Lyft shares tank on larger-than-expected loss, weak guidance

EMERGING TECH

Shares in Lyft Inc. tanked in late trading after the ride-hailing company reported a much larger-than-expected loss and delivered guidance below analysts’ expectations.

For the fourth quarter that ended Dec. 31, Lyft reported an adjusted loss of 74 cents per share on revenue of $1.18 billion. Analysts had expected earnings per share of 15 cents and revenue of $1.15 billion.

The net loss of $588.1 million more than doubled a net loss of $248.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. Lyft did note that the figure included $201.3 million in stock-based compensation and related payroll tax expenses.

Active riders in the quarter were 20.36 million, up from 20.3 million in the previous quarter and up 9% year-over-year. The number was slightly higher than the 20.3 million expected. Active revenue per rider came in at $57.72, up 11% from the previous quarter and the fourth quarter of 2021.

Highlights in the quarter included Lyft integrating its driver app with CarPlay and Android Auto, making it the first ride-hailing company in the market to do so. More than 60% of rides are now being powered by Lyft’s in-house mapping and navigation, up from fewer than 1% a year ago.

Lyft also expanded its partnership with JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A., including giving Chase Sapphire Reserve Cardmembers free access to Lyft’s Pink All Access premium membership option.

For the full-year 2022, Lyft reported a net loss of $1.6 billion, up from $1.1 billion in 2021, on revenue of $4.1 billion, up 28% year-over-year.

The outlook didn’t look much better. For its first quarter, Lyft is predicting revenue of $975 million with adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization of $5 million to $15 million. Analysts had been expecting revenue of $1.09 billion.

“Our Q1 guidance is the result of seasonality and lower prices, including less Prime Time,” Elaine Paul, chief financial officer of Lyft, explained in a statement. “Additionally, our different insurance renewal timing puts differently timed pressure on our profit and loss. We are not waiting for that to normalize to achieve competitive service levels. We are focused on driving greater growth and profitability.”

Between the earnings miss and weak outlook, investors did not like the numbers, sending Lyft shares down over 30% in late trading.

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