Lyft shares rose 7% after the company revealed it would boost its share buyback program to $750 million in its first-quarter earnings report. Following the announcement, the stock saw a peak of 10% post-earnings.
The company reported earnings of 1 cent per share, with revenue reaching $1.45 billion. This was slightly below the $1.47 billion estimate from LSEG but still marked a 14% year-over-year growth. Lyft also posted a net income of $2.57 million, or 1 cent per share, a significant improvement compared to a net loss of $31.54 million, or 8 cents per share, in the same period last year.
During the quarter, Lyft experienced a 16% increase in rides, totaling 218.4 million, surpassing FactSet’s estimate of 215.1 million rides. Active riders also grew 11% to 24.2 million, while gross bookings rose by 13% to $4.16 billion, just ahead of the $4.15 billion forecasted by StreetAccount.
Lyft’s CEO, David Risher, noted that this quarter marked the 16th consecutive period of double-digit year-over-year gross booking growth. Despite this strong performance, Lyft’s stock has still lost more than 80% of its value since its trading debut in March 2019.
In his statement, Risher pointed to the company’s strategic moves, including the launch of Lyft Silver and its expansion into Europe through the acquisition of the German-based taxi app FreeNow. He emphasized that these efforts are setting the stage for continued, market-leading performance.
Looking ahead, Lyft anticipates a mid-teens growth in rides for the second quarter, with gross bookings projected to fall between $4.41 billion and $4.57 billion. This forecast slightly exceeds analysts’ expectations of $4.48 billion.
Additionally, Lyft reported free cash flow of $280.7 million for the first quarter, surpassing StreetAccount’s estimate of $136.3 million. The company’s announcement of its $200 million acquisition of FreeNow underscores its ongoing efforts to expand its footprint internationally.
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