Lyft Sees Revenue Explode 7% in Last Quarter Showing Signs of COVID Recovery

With a revenue growth of 7% in the last quarter, ride hailing giant Lyft is showing the world that we may just be in a pandemic recovery finally.

The company reported its first quarter financial results this week that beat on both the top and bottom line, exceeding what Wall Street was anticipating.

For the quarter, Lyft saw a loss per share of 35 cents which was a lot better than the 53 cents per share loss that a Refinitiv survey of analysts expected.

Lyft also brought in $609 million of revenue compared to just the $558.7 million expected by Refinitiv.

Shares were flying 7% in after-hours trading on Tuesday as Wall Street digested the numbers.

For the quarter Lyft had also reported active riders at 13.49 million. This is compared to the 12.8 million that was awaited for in a FactSet survey. Revenue per active rider was $45.13 compared to $44.50 expected per FactSet.

Looking at the big picture, Lyft’s revenue is still down 36% year over year. However, the fact that it increased 7% from the fourth quarter may indicate that the rebound from pandemic lows has began.

“We continue to believe there is still significant pent-up demand for mobility that will take time to play out,” CEO Logan Green stated.

Looking ahead, Lyft has reaffirmed its expectation that it will reach profitability on an adjusted EBITDA basis by the third quarter of the year. For the second quarter the company is expecting revenue in the range of $680 million to $700 million. This would repreent a 12% to 15% increase quarter over quarter. It would also represent a growth of 100%-106% YOY.

The company is expecting limit adjusted EBITDA loss to between $35 million and $45 million in the quarter.

It was last month that Lyft sold its self-driving car unit to Woven Planet, a subsidiary of Toyota, for $550 million in cash.

“With the pending sale of our Level 5 self-driving division, Lyft is set up to win the transition to autonomous through our hybrid network of human drivers and AVs, advanced marketplace tech, and leading fleet management capabilities,” stated John Zimmer, Lyft co-founder and president.

Green added that the sell was “strategically the right move at the right time.”

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.