Uber

(NYSE: UBER · $71.50 ▼ 0.0%) Uber is a technology company that runs a global platform connecting people with rides, deliveries and flexible ways to earn money. Its stated mission is to help people go anywhere, get anything and earn their way, and it describes movement as what it powers. Platforms of this kind act as two-sided marketplaces, matching demand from riders and customers with supply from independent drivers, couriers and merchants through a mobile app.

The company's services have grown from connecting rides on four wheels to two-wheeled options and 18-wheel freight deliveries. Beyond rides, it delivers items ranging from takeout meals to daily essentials and prescription drugs, and it works on removing barriers to healthcare. Uber for Business lets companies of any size manage global rides and meals as well as local deliveries, while drivers can earn on their own schedule with rides, deliveries or both, using their own car or a rental arranged through Uber. Running several services on one network is common for such platforms, since the same drivers and couriers can serve consumers, merchants and corporate clients at different times of day.

The idea for Uber came about on a snowy night in Paris in 2008, and the company describes reimagination and reinvention as part of its identity. It calls safety a daily priority, from background checks for drivers to real-time verification and safety preferences that users can schedule in the app. Uber has also committed to becoming a fully electric, zero-emission platform by 2040, with rides taking place in zero-emission vehicles, on public transit or with micromobility, and it runs an Ethics & Compliance Program that includes an Integrity Helpline. Large ride-hailing and delivery operators face regulatory and public scrutiny over passenger safety, labor practices and urban emissions, which gives such commitments particular weight.