Leaked Uber Docs Forecast Company Will Book $26 Billion Next Year

The ride-hailing company is investing more than 7 billion yuan (S$1.5 billion) to expand in the country, with plans to start operations in 50 mid- sized Chinese cities over the next year.

The document given to Reuters, which came from Uber’s presentation to potential investors for its China-specific fund, has the most current data on Uber’s revenue yet. For an interesting comparison from Business Insider, consider Facebook only this year generated $10 billion, and that company has been around for a decade.

China is expected to outgrow Uber’s US home market by the end of this year, the company said in a letter to investors in June. It has said it is working with authorities to lift the bans.

The company keeps 20 percent of those bookings, meaning it will rake in $2 billion of 2015’s take.

Uber Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick, like the rest of the company, has never once spoken publicly about the possibility of an IPO, but given the staggering amounts of money thrown at at it, it’s really a matter of time now until Uber goes public.

Other financial documents leaked earlier this month showed that Uber is heavily lossmaking, losing around $109m in the second quarter of 2014, up from $56.5m in the whole of 2013. This month, it won a legal victory in the US against established taxi firms after a judge in Connecticut dismissed a lawsuit accusing it of engaging in deceptive trade practices and racketeering. The ruling opened Uber up to higher costs, including social security, workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance – all factors that could weigh on the minds of investors being shown the Uber slideshow. However, Airbnb has also faced resistance from local authorities in the US and Europe who are concerned that the service falls foul of local housing laws and regulations.

The report also revealed that global bookings are forecast to triple, to reach £6.91bn this year and £16.65bn in 2016.