Uber Technologies (NYSE: UBER) and its industry-leading mobility platform went public in 2019 at a price per share of roughly $45. At the time, it had an operating loss of over $4 billion annually. Today, Uber's share price is has risen to about $60. However, and much more importantly, the company delivered an operating income of $2.7 billion last year.

Free-cash-flow (FCF) generation tells a similar story. The company went from burning around $4 billion per year early in its publicly traded history to generating $6 billion in FCF over the trailing 12 months.

Thanks to its five-year transformation from a "unicorn" start-up company to a more mature (and profitable) enterprise -- yet only seeing a minimal share price increase -- now may be the time to buy the new-look business.

Here are four reasons why there is still time to buy this promising growth stock.

Uber's leading mobility network connects its 161 million monthly active platform consumers with its nearly 8 million drivers and a growing fleet of autonomous vehicles. Whether moving people, groceries, or freight, Uber's massive platform provides mobility options for more than 10,000 cities worldwide, resulting in 31 million trips per day.

Thanks to this widespread usage, Uber's mobility segment currently holds a dominant 75% market share of the ride-sharing niche in the United States and a leading 25% share globally. Meanwhile, the company's delivery segment (Uber Eats) holds a 23% share of the meal delivery business, making it the clear No. 2 provider in the U.S., only trailing DoorDash's 67% share.

With the ride-sharing and food delivery industries expected to grow by a mid-double-digit percentage for years to come in the U.S. -- with potentially even faster rates internationally -- Uber should thrive thanks to its top dog status.

The main reason I'm optimistic about Uber remaining the industry leader is its widely recognizable brand. The company recently ranked 61st on Kantar BrandZ's 2024 Most Valuable Global Brands list, rising 35 positions from its spot at 96 last year. Kantar BrandZ generates its rankings by combining a brand's economic and financial value with its value to consumers and business decision-makers through an array of studies and reports.

It is important to investors that Uber landed on this list because the stocks tied to Kantar's top 100 list each year have outperformed the S&P 500 since 2006 (312% growth for the S&P 500 compared to 400% for Top 100 brands and 441% for Top 10 powerful brands).