What's going on?

US ride-hailing company Uber needed a pick-me-up on Monday: it beat analysts� third-quarter profit expectations and announced it�d lose less money than it thought this year, but its stock price still initially fell 5%.

What does this mean?

Uber may have reported a smaller loss than investors expected, but its third-quarter revenue wasn�t as high as hoped either. Passengers might�ve been put off catching a ride after it upped prices earlier this year � especially when there are so many rivals around the world with spare seats on offer. Still, Uber now thinks it�ll lose slightly less than the $3 billion investors had forecast: spending less on user growth could help the company turn a profit sooner than expected.

Why should I care?

The bigger picture: The road to El Dorado.

Investors� priorities appear to have shifted: revenue growth is great, sure, but what �defensive� investors seem to really want is profit. Last month, Uber�s US rival Lyft announced it expects to be profitable by the end of 2021 � a year sooner than expected. When it reported its own third-quarter earnings last week, it lost $90 million less than expected, leaving expectations in its dust. But since Uber has more to think about than just ride-hailing, it might take longer to wave the profitability finish flag � which could frustrate some would-be backers.

For markets: Achievement unlocked.

Uber�s shares may have fallen on Monday in part due to the shadow cast by Wednesday�s share �lock-up� expiry. That�s when some of Uber�s early investors will finally be allowed to sell the shares they weren�t allowed to sell in the period right after its initial public offering (tweet this). If they choose to cash out, and if the extra supply of shares isn�t matched by equal demand, Uber�s stock price could fall. That same threat to Beyond Meat�s stock sent it down 40% in October, including a 22% drop on a single day last week.