Company Performance - Lyft's stock closed at $12.40, reflecting a -1.12% change from the previous day's closing price, underperforming the S&P 500's gain of 0.15% [1] - Over the past month, Lyft's stock has increased by 2.53%, outperforming the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 1.15% and the S&P 500's loss of 0.21% [1] Upcoming Earnings - Lyft is set to release its earnings report on May 8, 2025, with analysts expecting earnings of $0.20 per share, representing a year-over-year growth of 33.33% [2] - The consensus estimate for revenue is $1.46 billion, indicating a 14.65% increase from the same quarter last year [2] Fiscal Year Estimates - For the entire fiscal year, Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $1.02 per share and revenue of $6.51 billion, reflecting changes of +7.37% and +12.57% respectively from the previous year [3] - Recent changes to analyst estimates for Lyft are important as they reflect near-term business trends, with positive revisions indicating analysts' confidence in the company's performance [3] Valuation Metrics - Lyft is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 12.25, which is lower than the industry average Forward P/E of 18.51 [6] - The PEG ratio for Lyft is 0.58, compared to the average PEG ratio of 1.33 for the Internet - Services industry [6] Industry Context - The Internet - Services industry, part of the Computer and Technology sector, has a Zacks Industry Rank of 168, placing it in the bottom 33% of over 250 industries [7] - The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of industry groups, with the top 50% rated industries outperforming the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1 [7]

Group 1 - Engine Capital, a special situations fund, aims to elect two candidates to Lyft's board to address governance and capital allocation issues, proposing a $750 million accelerated share repurchase program, elimination of the dual class share structure, and de-staggering the board [1][2] - Engine Capital criticizes Lyft's capital structure as "completely unoptimized," highlighting that co-founders with 2.3% ownership hold 30% voting power, and the staggered board structure hinders full board turnover [2] - Lyft's management emphasizes its focus on customer satisfaction and operational strength, reporting record gross bookings, adjusted EBITDA, and free cash flow in 2024 [3][4] Group 2 - Lyft's board unanimously recommends a vote for its director nominees and urges stockholders not to support Engine Capital's proxy card [4] - Lyft CEO David Risher asserts that the company is already implementing many of Engine's suggested actions, having initiated a $500 million share repurchase program and acquired FREENOW for European expansion [5][6] - Risher notes a 56% reduction in stock-based compensation since 2022 and the addition of directors with capital allocation expertise as part of Lyft's strategic improvements [6]

Core Insights - Uber is the dominant player in the North American ride-sharing market and has diversified into food delivery and freight, while Lyft focuses primarily on ride-sharing in the U.S. [4][5][22] - Uber's growth strategies include international expansion, acquisitions, and a strong buyback program, indicating confidence in its business model [6][7][22] - Lyft is also pursuing opportunities in the autonomous vehicle market but has faced challenges and is more vulnerable to economic downturns compared to Uber [9][23] Group 1: Uber's Performance and Strategy - Uber's gross bookings from the Mobility segment are expected to grow 15.6% year-over-year, while the Delivery segment is projected to grow 15.1% [6] - The company generated a record $6.9 billion in free cash flow in 2024 and announced a $1.5 billion accelerated stock buyback program [7] - Uber's market capitalization stands at $163.85 billion, positioning it well to navigate economic challenges [22] Group 2: Lyft's Position and Challenges - Lyft's sales estimates for 2025 and 2026 imply year-over-year increases of 12.6% and 12.2%, respectively, but its EPS estimates have been trending downward [15] - The company has introduced a Price Lock feature to attract more riders, which has shown better-than-expected performance [12][13] - Lyft's market capitalization is significantly smaller at $5.12 billion, making it less resilient in uncertain economic conditions [23] Group 3: Comparative Analysis - Uber has outperformed Lyft in stock market performance, with a year-to-date gain of 29.9% compared to Lyft's decline of 4.9% [18] - Lyft's forward sales multiple is 0.76, below its five-year median, while Uber's is 3.10, indicating a premium for its market position [21] - Overall, Uber is viewed as a better investment option compared to Lyft, despite both companies currently holding a Zacks Rank 3 (Hold) [24]

Lyft found that surge pricing is “deeply unpopular” with customers, CEO David Risher said in his annual letter to shareholders, released Thursday (April 24).Surge pricing, which the rideshare company calls Prime Time or PT, balances supply and demand by raising prices when demand is high, thereby incentivizing more drivers to get online, according to the letter.The company knew this was unpopular with customers, but the issue was clarified when Risher hit the road as a Lyft driver, as he does every six week ...

Lyft is set to start rolling out a feature that will let riders opt in to be matched with a licensed taxi when that vehicle can get there faster than a rideshare one.The company will launch this feature in St. Louis on May 5, Bloomberg reported Thursday (April 24), saying the rideshare company confirmed this plan after the feature was discovered within the code of its mobile app.“We’re always exploring new ways to help riders get to the people and places they love,” the company said, per the report. “We’re ...

Core Insights - Lyft is attempting to increase its market share outside the United States by acquiring the FreeNow mobility platform, which operates in 19 countries [4][6] - The acquisition is expected to double Lyft's annual ride volume to over 160 million, leveraging FreeNow's established customer base of 6.3 million users [6] - Lyft's stock forecast indicates a potential upside of 43.98%, with a 12-month price target of $16.45 [5] Financial Performance - Lyft reported a 17% year-over-year growth in gross bookings, reaching $16.1 billion [15] - Revenue increased by 31% year-over-year to $5.8 billion [15] - The company achieved a net income of $22.8 million, a significant improvement from a loss of $340.3 million in 2023 [15] - Adjusted EBITDA rose to $382.4 million compared to $222.4 million in 2023 [15] - Free cash flow improved to $849.7 million from a loss of $98.2 million in 2023 [15] - Total rides increased by 17% year-over-year to 828 million in 2024, marking Lyft's first full year of GAAP profitability [15] Market Position - Uber dominates the U.S. ride-hailing market with a 76% market share, while Lyft holds 8% of the global ride-hailing market [4] - Lyft's strategy to target markets where Uber has less concentration is seen as a logical move [4] - The FreeNow acquisition positions Lyft to compete more effectively in the European market [4][6] Future Developments - Lyft plans to roll out autonomous vehicles (AVs) in partnership with May Mobility and Mobileye as early as summer 2025 [11][12] - The partnership with Marubeni aims to deploy thousands of AVs on the Lyft platform starting in Dallas by 2026 [13]

By end of 2024, I wrote an article arguing why Lyft (NASDAQ: LYFT ) is a "Strong Buy", building my thesis on $1.5 billion of expected annual free cash flow 2027+. Since then, Lyft reported a weaker than expected Q4 print. And investor sentimentExperience as an investment analyst for a major BB-Bank, as well as private equity consultant for MBB. Currently working towards the CFA charter, having completed I&II. Passion for risk-assets (Growth, Contrarian, Emerging Market) ex-colleague and close friend of Inve ...

Analyst's Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of LYFT, UBER either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Hello! I am a Latin-American fundamentalist investor searching for discounted stocks across the region, but also worldwide. I have worke ...

Lyft is going to Europe after a big acquisition.Lyft (LYFT 2.81%) is acquiring a taxi app in Europe. This may seem like an odd addition to the business, but Travis Hoium explains why it's a perfect strategic fit in this video.*Stock prices used were end-of-day prices of April 16, 2025. The video was published on April 17, 2025. ...

Lyft is expanding into Europe with its $197 million purchase of taxi app FreeNow.The deal, announced Wednesday (April 16), will see Lyft acquire the Germany-based company from BMW and Mercedes-Benz Mobility. It also marks the ride-hailing service’s largest expansion outside of North America.“We’re on an ambitious path to build the best, most customer-obsessed mobility platform in the world, and entering Europe is an important step in our growth journey,” Lyft CEO David Risher said in a news release.“We foun ...