Lyft crushed expectations Wednesday with the release of its second quarter earnings report. The ridesharing service posted a loss per share of just $0.68 — less than half of the $1.74 that was expected.
The company also reported $867.3 million in revenue, which was up from the $809 million expected and a sharp increase from the $504.9 million posted in the second quarter of last year.
"Lyft's second quarter was marked by strong execution and important advances in our product and platform," Logan Green, Lyft's co-founder and CEO, said in a statement. Green added that the strong revenue stemmed largely from accelerated Active Rider growth and increased Revenue per Active Rider monetization.
The ride hailing company's earnings report comes less than five months after Lyft went public on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.
Since its highly-anticipated market debut, however, Lyft's stock has struggled to gain traction with shares currently down roughly a quarter from its opening day high of $78 a piece. The company's stock has, nonetheless, been up around 13 percent over the last three months.
Founded in 2012 in San Francisco, Lyft ($LYFT) was originally known for the fuzzy pink mustaches fixed to the hoods and grilles of its cars and largely seen as the younger brother of Uber. Seven years later, the company has completed over one billion rides and has nearly two million drivers.
Wednesday's earnings report noted that the number of active riders in the second quarter hit 21.8 million, an increase of over 40 percent from the year prior.
"It's amazing" Ray Wang, principal analyst and founder of Constellation Research, told Cheddar. "What it shows right now is that they have got their operation down in order, and they have been able to manage their expense and cost structure."
Still, Lyft posted a net loss of $644.2 million for the second quarter.
Although the company's shares surged in after-hours trading due to improved guidance for 2019's third quarter, they quickly leveled off after Lyft announced it was moving up the lockup date release for its shareholders by more than a month.
The company also said it now expects to lose between $850 million and $875 million, which is way down from the earlier guidance of between $1.15 billion and $1.175 billion.
"We remain focused on reshaping transportation, and we are pleased with the continued improvement in market conditions. This environment along with our execution is translating to strong revenue growth and sales and marketing efficiencies," Green said. "As a result of this positive momentum, we anticipate 2019 losses to be better than previously expected, and we are pleased to have updated our outlook."
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
At the core of the ongoing government shutdown is a fight over the decision to end subsidies that let some 12 million Americans get health coverage.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
