Lyft flat despite strong earnings report

Lyft, the second most popular ride-hailing platform in the U.S., just reported earnings for the quarter ended June 20:

• Loss per share: $0.68 adjusted, vs an expected loss of $1.74, per Refinitiv
• Revenue: $867 million vs $809 million expected, per Refinitiv

Shares in the company climbed as much as 13% after hours, but gave up early gains after the company announced share lock-ups would expire on August 19, 2019 rather than a previously scheduled date in September.

In a call with CNBC’s Deirdre Bosa, Lyft CFO Brian Roberts said he believed peak losses for the company were last year, based on how well this quarter went. He also said the company may break even sooner than it predicted, and will update the street later this year in terms of long-term guidance and break-even date.

Lyft said it now expects revenue to reach between $3.47 billion and $3.5 billion this year, up from a previously stated range of $3.275 billion to $3.3 billion. The company also said that it expects to stem its losses in its first fiscal year on the public markets, revising guidance from EBITDA losses of $1.15 billion to $1.175 billion down to $850 million to $875 million

In addition to better than expected sales and a rosier outlook, Lyft reported that it had 21.8 million “active riders” on its platform in the second quarter, versus the 21.1 million analysts expected.

Lyft made its public market debut in March, raising about $2.3 billion from its listing. Shares in Lyft had dipped more than 15% from its IPO price, prior to its second quarter update.

Like Uber, its chief competitor, Lyft has been trying to build its mobility business beyond ride-hailing. It acquired Motivate, and its bike-sharing network, and deployed electric “dockless” bikes, and scooters in North American cities.

Uber shares also rose more than 3% as investors reacted to Lyft’s positive guidance.

In recent weeks, Lyft had to pull its electric bikes from some markets after some of the bikes caught fire due to undetermined causes.

Former Chief Operating Officer Jon McNeill recently left Lyft after less than two years there, the company disclosed in a filing at the end of July.