Marti Technologies, the “Uber of Turkey”, wins “Buy” rating at Roth

Roth Capital Partners has initiated coverage on Marti Technologies (Marti Technologies Stock Quote, Chart, News, Analysts, Financials NYSE:MRT) citing strong user growth and near-term profitability potential as the Istanbul-based ride-hailing company expands its multi-modal platform across Türkiye.

Analyst Rohit Kulkarni initiated coverage with a “Buy” rating and a 12-month price target of $5.75.

Headquartered in Istanbul, Marti is the only operator offering a multi-modal shared mobility platform in the country, including ride-hailing cars, taxis, mopeds, and e-scooters. Kulkarni said the company has already surpassed 2 million riders and 300,000 drivers, with more than 35 million rides logged.

“We recommend buying shares of MRT ahead of regulatory approval, corporate EBITDA break-even and subsequent ride-sharing inflection, all likely in the next nine months,” Kulkarni said in a May 5 note to investors.

“Since late 2023, number of registered drivers on Marti’s marketplace have grown 3x whereas number of unique riders have grown 4x, implying marketplace network effects at play.

“In Oct. 2024, Marti started offering monthly subscriptions to drivers to access the mobile app and accept rides. Since then, we estimate Marti’s ride-hailing business has gone from <$10mn ARR to >$20mn ARR. We think scale begets market share and superior unit economics vs. peers, as we have observed with Internet Marketplaces.”

Kulkarni projects Marti will generate $0.8-million in adjusted EBITDA on $33.8-million in revenue in fiscal 2025, improving to $17.5-million in EBITDA on $70.5-million in revenue in fiscal 2026.

He added that Marti’s fixed-cost structure should drive margin expansion as volume scales.

“Going forward, Marti believes it can generate positive EBITDA within the next 12 months because nearly all the heavy lifting is already embedded in its 2025 plan,” he said. “Ride-hailing is now monetized and scaling on a month-over-month basis, yet the model still assumes a low-single-digit take rate and no new city launches, so every incremental ride drops almost entirely to the bottom line.”

-30-