No more free rides

The gig economy's pivot to profitability will come at a cost to consumers

2022 is shaping up to be the year of profitability. The P-word was front and center in the earnings calls of many a sharing economy company in the latest quarter, whose execs are eager to let investors know that while they might not be there quite yet, they are very much working on it:

• Uber highlighted its “focus on profitable growth” and platform advantages that will let it “deliver significant profitability and durable growth as investors rightly expect from globally scaled technology platforms,” then sent a memo to staff about showing investors the money

• Lyft reiterated its commitment to “being adjusted ebitda profitable” and to “reaching GAAP profitable over time”

• Airbnb said it expects its first full year of net income profitability in 2022

• DoorDash emphasized that its core U.S. restaurant business is profitable, with increasing profit margins, and that it chooses to reinvest those profits in order to grow the business

• Bird said it planned to “accelerate our path to profitability,” projecting its first quarter of positive adjusted ebitda in the third quarter of 2022 and a full year of positive adjusted ebitda in 2023