Lyft shares on Tuesday traded in a volatile fashion after the San Francisco-based ride-hailing company delivered its very first quarterly earnings report as a public company. Despite Lyft’s revenue surpassing analysts’ estimation, the company’s shares failed as much as 4.4 percent before rallying to recoup some of those losses.
Compared with last year’s adjusted net loss of $228.4 million, Lyft recorded an adjusted net loss of $211.5 million for the quarter. And while the Lyft’s lack of profitability continuous to become a major concern, analysts were closely watching the kind of losses the company would register in this campaign.
Lyft recorded a convincing growth in two of its closely watched metrics: revenue per active rider and active riders. Revenue per active ride increased 34 percent to $37.86 while the number of active riders rallied to 20.5 million by 46 percent.
The light-detailed report, however, contained some “encouraging signs” says analyst Jake Fuller of Guggenheim.
“With LYFT topping expectations across the board on core revenue drivers and margins, we do not see signs of competitive pressure,” the analyst writes.
In comparison with analysts’ forecasts, below is what Lyft recorded.
| Actual Report | Expected | |
| Adjusted net loss | $9.2 per share | Between $7.93 and $14.14 per share |
| Revenue | $776.0 million | $738.5 million |
| Second-quarter 2019 adjusted EBITDA guidance | Between $270 and $280 million in losses | $320.41 million in losses |
| Second-quarter 2019 revenue guidance | Between $800 million to $810 million | $782.15 million |
Lyft’s first-quarter earnings report comes after a tormenting six weeks on the stock market.
Lyft’s performance is the second-worst on record
Considering Lyft’s performance in its first month of trading compared to other large initial public offerings in the US, the company’s 20.5 percent decline marks the second-worst on record. It has only performed better than Facebook which dropped 21 percent in its first month of trading seven years ago, says Dealogic.
The drop indicates a few things, say analysts. Wall Street’s major concern is the competition from Uber, which is expected to go public before the weekend and Lyft’s unclear path to profitability; the company lost $911 million in 2018.
Information such as total rides, active riders, bookings and take rates were key metrics Wall Street was looking out for as well as Lyft’s revenue per active rider: the revenue generated in the quarter divided by active riders for the quarter. These are important metrics that measure’s Lyft’s growth in the coming years.
Most analysts are bullish, according to Bloomberg’s poll. Out of 15 analysts, 8 recommended “hold” while two suggest “sell”
Lyft still has a decision to make concerning its take rate, a major metric which represents the percentage it receives from driver’s fare. Uber and Lyft drivers are preparing for a strike this week to protest working conditions and pay.
In Tuesday’s regular session, the volatile Lyft shares declined as much as 4.2 percent and rallied up to 1.7 percent.