The company posted a profit of US$997 million last year, but the positive result stemmed from a windfall that Uber generated from the sale of its operations in Russia and Southeast Asia. The company said it sustained an operating loss of US$3 billion.

The San Francisco company also disclosed a legal cloud hanging over its head as government authorities and regulators investigate whether it broke any laws.

Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick said to plot China comeback with ‘shared kitchen’ business

Uber revealed the US Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation into a year-long cover-up of a massive computer break-in during 2016, in which personal information belonging to millions of passengers and drivers was hacked.

Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi acknowledged these self-inflicted wounds while trying to make the case that the company has rehabilitated itself. He struck a note of contrition and optimism in a letter included in the federal documents.

“Some of the attributes that made Uber a wildly successful start-up – a fierce sense of entrepreneurialism, our willingness to take risks that others might not, and that famous Uber hustle – led to missteps along the way,” Khosrowshahi wrote, closing his letter by assuring he will run Uber with integrity.

Meal delivery is shaping up to be the next battlefront for China’s tech giants

Reaching profitability has proven to be a challenge for Uber and main US rival Lyft. Paying drivers is a huge expense, and Uber’s fierce competition with Lyft for customers has led both companies to offer rides below cost. Drivers for both companies complain about declining earnings, and can easily switch between platforms, making it difficult for either company to further reduce driver costs and keep fares cheap for passengers.

Uber said it plans to give bonuses to qualified drivers and is setting aside an undisclosed portion of its stock for drivers to buy.

Its unprofitable history may force Uber to eventually raise its prices unless it can reduce its costs by shifting to driverless cars, or expand into other markets and lines of business.

At US$10 billion, Uber’s listing to be largest since Alibaba’s in 2014

But Uber’s operating losses declined from US$4 billion in 2017 to US$3 billion last year, indicating it could be heading in the right direction.

“They’re showing that they’re capable of controlling their costs, which has been a concern of ride-sharing companies in general,” said SharesPost analyst Alejandro Ortiz. “That is a sign that will be looked on favourably in the next few weeks.”

A rocky start by shares in Lyft may have prompted Uber to tamp down its IPO ambitions. The company is expected to try to raise about US$10 billion and seek a market value of US$90 billion to US$100 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. That is below earlier estimates of US$120 billion.

Uber is widely expected to be the biggest technology IPO since Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding, which owns the South China Morning Post, went public in 2014. And it is likely to be the largest among US technology companies since Facebook took its bow on Wall Street seven years ago.

Uber launched in 2009 as UberCab, and shortened its name to Uber in 2010. It operates in 65 countries and has completed 10 billion trips worldwide.

It is also expanding in other markets, such as freight, while offering other ways to get around with shared scooters and bikes. Its fast-growing food delivery business, which spans 500 cities globally, doubled its revenue to US$757 million in 2018 from US$367 million in 2017.