Lyft adds more riders, quarterly revenue beats estimates

Ride-hailing company Lyft Inc on Wednesday beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter revenue and said a loss for 2019 would be less than its prior forecast as its promotional activities attracted more riders, with each rider paying more. The company also raised its forecast for full-year revenue and estimated third-quarter sales above analysts' expectations.

Lyft, which beat bigger rival Uber Technologies Inc to go public first, has partnered with several companies to offer its services as it vies for a bigger share in a market dominated by Uber. While it is the official ride share of Disney Parks and Resorts, it also struck a deal with Agero Inc in June to provide rides for consumers whose cars need a tow assistance. It has also partnered with Google's Waymo to deploy vehicles on Lyft app.

Lyft on an average got $39.77 in revenue from each of its 21.81 million active riders in its second quarter as a public company, a 22% rise in revenue per rider and 41% increase in riders over the same period in 2018. "As a result of this positive momentum, we anticipate 2019 losses to be better than previously expected," Chief Executive Officer Logan Green said in a statement.

Lyft had earlier promised that its ride-hailing services would be profitable without giving any timeline. But it had also warned regulators that as a company it might continue posting losses as it invests heavily in self-driving cars, renting scooters and other ventures. The company forecast third-quarter revenue of $900 million to $915 million, which was above the average analyst estimate of $840.9 million.

It also raised its forecast for full-year revenue to between $3.47 billion and $3.5 billion, up from its prior range of $3.28 billion and $3.3 billion. Its revenue in the second quarter rose 72% to $867.3 million, above average analyst estimate of $809.3 million, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

But its net loss widened to $644.2 million from $178.9 million a year earlier as costs more than doubled to $1.54 billion from a year earlier. On a per share basis, it narrowed to $2.23 per share from $8.48 per share, a year earlier, as the number of outstanding shares rose.