- During the first quarter earnings call, Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) provided an "informal" Q2 outlook with revenue of $680-700M (consensus: $683.3M), up 100% to 106% on the easier pandemic comps and up 12-15% on the quarter.
- Q2 contribution margin is expected at 56.5-57.5%, an all-time high at the upper end.
- The adjusted EBITDA loss is expected to drop to $35-45M, moving the company closer to its profitability goal. The loss includes $25M of net expenses related to Lyft's sale of its self-driving vehicle business to a Toyota subsidiary, but those expenses will be erased when the deal closes in Q3.
- Lyft remains confident it can achieve adjusted EBITDA profitability in Q3, a target that was pulled forward by a quarter after the self-driving business sale. Uber, which reports today, is targeting profitability by the end of the year.
- The call offered more context for the Q1 report. Average daily ride volume grew each month with March showing the steepest growth. Demand outpacing the supply of drivers drove ride prices higher. Lyft (and rival Uber) recently launched a driver incentive program to attract more drivers.
- In April, rideshare rides declined on the month due to seasonality and the impact of the holidays. But rides were up more than 100% Y/Y thanks to the easier pandemic comps. Average daily airport rides were up more than 65% in April relative to January.
- Non-GAAP sales and marketing costs dropped 15% on the quarter to an all-time low as a percentage of revenue.
- Lyft shares are up 6.2% pre-market.
- Source: Earnings call transcript.
- Background: Lyft's topped Q2 estimates and narrowed its adjusted EBITDA losses.