Lyft shares drop on lower-than-expected outlook

Shares in Lyft. Inc dropped in after-hours trading after the ride-hailing company reported a lower-than-expected outlook.

For the quarter ending Dec. 31, Lyft reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $74.7 million or nine cents per share, up from a loss of $150 million in the same quarter in 2020 and earnings of $67.3 million in the previous quarter.

Revenue in the quarter came in at $969.9 million, up 70% year-over-year and up from $864.4 million in the previous quarter.

Analyst had been predicting earnings per share of eight cents on revenue of $940.1 million.

While Lyft’s finances were ahead of predictions, the same can’t be said for active riders. Lyft reported 18.73 million in the quarter, up 50% year-over-year but below an expected 20.2 million. However, the company is making more from the riders they have with revenue per active rider of $51.79 in the quarter, up from $45.63 in the prior quarter. Analysts had been predicting revenue per active rider of $46.54.

For the full year 2021, Lyft reported adjusted EBITDA of $92.9 million, a huge turnaround from a loss of $755.2 million in 2020 and the first time the company has reported an annual EBITDA profit. Revenue for the full year came in at $3.2 billion compared to $2.4 billion in 2020.

“We had a solid Q4 and achieved full-year revenue growth of 36 percent in 2021. Revenue per Active Rider, Contribution Margin and Adjusted EBITDA all reached new highs in the fourth quarter, driven by improving service levels and higher ride volumes in our marketplace,” Elaine Paul, chief financial officer of Lyft, said in a statement. “Despite short-term headwinds from omicron, we remain optimistic about full-year 2022.”

Over the last two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has played havoc with ride-hailing companies, including Lyft’s rival Uber Technologies Inc. While both have seen a recovery in rider numbers and revenue, the pandemic continues to cause issues going forward.

Due to omicron, the latest COVID-19 variant, Lyft said it expected lower results in the first quarter. The company said that it expected revenue of between $800 million and $850 million in the quarter, significantly lower than the $989.9 million predicted by analysts.

Lyft did not provide guidance on rider projections in the first quarter, saying only that it expects rides to decline slightly.

Due to the weak outlook, shares in Lyft were down 5.46% after the bell to be sitting at $38.95 as of 8 p.m. EST.

Photo: Unsplash