Ride-hailing firm Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) saw its shares surge 62% in after-market trading, following its Q4 earnings announcement on Tuesday, Feb. 13.
The San Francisco-based company surprised markets with a “beat and raise” quarter. Quarterly revenues of $1.224 billion beat estimates of $1.219 billion by 0.4%, while adjusted earnings per share of 18 cents beat expectations of 8 cents by 125%.
CEO David Risher attributed this success to the company’s ambitious goals and customer-centric approach. “In 2024, we’ll prove that Lyft’s customer obsession will drive profitable growth,” he said.
The ride-hailing firm also offered better-than-expected guidance. For the first quarter of 2024, management expects gross bookings of roughly $3.5 billion to $3.6 billion, better than the $3.46 billion that analysts expected.
These rosy figures were driven by a rising number of active users, and increased usage by existing ones. Active riders grew 10% in the fourth quarter, and Lyft served over 40 million riders, a record annual ridership for the company. Gross bookings of $3.7 billion grew 17% year over year.
Lyft also aims to sustain this positive momentum in 2024, with CFO Erin Brewer citing the company’s focus on operational excellence as a catalyst for meaningful margin expansion. Management believes this year that Lyft will achieve positive free cash flow for the first time in the company’s history.
On the date of publication, Thomas Yeung did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
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