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

Shares in Lyft Inc. tanked in late buying and selling after the ride-hailing firm reported a a lot larger-than-expected loss and delivered steering beneath analysts’ expectations.

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

The web lack of $588.1 million greater than doubled a web lack of $248.3 million within the fourth quarter of 2021. Lyft did notice that the determine included $201.3 million in stock-based compensation and associated payroll tax bills.

Lively riders within the quarter have been 20.36 million, up from 20.3 million within the previous quarter and up 9% year-over-year. The quantity was barely larger than the 20.3 million anticipated. Lively income per rider got here in at $57.72, up 11% from the earlier quarter and the fourth quarter of 2021.

Highlights within the quarter included Lyft integrating its driver app with CarPlay and Android Auto, making it the primary ride-hailing firm available in the market to take action. Greater than 60% of rides are actually being powered by Lyft’s in-house mapping and navigation, up from fewer than 1% a yr in the past.

Lyft additionally expanded its partnership with JPMorgan Chase Financial institution N.A., together with giving Chase Sapphire Reserve Cardmembers free entry to Lyft’s Pink All Entry premium membership choice.

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

The outlook didn’t look a lot better. For its first quarter, Lyft is predicting income of $975 million with adjusted earnings earlier than curiosity, taxation, depreciation and amortization of $5 million to $15 million. Analysts had been anticipating income of $1.09 billion.

“Our Q1 steering is the results of seasonality and decrease costs, together with much less Prime Time,” Elaine Paul, chief monetary officer of Lyft, defined in a statement. “Moreover, our completely different insurance coverage renewal timing places in another way timed strain on our revenue and loss. We’re not ready for that to normalize to attain aggressive service ranges. We’re centered on driving better development and profitability.”

Between the earnings miss and weak outlook, traders didn’t just like the numbers, sending Lyft shares down over 30% in late buying and selling.

Picture: State of New York/Wikimedia Commons