For ride hailing service Uber Technologies (UBER), Thanksgiving will be a little extra this year. In fact, it will be a double extra, and we are not talking about pant sizes after dinner. We are talking about XXL rides, the new Uber service that’s specifically for the holiday.
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The XXL rides feature extra trunk space, which makes sense for anyone planning to travel farther afield this holiday season. XXL will focus on airport travel, and is available at over 60 airports worldwide. That includes 40 airports in the U.S. and Canada.
Uber launched the XXL ride service as a way to inject some life back into its ride hailing operations, which have been on a bit of a decline. With inflation still in focus and economic uncertainty growing, Uber is looking to offer some extra services in a bid to draw more interest from users.
Railroads Taking a Page from Uber?
In an odd twist, Uber is serving as a template for a slightly different transportation service: short line railroads. Media reports note that short line railroads need to be more like Uber. Michael Miller, the owner of Genesee & Wyoming—the largest short line train operator—has made it clear that significant change is needed to keeping railroads a going concern.
Miller points out that Uber posted billions in losses for three years, before 2022 arrived and it started turning a profit. Uber stepped up its delivery operations to include not only people, but also food and other services. How this lesson translates to the railroad industry is unclear. But with railroads looking to Uber for inspiration, it is clear that Uber is doing something right.
Is Uber Stock a Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on UBER stock based on 34 Buys and two Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 26.34% rally in its share price over the past year, the average UBER price target of $93.26 per share implies 34.5% upside potential.
