Air travelers walk to the Lyft pickup area at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on August 20, 2020 in Los Angeles, California.
Mario Tama | Getty Images
Elevator shares fell more than 20% in after-hours trading after the weak guidance on Thursday’s earnings report.
Here are the key numbers that Lyft reported for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2022:
- Loss per share: 74 cents
- income: $1.18 billion, compared to $1.16 billion, according to analysts polled by Refinitiv.
Lyft said it expects to generate roughly $975 million in revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2023, below the $1.09 billion analysts were expecting, according to StreetAccount. Lyft also expects adjusted EBITDA to be between $5 million and $15 million in the first quarter.
“Our guidance for Q1 is the result of seasonality and lower fares, including lower prime time,” Chief Financial Officer Elaine Paul said in an earnings report, referring to a period when passenger demand is stronger than from the drivers, and if the company can earn more. “Additionally, our different insurance renewal terms put different pressures on our profits and losses. We are not waiting for this to normalize to achieve a competitive level of service. We are focused on driving growth and profitability.”
The ride-sharing company recorded 20.3 million active riders in the third quarter, actually flat from the third quarter but up 8.7% year-over-year. This number also remains below pre-pandemic levels. For example, Lyft had 22.9 million active riders in the fourth quarter of 2019.
In accordance with SEC guidance issued in December for all public companies, Lyft said it is revising the way it calculates its non-GAAP financials to include adjustments to insurance reserves from prior periods, which affect adjusted EBITDA. “Based on our updated non-GAAP estimates, adjusted EBITDA1 was negative $248.3 million, compared to negative $47.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 and negative $26.7 million in the third quarter of 2022,” Lift said.
The company reported a net loss of $588.1 million for the quarter, more than double the loss recorded in the year-ago quarter. He credited $201.3 million of that stock-based compensation and related payroll taxes.
Lyft began its restructuring in November to cut operating costs as it continues to face macroeconomic challenges. However, it said the costs associated with the restructuring effort do not reflect the efficiency of Lyft’s current operations.
Conversely, Uber reported earnings on Wednesday that beat analysts’ estimates. Uber posted its strongest quarter ever, with revenue up 49% year over year. It said the number of active drivers on the road reached an all-time high for the quarter and topped 2 billion trips in a single quarter for the first time.
