美国国家公共电台 NPR Uber's Eye-Popping IPO Approaches. Is It Really Worth $90 Billion?

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

Uber goes public tomorrow. It's expected to be one of the biggest IPOs in U.S. history. The company's grown massively over the last 10 years. You can hail Ubers all over the world. But it has never turned a profit. So is Uber actually worth 80- to $90 billion? NPR's Camila Domonoske has the story.

CAMILA DOMONOSKE, BYLINE¹: Uber started as a ride-hailing app, and it's become a household name. In fact, it was so popular that it became shorthand for any new app offering a service on demand.

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: It's like Uber for dog owners.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Uber for conversations and...

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: The Uber for trucks.

MANISHA KRISHNAN: It's almost like Uber for weed.

DOMONOSKE: These days, Uber itself wants to be the Uber for a lot more than just ride-hailing - Uber, but for takeout; Uber, but for packages; Uber, but for bikes and scooters. The company has spent a lot of money to expand like that. And it's expensive to try to be the Uber for everything. And it's had to keep rates low to compete with rivals. All told, it's losing billions of dollars a year, so how will it start making money?

YGAL AROUNIAN: That's the hundred-billion-dollar question, right?

DOMONOSKE: Ygal Arounian is an equity² analyst³ at Wedbush Securities.

AROUNIAN: Uber is losing money. And you have to have a little bit of a vision to see them taking that revenue and start turning it into profit.

DOMONOSKE: Arounian is optimistic. Here's his vision. Once Uber has waited out the competition, the company can stop offering so many discounts.

AROUNIAN: Rates will go up, or I think maybe a better way to look at it is that there will be less times where they'll get, like, a coupon⁴, right?

DOMONOSKE: Plus, he says, being the Uber for everything has its advantages.

AROUNIAN: What they want to do is have their drivers drive for both ride-share and Uber Eats - you know, picking people up and dropping them off. Lunchtime kicks in; they're dropping off food. They switch back on during evening rush hour to drop people off, and then they could do dinner, right?

DOMONOSKE: That gives it an edge over companies that just offer one service. Cut some expenses, eventually roll out self-driving cars, and you may have a recipe for profits. There's reason to be skeptical⁵. To make this recipe work, Uber has to crush a small army of competitors. And when it comes to self-driving cars, there are huge challenges, including regulatory hurdles⁶.

Analysts⁷ who believe in Uber's future profits emphasize they're talking about the long term. In the meantime, aside from the minor⁸ detail that it burns billions of dollars each year, Uber has other challenges. Drivers have complained about their pay. Yesterday, cities across the U.S. saw drivers strike or protest. James Hicks was protesting in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

JAMES HICKS: My main concern is making sure that each and every individual driver makes enough money to put food on their table, to pay their bills, to feed their children.

DOMONOSKE: Some drivers have called to be treated like employees, not contractors⁹, which would hurt Uber financially. And the company was long famous for openly flouting¹⁰ laws, and its corporate¹¹ culture was toxic¹². Women who worked at Uber have reported rampant¹³ sexual harassment¹⁴. Uber ousted¹⁵ co-founder Travis Kalanick as CEO and replaced him with Dara Khosrowshahi, who's been tasked with cleaning up shop. That included releasing a video that was an apology of sorts.

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DARA KHOSROWSHAHI: It's time to move in a new direction.

DOMONOSKE: Now, as it moves to go public, Uber has tempered expectations a bit. One reason for caution is the example set by ride-sharing rival Lyft, which set an ambitious price for its shares. After an initial pop, stock prices slid down dramatically. So as Uber prepares to enter the stock market, it's not aiming for a $120 billion valuation like some analysts had floated. Still, with a total value of 80 to 90 billion, this will be the largest IPO in five years.

Camila Domonoske, NPR News.

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1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

3 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

4 coupon   

n.息票，配给票，附单

参考例句：

• The coupon can be used once only.此优惠券只限使用一次。
• I have a coupon for ten pence off a packet of soap.我有一张优惠券买一盒肥皂可以便宜十便士。

5 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

6 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

7 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

8 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

9 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 flouting   

v.藐视，轻视( flout的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• By selling alcohol to minors,the shop is deliberately flouting the law. 向未成年人出售烈性酒，是商店故意犯罪法。 来自口语例句
• By selling alcohol to minor, the shop is deliberately flouting the law. 向未成年人出售烈性酒，是商店故意犯法。 来自互联网

11 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

12 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

13 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

14 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

15 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。