Uber ‘just started to flex its platform muscle': Can other gig-economy players keep up?

After ride-hailing and delivery platform Uber Technologies Inc. reported quarterly results last week, the blurbs swept in from analysts. They cheered the company’s more consistent profitability and the prospect of an investor-payout plan, growth in ride demand and gains in the segment that allows other businesses to advertise in the app. And they cited its potential to become a bigger part of local economies by transporting more people, takeout, groceries and other goods from one spot to another. One said U ...