Lyft shares tank 20% after company issues weak guidance

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/09/lyft-shares-tank-20percent-after-company-issues-weak-guidance.html

Lyft shares fell 24% during after hours trading after issuing weak guidance in its earnings report on Thursday.

Here are the key numbers Lyft reported for its fiscal fourth quarter of 2022:

Loss per share: 74 cents

Revenue: $1.18 billion, vs. $1.16 billion, according to analysts surveyed by Refinitiv

Lyft said it expects to make roughly $975 million in revenue in the fiscal first quarter of 2023, lower than the $1.09 billion analysts anticipated, according to StreetAccount. Lyft also expects to make an adjusted EBITDA between $5 million and $15 million in the first quarter.

“Our Q1 guidance is the result of seasonality and lower prices, including less Prime Time,” Lyft said in its earnings release. “Additionally, 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. We are focused on driving greater growth and profitability.”

The rideshare company recorded 20.3 million active riders in the third quarter, effectively flat from the third quarter but up 8.7% year over year. That figure also remains below pre-pandemic levels. In the fourth quarter of 2019, for example, Lyft had 22.9 million active riders.