Uber flags fuel-cost impact on India mobility business

NEW DELHI: Rising fuel costs are weighing on Uber Technologies Inc.'s mobility business in India, even as consumer demand remains strong. The ride-hailing company on Wednesday said the impact of higher fuel prices has been particularly pronounced in India and Brazil, where price sensitivity among both riders and drivers is affecting marketplace operations.

“If you zoom out and look at the macro environment, with the escalation in the war in the Middle East (West Asia), fuel cost impacts have been felt globally. Where it shows up most materially for us is in emerging markets, where there is a level of price sensitivity on both the consumer and the driver side,” said Balaji Krishnamurthy, chief financial officer at Uber, during the company's Q3 2026 earnings call. Uber follows a January-December financial year.

Since the outbreak of the conflict in West Asia in February, global crude oil prices have surged, prompting state-run oil marketing companies in India to raise petrol and diesel prices by ₹3 per litre on 15 May. In Delhi, petrol prices rose to ₹97.77 per litre and diesel to ₹90.67 per litre, increases of 3.2% and 3.4%, respectively. The hike marked the first revision in domestic retail fuel prices in nearly four years, underscoring the pressure on oil marketing companies to pass on rising input costs to consumers.

The supply squeeze comes even as demand remains robust across several international markets, increasing pressure on the company's ability to match riders with drivers.

“As we go through the back half of the year and we see elevated demand from the holiday season that you have coming through right now, which again, the demand picture is pretty strong, we see an elevated impact on the supply, on the marketplace when the supply is short. This is a good problem, where we are at the scale that we are operating at, and we still are running into supply constraints rather than demand constraints,” Krishnamurthy added.

Uber is making targeted investments to address the supply-side challenges, focusing on driver acquisition, retention and engagement. The company said it was already seeing early signs of improvement.

“As we go through that kind of investment, we are already encouraged with the early signs of supply improvement we saw in October, and supply hours growth globally accelerated in October, including notable improvements in Brazil and India,” Krishnamurthy said.

Chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said the company was dealing with both year-on-year and seasonal supply pressures. September to December is typically a peak period for mobility and delivery, while in markets such as Brazil, where both businesses rely on two-wheeler drivers, overlapping demand is adding to the strain on driver availability.

“But we have got a good handle on it. We are very optimistic about the trends as we see them in October and going into Q4. Again, this is not the first time we have dealt with this kind of situation,” Khosrowshahi added.

The supply challenges come as Uber's ride-hailing segment reported a 2% year-on-year decline in revenue to $7.52 billion in the third quarter of 2026, from $7.67 billion in the year-ago period.

Overall, the company reported a 10% increase in revenue to $14.8 billion during the quarter, with growth of 10% on a constant-currency basis.

Net income attributable to Uber Technologies, however, fell 92% year-on-year to $512 million from $6.63 billion a year earlier. The year-ago quarter included tax and equity revaluation benefits, including a $4.9 billion release of tax valuation allowances, creating a high comparison base.

Uber is expanding its autonomous vehicle ambitions. It expects approximately 700 fully driverless vehicles on its platform by the end of 2026 and more than 2,000 by the end of 2027.

Nabodita is a New Delhi-based journalist who covers India’s startup ecosystem and venture-capital landscape. She enjoys reporting on emerging companies, funding trends, founders, and the policies shaping the innovation economy. Before this, she worked with Outlook Business and The Hindu Businessline. When she’s not chasing stories, you’ll find her with a cup of coffee, watching a good comedy, or getting lost in a book. She believes there’s always a good story waiting to be discovered, sometimes in a boardroom and sometimes over a great cup of coffee.

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