Lyft (LYFT) reported its Q4 2022 earnings on Feb. 9 after market close.
The San Francisco-based company beat on key metrics, like revenue and its active rider count, but missed analysts’ estimates for Q1 2023 revenue. Lyft shares sank 19% in after-hours trading.
Here’s what the ride-hailing company reported, as compared to estimates compiled by Bloomberg:
Q4 revenue: $1.18 billion actual versus $1.16 billion expected
Q4 loss per share: -$1.61 actual versus 13 cents expected
Q4 active riders: 20.36 million actual versus 20.3 million expected
Q1 revenue guidance: $975 million actual versus $1.09 billion expected
This was widely expected to be a tough earnings cycle for Lyft. Recently, the company was downgraded from Buy to Hold by Gordon Haskett analyst Robert Mollins, who cut his price target for on the stock from $24 to $19, citing concerns about app downloads and increased competition from rival Uber (UBER). However, the company is also poised to benefit in a recovering rideshare market.
“The better marketplace balance we see today creates significant opportunities for long-term profitable growth,” Lyft co-founder and CEO Logan Green said in a statement. “To take advantage of this opportunity we must ensure competitive service levels.”
‘We are focused on driving greater growth and profitability’
Still, there were notably positive points in Lyft’s release, particularly if you consider its trajectory. For instance, the company’s Q4 revenue jumped 21% year-over-year, while it’s active ride count is up almost 9% year-over-year.
“In Q4 we achieved the highest revenues in our company’s history and we outperformed guidance on Adjusted EBITDA excluding the action we took to strengthen our insurance reserves,” said Lyft CFO Elaine Paul in a statement. “Our Q1 guidance is the result of seasonality and lower prices … We are focused on driving greater growth and profitability.”
Lyft’s gaping EPS miss is linked to how the company’s insurance renewal played out, which Paul also referred to in the release. “Our different insurance renewal timing puts differently timed pressure on our P&L. We are not waiting for that to normalize to achieve competitive service levels.”
For its part, Uber reported its Q4 earnings on Feb. 8, offering up key beats in both revenue and delivery bookings. The company’s $8.61 billion Q4 revenue beat represented a 49% year-over-year jump. Uber’s shares climbed about 5% throughout yesterday, falling very slightly in after-hours trading.
Allie Garfinkle is a Senior Tech Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @agarfinks and on LinkedIn.
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