Uber (UBER) Bets On Drones As Its Delivery Engine Accelerates

Uber (UBER) Bets On Drones As Its Delivery Engine Accelerates Maham Fatima Wed, August 19, 2026 at 8:10 AM EDT 5 min read UBER On August 17, Uber Technologies (NYSE: UBER ) announced a partnership with drone delivery company Zipline to bring autonomous drone delivery to Uber Eats customers across the United States, alongside a strategic investment in the company. The deal is Uber's second major drone bet after last year's tie-up with Flytrex, and it lands as the ride-hailing giant tries to convince investors its business is stronger than its stock price suggests. Shares are down roughly 9% this year even as revenue, profit, and user growth have all moved in the right direction. Uber (UBER) Bets On Drones As Its Delivery Engine Accelerates Bull Case: Growth Keeps Compounding On Every Front Uber's core business kept expanding through the second quarter. Monthly active platform consumers climbed 16% year over year to 208 million, and trips rose 18% over the same period. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told shareholders that Uber added more first-time users over the past 12 months than in any period over the previous five years, a sign the platform is still finding new riders rather than just retaining old ones. Gross bookings, the total dollar value spent across rides, delivery, and freight, jumped 24% year over year to $58 billion in the second quarter, and management is guiding for at least $58.3 billion in the third. Delivery is doing much of the heavy lifting. The segment's revenue gr…