Uber delivered second-quarter earnings that matched market forecasts, but its outlook for the third quarter missed analyst projections, leading to a roughly 3.5% drop in pre-market trading on Wednesday.

According to FactSet data, Uber guided for third-quarter gross bookings with a midpoint of $592.5 billion, falling short of the consensus estimate of $593.3 billion. The company's earnings per share forecast also came in below market expectations.

Uber's second-quarter results compared to LSEG analyst consensus showed earnings per share of $0.81, meeting the expected $0.81. Revenue reached $14.19 billion, slightly below the anticipated $14.24 billion. The company's revenue rose 12% year-over-year, compared to $12.65 billion in the same period last year. Net income climbed to $2.39 billion, or $1.17 per share, up from $1.35 billion, or $0.63 per share, a year earlier.

Uber's core ride-hailing business generated $7.36 billion in second-quarter revenue, while its delivery segment contributed $5.25 billion. Ride-hailing gross bookings surged 22% year-over-year to $289.9 billion, and delivery bookings jumped 26% to $274.6 billion. According to StreetAccount, total gross bookings for the quarter reached $58 billion, surpassing the average analyst estimate of $57.23 billion.

Looking ahead to the third quarter, Uber forecasted gross bookings with a midpoint of $592.5 billion, below the StreetAccount consensus of $593.3 billion. LSEG data also showed the company's earnings per share forecast range of $0.84 to $0.88, missing the average estimate of $0.89.

As of Tuesday's close, Uber shares have declined 12% year-to-date, while the Nasdaq Composite Index has risen 14% over the same period.

Uber continues to intensify its focus on the delivery sector, announcing last month a $14.8 billion deal to acquire German food delivery platform Delivery Hero. This acquisition will expand Uber's coverage for food and grocery delivery.

CEO Dara Khosrowshahi noted in prepared remarks for the earnings call that the World Cup provided a significant boost to the ride-hailing business this quarter. Across host cities in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, over 8 million visitors used Uber for transportation.

Uber is also heavily investing in the autonomous vehicle sector, stating plans to allocate over $10 billion in the coming years to scale the commercial deployment of self-driving cars. The company is actively partnering with various autonomous taxi operators and has not yet separately broken out the share of orders from human drivers versus autonomous vehicles.

Khosrowshahi remarked, "The entire industry is moving from a technology validation phase to large-scale commercialization, and Uber is building a highly valuable core position within the autonomous ecosystem." However, early autonomous partner Waymo is gradually distancing itself. The two companies recently announced that they will terminate their exclusive partnership agreement in Atlanta and Austin, Texas, by early 2028.

On Wednesday, Uber also announced a collaboration with British autonomous vehicle firm Wayve to advance a robotic taxi project in London, marking a key milestone. Transport for London has granted Wayve's autonomous taxis a private hire vehicle license, confirming the vehicles meet local safety standards. Uber stated that over 100,000 users have already pre-booked the first autonomous ride services.

Anne Dunyak, Uber's global head of autonomous mobility operations, said in a statement, "This operating license is a significant milestone for Uber to launch autonomous ride services in London."