UPDATED 18:16 EDT / FEBRUARY 11 2025

EMERGING TECH

Despite turning profitable, Lyft sees shares drop 10% on earnings miss and weak outlook

Shares of Lyft Inc. dropped over 10% in late trading today after the ride-hailing company fell short of earnings in its fiscal 2024 fourth quarter and disappointed investors with a lower-than-expected outlook.

For the quarter that ended on Dec. 31, Lyft reported adjusted earnings per share of 15 cents, up from a loss of 74 cents per share in the same quarter of 2023, on revenue of $1.6 billion, up 27% year-over-year. Earnings per share fell short of the 21 cents expected by analysts, while revenue came in ahead of the $1.56 billion expected.

While Lyft shares may have fallen on the earnings per share miss, the company’s figures are a turnaround from what they were only 12 months ago. Lyft burned money through often large losses for years, but today it’s delivering positive results for investors.

In the fourth quarter, Lyft saw gross booking of $4.3 billion, up 15% year-over-year and net income came in at $61.7 million, versus a loss of $26.3 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2023. Every ride is now a positive for Lyft, with net income as a percentage of gross bookings coming in at 1.4% — to be fair, not a lot, but up from a loss per booking of 0.7% in the same quarter of the previous year.

For its full fiscal year, Lyft reported gross bookings of $16.1 billion, up 17% year-over-year and adjusted net income of $22.8 million, up from a loss of $340.3 million in 2023 — that’s not a typo, the company’s turnaround really is that big — and net cash provided from operating activities came in at $849.7 million, up from a loss of $98.2 million the year prior.

Lyft saw a record number of rides in the quarter, up 15% year-over-year to 219 million. For the full year, rides rose 17%, to 828 million. “Active riders” rose 10%, to 24.7 million, and also rose 10% year-over-year, to 44 million for the full year.

“2024 was a record-smashing year for Lyft,” Lyft Chief Executive Officer David Risher said in the company’s earnings release. “But we’ve got more to do,” Risher added. “Our biggest competition is inertia. 2025 will be the year we show millions of riders and drivers: You’ve now got a better rideshare choice.”

For its fiscal 2025 first quarter, Lyft said that it expects adjusted earnings of $90 million to $95 million and gross bookings in the range of $4.05 billion to $4.2 billion. At the midpoint, both fell short of the $93.7 million in earnings and $4.23 billion in bookings expected by analysts.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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