Lyft futures plummet despite surprise Q2 profit, as guidance disappoints

Lyft announced its first-ever quarter in the black on Wednesday on the back of a record number of rides, but shares tanked in pre-market trading as guidance for the current quarter disappointed investors.

The company logged 205m rides during the second quarter, up 15% year-on-year, with active rider numbers rising 10% to 23.7m.

Gross bookings increased 17% to $4.0bn, resulted in a 41% jump in revenue to $1.4bn.

As such, Lyft recorded a net income of $5m for the quarter, compared with a net loss of $114m the year before, surprising analysts who expected another loss.

“For over a year you've heard us say that customer obsession drives profitable growth," said chief executive David Risher. “In Q2 we delivered, and drivers and riders are choosing Lyft in record numbers.”

However, for the third quarter, Lyft guided to gross bookings of $4.0-4.1bn and adjusted EBITDA of $90-95m, shy of the $4.15bn and $103m consensus forecasts, respectively.

Lyft futures were down 16% at $9.21 in pre-market trade in New York, set to hit levels not seen since October 2023.