription
This is the second time in three quarters (following FY2024's 10-K) that a one-time deferred-tax valuation-allowance release has dominated Uber's headline net income - first a $6.4 billion US federal/state release in Q4 2024, now a $4.9 billion Netherlands release in Q3 2025. Investors should treat both as balance-sheet cleanup events reflecting management's growing confidence in future profitability (a valuation allowance is released when a company concludes it's more likely than not to realize its deferred tax assets), not as operating performance. The more concerning signal this quarter is the operating side: income from operations grew just 5% year-over-year, its slowest pace since the positive-operating-income streak began - worth watching in subsequent quarters to see whether this is a one-quarter deceleration or the start of a trend, even as Adjusted EBITDA (which excludes more cost items) still grew a healthy 33%.
The rising long-term debt and the disclosed December 2025 redemption of the $1.15 billion 2025 Convertible Notes are worth tracking into the next post to see how the capital structure nets out.
Key Financial Metrics
Q3 2025 vs. Q3 2024 - consolidated, reported in USD
| Metric | Q3 2025 | Q3 2024 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $13,467M | $11,188M | ✅ +20% |
| Adjusted EBITDA» | $2,256M | $1,690M | ✅ +33%, thirteenth straight positive quarter |
| Income (Loss) from Operations | $1,113M | $1,061M | ⚠️ +5%, tenth straight positive quarter but slowest growth of the streak |
| Net Income (Loss) attributable to Uber | $6,626M | $2,612M | ✅ dominated by a $4.9B Netherlands tax valuation release |
| Free Cash Flow (nine months) | $6,955M | $5,189M | ✅ +34% |
Balance sheet: Dec 2024 vs. Sep 2025
| Balance sheet metric | Sep 2025 | Dec 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and Cash Equivalents | $8,432M | $5,893M | ✅ +43% |
| Total Assets | $63,344M | $51,244M | ✅ +24% |
| Total Liabilities | $34,189M | $28,768M | up 19% |
| Long-term Debt, net of current | $10,615M | $8,347M | up 27% |
| Goodwill | $8,917M | $8,066M | up 11% |
Total assets grew 24% for the year to date, substantially on the deferred tax asset created by the two valuation-allowance releases. Long-term debt rose 27%, and goodwill continued its gradual climb from the acquisition activity flagged in the 2025-06 post.
Uber's net income jumped to $6,626 million this quarter, but $4.9 billion of that came from releasing the Netherlands' deferred tax valuation allowance, plus a $1.5 billion equity-stake gain. The more durable number is operating income of $1,113 million, up just 5% year-over-year - the slowest growth of the positive-operating-income streak.
Segment Results
Segment Adjusted EBITDA, Q3 2025 vs. Q3 2024
| Segment | Adj. EBITDA Q3 2025 | Adj. EBITDA Q3 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mobility | $2,038M | $1,682M | ✅ +21% |
| Delivery | $921M | $628M | ✅ +47% |
| Freight | $(20)M | $(19)M | ⚠️ slightly wider loss |
Mobility and Delivery both set new quarterly highs. Freight's loss widened marginally, reversing the two-quarter narrowing trend flagged in the 2025-03 and 2025-06 posts.
Beyond the Usual
A Second Nine-Figure Tax Valuation Release in Three Quarters
Uber released a $4.9 billion deferred tax valuation allowance related to its Netherlands operations this quarter, on top of the $6.4 billion US federal/state release recognized in Q4 2024 (uber/2024-12 post). Combined, these two one-time items total roughly $11.3 billion of non-operating net income recognized across just three fiscal quarters - a scale that dwarfs the equity-stake mark-to-market swings this site has tracked since 2021, and reinforces the case for reading Uber's operating income and Adjusted EBITDA lines rather than net income when assessing quarter-to-quarter performance.
Operating Income Growth Slows to 5%, the Weakest of the Streak
This is the first quarter since Q2 2023 (when the positive-operating-income streak began) that year-over-year operating income growth has fallen into single digits. Whether this reflects a genuine deceleration or one-quarter noise (cost timing, legal/regulatory items, or similar) is not yet clear from the sections reviewed here and is worth confirming against the next quarter's results.
Stock Price Since Last Quarter
Uber's stock continued climbing through the third quarter: from a June 30, 2025 close of $93.30, up to $87.75 in July (a dip), then a recovery to $93.75 in August and $97.97 at the September 30, 2025 close - a gain of roughly 5% for the quarter, a third straight quarterly gain.
Target Valuation Range
Fairly-valued. Uber traded at an EV/Revenue multiple of roughly 4.6x against TTM revenue as of this quarter's close - roughly flat with Q2 2025's ~4.7x, as revenue growth kept pace with the stock's modest gain.
With approximately 2,077,830,381 shares outstanding as of October 30, 2025 (per the 10-Q's cover page) and a September 30, 2025 close of $97.97, Uber's market capitalization was approximately $203.6 billion. Against total liabilities of $34.19 billion and cash and cash equivalents of $8.43 billion, enterprise value was roughly $229.3 billion - up from the ~$220.5 billion calculated in the 2025-06 post, on the combination of the stock's modest gain and rising total liabilities. Against TTM revenue of roughly $49.6 billion (FY2024's $43,978 million, less nine-month 2024 revenue of $32,019 million, plus this quarter's nine-month 2025 total of $37,651 million), that implies an EV/Revenue» of roughly 4.6x.
| Sep 2025 | Jun 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| TTM Revenue | $49.6B | $47.3B |
| Enterprise Value | $229.3B | $220.5B |
| EV/Revenue | 4.6x | 4.7x |
The valuation held roughly steady this quarter as revenue growth kept pace with the stock's modest gain, even as the net income headline was distorted by the second large tax valuation release in three quarters. This site continues to hold off on a full DCF and continues to flag operating income and Adjusted EBITDA, rather than net income, as the more reliable quarter-to-quarter comparison points.
Uber Technologies, Inc.'s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2025, filed with the SEC in November 2025.