Uber chief says $5.2B Q2 loss 'once in a lifetime' hit

The huge loss was mostly attributed to IPO expenses.

Uber CEO Dana Khosrowshahi has downplayed the company's gigantic $5.2 billion loss in the second quarter.

In an interview with CNBC, the executive described the loss as a "once in a lifetime" hit related to IPO expenses. The report notes that the single-quarter loss was larger than the full-year 2018 losses for nearly every S&P 500 company except for three.

Khosrowshahi voiced optimism for the second half of the year, expecting revenue to grow by 30 percent. The company also expects spending to increase, but as a smaller percentage of revenue than in previous quarters.

"I think we've got very good visibility into our own business as far as the business model and how we can tweak it and how we can drive more efficiency," he added. "We think we can not only survive, but we can really thrive in this business."

Uber is still far from profitability, creating a potential risk in coming years as self-driving technology comes to market as the next disruption in the taxi industry. Uber's own self-driving initiative appears to lag other players such as Waymo and Tesla, both of which aim to directly compete with Uber.