Lyft Stock Soars Thanks to a Positive Earnings Report

by | Aug 9, 2019 | Markets

The company cut its losses and increased revenue during the second quarter. 

Shares of Lyft have been on a bumpy ride since its March IPO. That continued this week when the company released its earnings report. Overall, the earnings report wasn’t bad and Lyft loss less money than investors were expecting. 

Lyft’s shares jumped 11% after the company raised its full-year guidance. Here is an overview of the company’s earnings report versus what Wall Street expected:

  • Revenue: $867.3 million versus the $809 million expected by analysts 
  • Losses: Lost $644.2 million versus $1.14 billion a quarter earlier  
  • Guidance: Increased revenue range to $3.47 billion to $3.5 billion from $3.275 billion to $3.3 billion

An overview of the earnings report

Overall, the earnings report delivered some much-needed good news for investors who were starting to grow wary when it came to the stock. Here are some of the main takeaways from Lyft’s second-quarter results:

  • Lyft’s pricing war with Uber is easing: Lyft’s earnings report even gave its competitor Uber a boost. The company’s shares were up 4% in after-hours trading. This is mostly thanks to Lyft telling investors that its pricing war with Uber is easing up. 
  • The company is ending its lock-up period: The company recently filed with the SEC to have its lock-up period end a month ahead of schedule. This will end on Aug. 19 and 257.6 million shares will be eligible for trading. Lyft’s stock did dip slightly after investors learned about this news. 
  • The average price per rider is up: During this past quarter, Lyft had more than 21.8 million active riders. And of these riders, the average ticket price came to $39.77 each, which is up from $37.86 during the previous quarter. 

Long-term concerns about the company persist

However, Lyft still has many ongoing headwinds it will need to deal with in the coming years. The company continues to lose a lot of money and doesn’t have a clear path to profitability.

But the company could benefit from changing consumer trends. According to the company, many consumers are shifting from owning vehicles to relying on transportation services. Lyft said that 35% of its customers don’t own a vehicle.

And it is a positive sign that the company’s guidance for these losses seems to be improving. However, Lyft will has a lot to prove to investors in the coming year.