Ride sharing service Lyft (NASDAQ: LYFT) reported results in line with analyst expectations in Q2 FY2022 quarter, with revenue up 29.5% year on year to $990.7 million. Lyft made a GAAP loss of $377.2 million, down on its loss of $251.9 million, in the same quarter last year.
Is now the time to buy Lyft? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.
Lyft (LYFT) Q2 FY2022 Highlights:
- Revenue: $990.7 million vs analyst estimates of $988.1 million (small beat)
- EPS (GAAP): -$1.08
- Free cash flow was negative $48.1 million, compared to negative free cash flow of $182.6 million in previous quarter
- Gross Margin (GAAP): 34.3%, down from 45% same quarter last year
- Active Riders: 19.8 million, up 2.71 million year on year
“We leaned in hard in Q2 and the team did fantastic work to drive strong results,” said Logan Green, co-founder and chief executive officer of Lyft.
Founded by Logan Green and John Zimmer as a long-distance intercity carpooling company Zimride, Lyft (NASDAQ: LYFT) operates a ridesharing network in the US and Canada.
The iPhone changed the world, ushering in the era of the “always-on” internet and “on-demand” services - anything someone could want is just a few taps away. Likewise, the gig economy sprang up in a similar fashion, with a proliferation of tech-enabled freelance labor marketplaces, which work hand and hand with many on demand services. Individuals can now work on demand too. What began with tech enabled platforms that aggregated riders and drivers has expanded over the past decade to include food delivery, groceries, and now even a plumber or graphic designer are all just a few taps away.
Sales Growth
Lyft's revenue growth over the last three years has been strong, averaging 24.2% annually. Lyft's revenue took a hit when the pandemic first hit, but it has since rebounded strongly, as you can see below.
This quarter, Lyft reported solid 29.5% year on year revenue growth, in line with analysts' expectations.
Ahead of the earnings results the analysts covering the company were estimating sales to grow 29.2% over the next twelve months.
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Usage Growth
As a gig economy marketplace, Lyft generates revenue growth by a combination of the volume of services users order and how much commission it earns.
Over the last two years the number of Lyft's paying users, a key usage metric for the company, grew 15% annually to 19.8 million users. This is a solid growth for a consumer internet company.
In Q2 the company added 2.71 million paying users, translating to a 15.8% growth year on year.
Key Takeaways from Lyft's Q2 Results
Since it has still been burning cash over the last twelve months it is worth keeping an eye on Lyft’s balance sheet, but we note that with a market capitalization of $5.81 billion and more than $1.8 billion in cash, the company has the capacity to continue to prioritise growth over profitability.
It was good to see Lyft deliver strong revenue growth this quarter. And we were also glad to see the user growth. Overall, this quarter's results seemed pretty positive and shareholders can feel optimistic. The company is up 3.52% on the results and currently trades at $18.04 per share.
Should you invest in Lyft right now? It is important that you take into account its valuation and business qualities, as well as what happened in the latest quarter. We look at that in our actionable report which you can read here, it's free.
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The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.