Lyft stock suffers after unexpected loss!

Lyft shares are headed for their worst one-day drop since the company’s initial public offering in 2019!

That only after the ride-hailing company reported an unexpected quarterly loss.

Shares fell 36% to $10.34 in early afternoon trading. The stock’s largest one-day fall so far was a 30% tumble on May 4, 2022.

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Lyft stock suffers after unexpected loss!@lyft shares are headed for their worst one-day drop after the ride-hailing company reported an unexpected quarterly loss.

Shares fell 36% to $10.34 in early afternoon trading. #lyft #shares pic.twitter.com/cnk1NCeVvI

— The_Journalbiz (@the_journalbiz) February 10, 2023

Factset Chart on Lyft

Lyft reported an adjusted loss of 74 cents per share in the fourth quarter late on Thursday, surprising analysts who were looking for a profit. Lyft also said first-quarter revenue would come in below Wall Street expectations.

There were bright spots in Lyft’s results. It had 20.4 million riders in the quarter, the highest number in nearly three years.

Still, that wasn’t enough to appease analysts at Wedbush Securities, who downgraded the stock to neutral from outperform, saying there were serious questions about whether Lyft’s business model can scale in a profitable way.

It is “a winner takes all rideshare market with Uber the winner and Lyft looking like the major loser with a murky path forward,” analysts Daniel Ives and John Katsingris wrote in a Friday note. “M&A would be the best path in our opinion although likely financial buyers are scarce for now.”

Lyft’s post-earnings performance contrasts with Uber, whose stock rose this week after it reported strong revenue growth. So far in 2023, Lyft shares have outperformed Uber’s—though Friday’s trading session will likely see some of Lyft’s gains unwind.

Shares of Uber were recently down 3.8%.

@thejournalbiz

Source:WSJ/Factset

Image:Lyft