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I am looking at a company (Uber) which to my knowlgede has no new investors. So how is it’s cash and cash equivalents slightly higher yoy. When it’s been losing money (yoy?

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The best way to see the source of an increase in cash is to look at the Cash Flow Statement. Looking at Uber's Cash Flow Statement, the source of their cash is indeed from financing, from a combination of new stock and debt over the past several years.

However, it is possible for companies to have positive cash flow and negative net income without financing. If a company had large non-cash expenses (depreciation is the most common) it could result in a loss but positive operating cash flow. (That is not the case for Uber, however)

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  • S spring says its (also?) because of depreciation (which I don’t understand, I ll have to read up on it)…
    – Jack
    Commented Feb 3, 2023 at 2:44
  • Did you just mean the main reason is because of financing
    – Jack
    Commented Feb 3, 2023 at 2:45
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    Depreciation is a common reason for positive cash flow and negative income - but that's the the main reason for Uber. If they had no depreciation they still would have a net loss. Yes, the main reason is financing.
    – D Stanley
    Commented Feb 3, 2023 at 13:30
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Large amounts of depreciation are possible. Depreciation allows for future replacement of systems, equipment, or logistical assets. Depreciation just accounts the future cost as there is no cash reserve required. Depreciation is found on the income statement but not on the cash flow statement.

Most REIT's, for instance, just ignore depreciation because they regularly renovate and repair. But if a real estate location were to become unpopular then the historical depreciation would make sense.

I see a note that says that Uber has depreciation and amortization of $2.521 billion and cash flow of $1.018 billion. So subtract the depreciation from the cash flow to approximate the earnings.

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  • If depreciation means - assets going down in value , why is that an expense? Shouldn’t the expense be when you buy the asset/the assets cost spread over usage.
    – Jack
    Commented Feb 3, 2023 at 17:53
  • Buying an asset is not an "expense" - it reduces one asset (cash_ and increases another (the asset). Depreciation is a way of spreading that loss in value over the life of the asset. If you did not have depreciation you'd book the entire loss when you sold the asset which would make the income unrealistically lumpy.
    – D Stanley
    Commented Feb 6, 2023 at 19:44

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