Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

One way to track the rise of tech — check the expense reports

Amazon, Uber and Lyft are among the Top 10 most frequently expensed U.S. vendors this quarter.

A Lyft driver takes two passengers to their destination.
A Lyft driver takes two passengers to their destination.
Lyft
Rani Molla
Rani Molla was a senior correspondent at Vox and has been focusing her reporting on the future of work. She has covered business and technology for more than a decade — often in charts — including at Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal.

Tech disruption is increasingly showing up on expense reports.

For the first time, Lyft has become one of the Top 10 most frequently expensed U.S. business costs this quarter, according to new data from online travel and expense software company Certify. At No. 6, Lyft joins Uber and Amazon, which have been climbing the ranks since first appearing in the Top 10 three years ago. Both Uber and Amazon’s numbers include their food delivery businesses.

Lyft makes now up 3 percent of all U.S. business expenses, while Uber represents 11 percent and Amazon 4 percent. That’s up from next to nothing a few years ago.

This growth in usage reflects changing corporate travel trends, and has enabled tech companies to take an increasingly large bite out of the world’s $1.4 trillion business travel industry.

Naturally, the ascent of these tech companies has pushed other companies out.

Uber has grown to 73 percent of all ride-hail expenses (Uber Eats is not included here), while Lyft is 20 percent and taxis represent 7 percent (this market share doesn’t include other rides-share players, so the true percentage would be a bit smaller). Just four years ago, taxi rides made up 74 percent — about the same as Uber now — of all ride-hailing receipts. The average Uber or Lyft expense is around $25.

Other related industries, like rental cars, have also felt competition from ride-hailing apps.

Amazon’s rise on expense reports hasn’t pushed out its biggest competitor, Walmart, which has managed to maintain its place for the most part on the Top 10. The average Amazon expense, however is $110, nearly double the $56 spent at Walmart. And what are people buying from Amazon? Everything from business supplies to cloud computing to food delivery.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

More in Technology

Technology
The case for AI realismThe case for AI realism
Technology

AI isn’t going to be the end of the world — no matter what this documentary sometimes argues.

By Shayna Korol
Politics
OpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agendaOpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agenda
Politics

The AI company released a set of highly progressive policy ideas. There’s just one small problem.

By Eric Levitz
Future Perfect
Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.
Future Perfect

Protecting astronauts in space — and maybe even Mars — will help transform health on Earth.

By Shayna Korol
Podcasts
The importance of space toilets, explainedThe importance of space toilets, explained
Podcast
Podcasts

Houston, we have a plumbing problem.

By Peter Balonon-Rosen and Sean Rameswaram
Technology
What happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputerWhat happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputer
Technology

How they’re using AI at the lab that created the atom bomb.

By Joshua Keating
Future Perfect
Humanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious missionHumanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious mission
Future Perfect

Space barons like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk don’t seem religious. But their quest to colonize outer space is.

By Sigal Samuel