Uber is on track to go public in 2019, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told CNBC.
“We’re in a good position in terms of the company’s profile, in terms of profitability and margins continue to get better,” Khosrowshahi told CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla at the Code Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.
Khosrowshahi added that Uber has a “very strong balance sheet.”
“I do think that we’re on track in 2019 for an IPO,” he said. “Lots of things can happen in the world but we have a reasonable buffer as well, so I think we’re in a pretty good spot.”
Uber is targeting to go public in late 2019 but the company has not started interviewing banks yet, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The CEO also added that he is looking to build out his management team before the company goes public. That includes hiring a chief financial officer.
Khosrowshahi also spoke about legendary investor Warren Buffett, who earlier told CNBC that he was an admirer of the Uber chief.
Buffett’s comments were in response to a Bloomberg report that said his firm, Berkshire Hathaway, offered Uber a $3 billion investment earlier this year. Buffett told CNBC that some of the reported details were “not correct” but confirmed that his company held talks with the ride-hailing tech firm.
“Like Warren said, we did have discussions,” Khosrowshahi said. “One of my business goals in life has been to get Warren Buffett to invest in something that I’m involved in and, so far, I failed.”
While he said he hopes to convince Buffett to invest in Uber one day, Khosrowshahi said strategic investment is not a priority at the moment.
“It’s not something (that is) first priority for me right now,” he said. “First priority is to continue building a management team, continue to invest in the brand and get us in a position where we can build a big business and, along the way, go public.”
— CNBC’s Alex Sherman contributed to this report.
