Mubasher: Uber announced its earnings in the second quarter of this year for the second time since becoming a public company, in which it reported its largest-ever quarterly loss.

Net loss attributable to Uber soared to $5.23 billion in the period between April and June, from a loss of $878 billion during the same period last year, largely owing to stock-based compensation. This reflected $2.01 in loss per share, versus $4.72, assuming dilution.

Excluding stock-based compensation expenses, which amounted to $3.94 billion, the company’s losses came in at $1.29 billion in Q2-19.

The ride-sharing giant’s total revenue grew by 14% to $3.166 billion in the second quarter, compared with $2.76 billion in the corresponding quarter of the prior year.

Although Uber has established ride-hailing business worldwide during the past decade, it has been investing in and running a number of “on-demand” businesses such as food delivery, freight services and bike sharing.

Uber generated $15.76 billion in total gross bookings in the three-month period ended last June, climbing by 31% year-on-year from $12.01 billion.

The company’s core ride-hailing business posted a growth of 20% in gross bookings to $12.19 billion, while the new Uber Eats business’s bookings totalled $3.39 billion.

“We think that 2019 will be our peak investment year and we think that 2020, 2021, you’ll see losses come down,” Uber’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told CNBC.

“No doubt in my mind that the business will eventually be a break even and profitable business,” he added.