Lyft: first-quarter results well ahead of forecasts

(CercleFinance.com) - Lyft, the biggest rival of ride-hailing giant Uber, reported first-quarter results that are well ahead of market expectations, boosting its shares on the Nasdaq.


Last night Lyft reported revenue of 956 million dollars for the past quarter, ahead of analysts' expectations of 798 million dollars, while its active rider customer base reached 21.2 million, versus a consensus of 18 million.

The company continues to make losses, but reported a net loss of just 398 million dollars for the quarter versus a net loss of 1.1 billion dollars in the same period of 2019.

Saying that the Covid-19 pandemic is posing challenge to its business, the San Francisco-based company did not provide any guidance, although it said the number of rides collapsed 75% year-on-year in April.

Even so, many analysts saw a lot of "very encouraging signals" in Lyft's report.

"There are signs that a bottom is forming, with ride volume up sequentially in the last three weeks", Jefferies noted.

"With about 2/3 of US states loosening restrictions, this should further improve," the broker added.

Investors seemed to agree, as the share jumped over 18% in early trading on Thursday.

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