UPDATED 22:50 EST / AUGUST 04 2022

EMERGING TECH

Lyft shares surge on record earnings as riders return post-COVID-19

Shares in Lyft Inc. surged in late trading after the ride-hailing company reported record earnings as riders returned to the service post-COVID-19.

For its second quarter ended June 30, Lyft reported an adjusted net income of $46.4 million, or 12 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $18 million in the second quarter of last year and net income of $24.6 million in the first quarter. Revenue rose 30% from a year ago and 13% from the first quarter, to $909.7 million. Analysts had expected an adjusted loss of four cents on revenue of $989.07 million.

The highlight of the quarter was the return of riders. In the quarter, active riders came in at 19.86 million, up from 17.14 million a year ago and 17.8 million in the first quarter. Revenue per active rider rose 11.8% year-over-year, to $49.89. So not only did Lyft have more customers, but they were also spending more.

While revenue and riders increased in the quarter, so did Lyft’s net loss, coming in at $377.2 million versus $251.9 million a year ago and $196.9 million in the previous quarter. The net loss included $179.1 million of stock-based compensation and related payroll tax expenses.

“We leaned in hard in Q2 and the team did fantastic work to drive strong results,” Logan Green, co-founder and chief executive officer of Lyft, said in a statement. “We generated the highest adjusted EBITDA in our company’s history and saw COVID highs for Active Riders, drivers and rides. It’s clear consumer transportation is a good long-term business with a massive addressable market.”

Looking forward, Lyft said that it expects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of between $55 million and $65 million in the third quarter on revenue of $1.04 billion to $1.06 billion. Analysts had expected EBITDA of $67.4 million on revenue of $1.12 billion.

Despite the miss in outlook and earnings, the better-than-expected earnings per share and record revenue impressed investors. Shares in Lyft rose 9% after the bell.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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