Proactive Investors - Uber, Lyft and DoorDash drivers are striking on Valentine’s Day as they battle for better pay.
However, it hasn’t affected investors’ sentiment all that much, with shares in all three trading higher.
Justice for App workers, the group organising the protest, said: "While Silicon Valley and Wall Street take an ever-increasing cut of driver earnings, they’re raising rates on passengers, and expecting consumers and workers alike to accept their increasing corporate greed."
Uber appears to have shrugged off the strikes, telling reporters the walkouts "have rarely had any impact on trips, prices, or driver availability."
Shares in DoorDash Inc (NYSE:NASDAQ:DASH) lifted by 1%, while Lyft Inc (NASDAQ:LYFT) jumped by 31% after reporting strong earnings and retaining some gains from an accounting error.
To rub salt into the wounds, Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE:NYSE:UBER, ETR:UT8) shares soared 12% higher after it unveiled a maiden US$7 billion share buyback.
"Today's authorization of our first-ever share repurchase program is a vote of confidence in the company's strong financial momentum," Uber’s chief financial officer Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah said.
"Uber is hitting on all cylinders and has decided it's time to return capital back to the owners. It's as well as operational,"
Thomas Hayes, chairman of hedge fund Great Hill Capital, praised the “operational discipline perfectly executed by CEO Dara Khosrowshahi” adding that the decision is “a vote of confidence in demand for their services,”
Drivers working in 10 cities across the US will refuse to accept rides to and from airports between 11 am and 1 pm on Wednesday, mirroring similar walkouts by delivery drivers in the UK.
Strikes will take place across major cities in North America.