Courtesy of Bouchaib El Hassani
- Lyft shares fell more than 4% late Tuesday after the ride-hailing app reported earnings for the first time as a public company.
- Lyft's first-quarter revenue, as well as revenue outlook, topped analysts' expecations.
- The report comes days before rival Uber is expected to debut on the public market.
- Watch Lyft trade live.
Lyft shares fell more than 4% in a volatile late trading session after the ride-hailing app delivered its first quarterly earnings report as a public company. Lyft's revenue, as well as its revenue outlook, topped analysts' forecasts.
Two of Lyft's closely watched metrics, active riders and revenue per active rider, showed robust growth compared to the same time last year. Active riders rose by 46%, from 14 million a year ago to 20.5 million in the first quarter. Revenue per active rider, meanwhile, rose by 34% from the same time last year.
Here's what Lyft reported, compared with what analysts polled by Bloomberg forecast:
- Adjusted net loss per share: $9.02 versus a loss between $7.93 and $14.14 expected.
- Revenue: $776.0 million versus $738.5 million expected.
- Second-quarter 2019 adjusted EBITDA guidance: $270 million to $280 million versus a loss of $320.41 million expected.
- Second-quarter 2019 revenue guidance: $800 million to $810 million versus $782.15 million expected.
Lyft has had a brutal six weeks on the stock market.
To place Lyft's performance in perspective, consider its first month of trading relative to other large initial public offerings in the US. Its 20.5% decline was the second-worst on record, only better than Facebook's 21% drop seven years ago, according to Dealogic.
Analysts attribute the drop to a few things. Wall Street is concerned over Lyft's uncertain path to profitability (it lost $911 million last year) and competition from rival Uber, which is expected to price its IPO later this week.
Wall Street was looking for a few key metrics like active riders, total rides, take rates, and bookings. Another important metric is revenue per active rider, which comes from dividing quarterly revenue by active riders for that quarter.
That's important because analysts expect that measure's growth will flatline in the coming years.
UBS
Lyft revenue per active rider.
Gross bookings growth is also expected to slow, according to UBS analysts' projections.
UBS
UBS projections for Lyft gross bookings.
To be fair, the majority of analysts are bullish. Of those polled by Bloomberg, 15 say "buy," eight rec commend "hold," and two suggest "sell."
Raymond James analyst Justin Patterson, who has a price target of $85 - 45% above where shares are currently trading - prior to the report said he expected user growth and frequency to "remain healthy," and believes the company has room to grow in both the US and Canada.
"Net, we continue to expect LYFT to trade on 1) positive revisions to revenue and gross profit and 2) modest multiple expansion from investors becoming comfortable with TAM and competition," he said.
Tuesday's earnings report comes as Uber and Lyft drivers prepare for strikes this week to protest pay and working conditions. The consternation comes down to a metric known as the take rate, which is the percentage of a driver's fare that the ride-hailing company keeps.
Lyft shares were volatile in Tuesday's regular session, rallying by as much as 1.7% and falling by as much 4.2%.
Read more Lyft coverage from Markets Insider and Business Insider:
Uber and Lyft drivers are planning a massive strike this week over work conditions and pay rates
15 cities where Uber and Lyft drivers make the most money
Markets Insider
Lyft shares.