After former Amazon executive David Risher became Lyft CEO in April, the company made some changes. It laid off about 26 percent of its workforce, it focused on competitive pricing in the marketplace, and it introduced new features for both drivers and riders.
Its philosophy “is really paying off,” Risher said during a Tuesday earnings call, noting that rideshare rides “accelerated for the second quarter in a row, and standard rides reached the second-highest level in our history. Active rider and drivers each reached multiyear highs, resulting in an improved balance in our marketplace.”
In addition to an updated driver app released in June, Lyft made a new “preordering” option available to customers when landing at select airports during the second quarter. Though available only since May, Lyft had the highest volume of quarterly airport rides since 2019, new Lyft CFO Erin Brewer said.
Brewer added that the company is seeing momentum across other use cases as well. “Commute and early-morning trips” grew by just over 20 percent year over year, she said.
Risher also noted that Lyft is working directly with cities, including San Francisco, and corporations to help people get back to work and return to the office. “I think we have arrangements now with Cisco and … Netflix, and a couple of other trials we are doing,” he said. There is a “lot of investment going on here to make sure that we continue to grow.”
Lyft Q2 Metrics
Lyft reported $1 billion in second-quarter revenue, up 3 percent year over year. The company credited its “strong growth” in rideshare, which was up 18 percent versus a year prior. Lyft’s net loss was $114.3 million, down from a loss of $377.2 million in Q2 2022, and less than the $187.6 million loss reported for the first quarter.
Active riders in the second quarter increased to nearly 21.5 million, up 8.2 percent year over year, and up 9.9 percent from the first quarter. That total was the highest level in nearly three years, according to Lyft. Second-quarter revenue was $47.51, a 4.8 percent decrease from the $49.89 reported a year prior.
For the third quarter, Lyft projects revenue of $1.13 billion to $1.15 billion, up 7 percent to 9 percent year over year, reflecting “rideshare ride growth of approximately 20 percent year over year,” Brewer said. She also provided a “directional outlook” for the fourth quarter, with revenue growth anticipated to be in the low-to-mid single-digit percentages quarter over quarter.
