I have been a buyer of UBER Technologies given its low p/e ratio and what I consider to be a pretty rosy outlook. The company continues to face never-ending challenges from its competitors to tie it up in legal battles. It’s difficult to come to any conclusions on how this will all end up.
I was in Tokyo in December 2024 and saw UBER vehicles everywhere as they are clearly visible with the UBER logo and paint job. It was quite an impressive show of how the company has permeated foreign markets. But it has a lot of competition everywhere.
“Uber is in Japan, but it’s not the dominant, UberX-style service; instead, it primarily partners with local, licensed taxi fleets, acting as a familiar taxi-hailing app, especially useful in major cities like Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto for airport transfers or areas with few cabs, though it’s often pricier and less ubiquitous than in other countries due to strict regulations and a strong existing taxi culture, with local apps like Taxi GO also popular. ”
The business model has evolved to blend into the local “culture”. I hope that is the key to success in other markets.
Having said that, UBER is a large corporation, and likely not that easy to manage. But with robo taxis on the horizon, UBER, in my opinion, is pretty well placed given its size and scale of operations. This is not investment advice, just my personal view of things.
