Uber’s IPO Filing Will Affect Their Drivers And Consumers Badly

For decades now, taking a taxi or carpooling on your way to work, school, or literally in every anywhere you wish to be, has got to be one of the most convenient ways to get there since other public transportation can be pretty awful especially during rush hour.

It has been one of the best choices anyone who doesn’t wish to drive could make. However, things have changed when calling a cab has been made easier. No need to hail or wait for it since it is now only one click away from your phone. Some of the most notable transport companies who made this happen are Uber and Lyft. However, these two companies just recently made a massive step that can affect them, their employees, and as well as their customers.

Uber Files For IPO After Lyft

It was reported that Uber filed confidentially for an IPO last Friday to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Wall Street Journal revealed that this is a move that was expected by financial experts earlier this year. For almost a decade now, Uber has made quite an impression to the public that led its most recent private market valuation of $72 billion.

This IPO move is said to be the plan of Uber all along so Wall Street could value it for more than a hundred billion. When asked to make a statement regarding this sudden move, Uber decided not to make any comments. One of their largest shareholders is SoftBank who actually invested billion especially back in 2009 when Travis Kalanic introduced it to the world. Toyota, who is also one of the biggest automakers in the world has invested $500 million on the, just recently.

It was revealed that the filing of IPO was earlier than it was expected which is probably because they had to immediately do if after their rival, Lyft. In a previous statement before this, Dara Khosrowshai who is the company’s chief executive officer, it was actually one of his expectations to get the IPO in the middle of 2019, but obviously this sudden move from them would mean that they will get it over and done with once the first quarter starts.

He also mentioned how being a public company now made it even more difficult for them since everyone’s eyes are watching their every move. Experts believe that they made the move out of the plan because Lyft did it right away.
Lyft made a statement that says they have filed for a draft registration to the United States and Exchange Commission, but it wasn’t stated as to how much shares was expected as well as how much it will be.

However, Lycra said that they will make their very first initial public offering once it is done being processed by the SEC. They may only have $15 billion as their market value which is definitely not a lot compared to Uber who has $100 billion. Despite that, they are one of Uber’s top competitors so it totally matters what kind of moves they will make.

How IPO Will Help Uber But Not Their Drivers

They often say that this move will help the company, but some experts believe that this wouldn’t benefit anyone else but them. Their drivers who are technically their in-direct employees and their consumers won’t be affected that much. Some financial experts think that with the recent IPO filing, Uber and Lyft may also want either cut some corners or make an investment by getting rid of their drivers as they get into the modern world by getting self-driving cars in the near future.

This can be something that would totally boost their sales since people nowadays are more into the innovative services, hence they have taken over the cab industry in the first place.

More and more car companies are also figuring out how to boost their sales when it comes to self-driving cars. Toyota already invested so much on Uber so it is most likely that they will soon work on making this happen. Of course, this will affect their drivers since they would no longer be needed and this will leave them. This may also affect the customers since it could lead to a fare hike.