Lyft Q1 Yoybursztynskycnbc 609m Qoq Yoy: Lyft reported revenues of $609 million in the first quarter, up 7% from the fourth quarter and down 36% on a year-over-year basis.
The company also reported 4.53 million active riders in the first quarter versus 3.85 million for Q4 of 2018, indicating that Lyft’s loss was driven by its growth rather than retrenchment into losses associated with intense competition from Uber over the last few years.
The loss grew as the company added ridership.
Within the U.S., Lyft’s rise in active riders is partly due to its marketing and sales efforts in Colorado, Florida, Utah, and Massachusetts.
Lyft had also expanded internationally to Toronto and Vancouver while it was still trying to find its feet in the largest markets of the U.S.
The company said the increase in losses was due to business-model changes such as price cuts, discounts and increased discounts, as well as Lyft’s ambition to grow faster.
Lyft has been trying to extend its reach when it launched its carpooling service Lyft Line, which connects riders with other people heading the same way in their own cars during peak hours.
Lyft Line has been seeing greater usage, especially during rush hour.
In the first quarter, Lyft’s overall revenue was $355 million, up 14% from the fourth quarter of 2018 and up 12% on a year-over-year basis.
Expenses amounted to $320 million in Q1 2019, up 19% from $276 million in the first quarter of 2018 and 40% higher than expenses of $235 million in Q4 2018.
The company’s marketing expenses reached $121 million in the first quarter, up 53% from $82 million in Q4 2018 and up 66% from $70 million in Q1 2018.
“We spent aggressively as we continue to grow our business domestically and work to establish Lyft as the leading rideshare platform globally,” said Dan Katz, Lyft’s chief financial officer.
Lyft said it expects losses for the second quarter of 2019 to be roughly between $410 million and $440 million.
Lyft’s losses were $387 million in the last quarter of 2018, up from $316 million in the third quarter of 2018.
Lyft has beaten Uber to go public first, so it is now under close scrutiny. Lyft was trading at $72.49 on Friday, down 2% from its Thursday close, and below its IPO price of $72 per share.
Uber is set to go public in the coming weeks at a valuation of $120 billion .