Lyft races toward profitability after hitting $1B in revenue for first time
Lyft, Uber both aiming to achieve profitability sooner than initial forecasts
Lyft’s ongoing competition with Uber heated up on Tuesday after the smaller rideshare company posted a narrower-than-expected loss in the fourth quarter and beat revenue expectations.
The company posted a loss that was smaller than expected in its fourth-quarter earnings report, an adjusted loss of $130.7 million or 41 cents per share. Lyft’s adjusted loss was $251.1 million in the same period in fiscal 2018.
For the first time, Lyft achieved quarterly revenue of more than $1 billion. Revenue was $1.017 billion in the fourth quarter, up from $669.5 million in the same period one year ago. Quarterly revenue came in higher than the $984.2 million expected on Wall Street, according to Refinitiv data.
“Fiscal 2019 was an exceptional year across the board. We significantly improved our path to profitability while simultaneously reaching critical milestones toward our long-term strategy,” Lyft co-founder and CEO Logan Green said in a press release. “Continued strength in core rideshare drove our industry-leading growth, led by product innovation and operational excellence on every facet of our robust transportation platform.
Concerns about Lyft’s ability to reach profitability have weighed on the shares since the company went public last year.
Despite the better-than-expected results, Lyft shares fell in after-hours trading.
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Lyft’s customer base grew 23 percent to 22.9 million riders in the fourth quarter, up from 11.6 million year-over-year. The company reported $44.40 in revenue per active rider, up 23 percent compared to last year’s fourth-quarter tally of $36.02.
For the full year, Lyft reported revenue of $3.6 billion in fiscal 2019, up from $2.2 billion in 2018. Adjusted net loss was $651.8 million in fiscal 2019, down from $888.7 million in fiscal 2018.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LYFT | LYFT INC. | 17.17 | -0.19 | -1.09% |
| UBER | UBER TECHNOLOGIES INC. | 73.07 | +1.11 | +1.54% |
Lyft reported earnings amid ongoing intense competition from its rideshare rival, Uber, which controls a larger share of the market.
Uber shares have surged this month after the company said it would achieve profitability by the end of 2020, ahead of its initial forecast of 2021.
FOX Business' Susan Li contributed to this report. This story has been updated.
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