Lyft’ Q3 Earnings Report Show That The Company Is Making Gradual Recovery From The Effects The Pandemic Had On Its Business

Shares of ride-hailing service Lyft were up more than 12 percent in after-hours trading yesterday after the company y reported its earnings. The company recorded earnings per share of 5 cents, adjusted compared to the loss of 3 cents per share that analysts estimated, according to Refinitiv. For revenue, the company recorded $864.4 million, beating analysts’ estimates of $862.7, according to Refinitiv. The figure for active riders, however, fell below the expectations of analysts. The company recorded 18.9 million active riders, against the 19.7 million active riders was expected by analysts, according to StreetAccount. The company reported revenue per active rider to be $45.63 beating analysts expectation of $43.89, according to StreetAccount.

The ride-hailing company which battles the likes of Uber reported a net loss in the third quarter. It recorded a net loss of $71.5 million. In the same quarter last year, however, it recorded a net loss of $459.5 million. The company reported an EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) profit of $67.3 million. In the previous quarter, when the company first reported a positive EBITDA, it recorded a profit of $23.8 million. The company plans on maintaining a positive EBITDA profit henceforth.

For revenue, the company saw a 13 percent quarter-on-quarter growth to $864.4 million, up 73 percent year-over-year. The company’s figures are gradually improving as the effects of the coronavirus which brought its business to a standstill, continue to slowly fade away. Revenue per active rider which stood at $45.63 is up 14 percent year-over-year.

One big setback that Lyft faced during the pandemic was the imbalance in the demand and supply of drivers. The company tried to remedy this by providing incentives to draw drivers back onto its platform and things seem to be getting better now. In the company’s earnings report, CEO Logan Green mentioned that the company’s driver supply had improved and was up 45 percent year-over-year.

“Given our success onboarding new drivers and expected supply tailwinds, we anticipate our service levels will naturally improve in Q4 and lead to lower prices”, the company’s Finance Chief Brian Roberts said while on a call with investors.

The company forecasts revenue for the fourth quarter to be between $930 million and $940 million.