News

Lyft Inc. (LYFT) reported first-quarter 2024 earnings of 15 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 9 cents and improved year over year.

Revenues of $1,277.2 million also outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,170.1 million and improved 27.6% year over year, reflecting growth in the rideshare market. Active riders increased 12% year over year to 21.9 million.

Gross bookings reported for the quarter were $3.69 billion, marking a year-over-year increase of 21%.

Lyft, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Lyft’s adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter was $59.4 million. The figure surpassed our model estimate of $51.4 million and the adjusted EBITDA of $22.7 million in the year-ago reported figure. The adjusted EBITDA margin (calculated as the percentage of gross bookings) was 1.6%.

Lyft exited the first quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $507.91 million compared with $558.63 million at the prior-quarter end. Long-term debt, net of the current portion at the end of the reported quarter, was $942.17 million compared with $839.36 million at the prior-quarter end.

Guidance

For the second quarter of 2024, LYFT expects gross bookings in the range of $4.0-$4.1 billion, which reflects year-over-year growth of 16-19%.The adjusted EBITDA is estimated to be in the band of $95-$100million, and the adjusted EBITDA margin (calculated as a percentage of gross bookings) is expected to be around 2.4%.

For 2024, Lyft continues to anticipate rides year-over-year growth in the mid-teens. Adjusted EBITDA margin (calculated as a percentage of gross bookings) is expected to be around 2.1%.

Lyft remains on track to achieve positive free cash flow for the full year. Given its improved visibility into the first half of the year, Lyft now anticipates converting at least 70% of adjusted EBITDA to free cash flow for 2024.

Lyft currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Let’s take a look at the first-quarter performances of other companies from the same industry.

Uber TechnologiesUBER reported a loss of 32 cents per share in the first quarter of 2024. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at 21 cents. In the year-ago quarter, UBER incurred a loss of 8 cents.

Total revenues of $10,131 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $10,076 million. The top line jumped 15% year over year.

Alphabet’sGOOGL first-quarter 2024 earnings of $1.89 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 26.8%. The figure grew 61.5% year over year.

Revenues of $80.54 billion increased 15% year over year (16% at constant currency).

Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double"

From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.

It’s an American AI company that’s riding low right now, but it has rounded up clients like BMW, GE, Dell Computer, and Bosch. It has prospects for not just doubling but quadrupling in the year to come. Of course, all our picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.

Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners Up

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.