Billionaire Bill Ackman is hitching a ride with Uber. The hedge fund manager’s Pershing Square Capital Management revealed a $2.3B stake in the ride-hailing giant, sending shares surging to their highest level since Oct. 2024. The investment comes as Uber continues its transformation from a cash-burning startup to a profitable powerhouse, despite missing recent earnings expectations.
- Uber earned $6.9B in cash during 2024, more than doubling 2023’s $3.4B — marking a huge turnaround from 2019-2023, when the firm burned through nearly $9B.
- The company trades at just 18.7x its free cash flow, making it significantly cheaper than tech peers like Tesla (397x), Palantir (168x), and Nvidia (62x).
Looking down the road: While autonomous vehicles loom as both an opportunity and threat for Uber, analysts at Bank of America Securities raised their price target to $95 (a 22% upside from current levels), citing strong booking growth and delivery momentum. The ride-booking platform’s pragmatic approach includes partnerships with Waymo and planned rollouts in Austin and Atlanta, suggesting a measured entry into the self-driving future rather than a risky all-in bet. As Ackman puts it, Uber represents an “extremely rare” investment opportunity for a company of its size — one that could reward those willing to hop aboard.
