UPDATED 22:32 EST / NOVEMBER 02 2021

EMERGING TECH

Lyft shares surge on stronger-than-expected earnings

Shares in Lyft Inc. surged in after-hours trading today after it reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter earnings.

For the quarter ended Sept. 30, Lyft reported revenue jumped 73% from a year ago, to $864.4 million. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in the quarter came in at $67.3 million, or five cents per share. This compares with a loss of $280.4 million in the third quarter of 2020.

Analysts had been predicting revenue of $862.7 million and a loss of three cents per share.

Lyft’s figures were positive across the board as the ride-hailing company continued to see improved results thanks to the easing of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Revenue per active rider came in at $45.63, with 18.9 million active riders in the quarter.

“We had a great quarter,” Logan Green, co-founder and chief executive officer of Lyft, said in a statement. “Driver supply materially improved in Q3, up nearly 45% versus last year, reflecting strong new driver trends.”

Increasing drivers was notable for the company as the number of drivers Lyft could attract was a limiting factor in previous quarters. This comes amid a labor shortage in the U.S., although as Pymnts noted, the increase in drivers may have also been related to the sunsetting of federal unemployment benefits. Some 85% of Lyft drivers are said to work for the company for fewer than 10 hours a week to supplement their income, and when they were receiving benefits, they didn’t feel a need to do that.

Looking forward, Lyft predicted fourth-quarter revenue of between $930 million and $940 million with adjusted earnings ranging from $70 million to $75 million.

Green said on the earnings call that nights-out and weekend use cases had improved and that airport rides have nearly tripled year-over-year. According to MarketWatch, he also noted that Citi bike rides, the bike-hailing division of Lyft, had hit an all-time high in the quarter.

Investors liked the numbers. Lyft’s share price rose almost 13% in after-hours trading.

Photo: Unsplash

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