LYFT Inc (NASDAQ: LYFT) stock rose over 11.7% in the pre-market session of Feb 10th, 2021 (Source: Google finance) after the company posted better than expected results for the fourth quarter of FY 20 and signs the business is recovering slightly from the pandemic. Lyft has reported a net loss of $458.2 million for the fourth quarter, up from a net loss of $356 million in Q4 2019. The company’s fourth-quarter loss includes $138.1 million of stock-based compensation and related payroll tax expenses. The company’s net loss margin for this quarter was 80.4% compared with 35% a year ago. LYFT’s adjusted EBITDA loss for the fourth quarter was $150 million, which represents a $19.3 million increase from a year ago. It is better than the company’s most recent forecast for an adjusted EBITDA loss of less than $185 million. The smaller-than-expected loss is mainly due to Lyft shaving off more costs than originally anticipated, including headcount reductions and lower costs for software hosting services, payment processing and insurance. The company’s adjusted EBITDA loss margin for the fourth quarter was 26.3% compared with 12.9% a year ago. Lyft has reported $2.3 billion of unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments. Lyft anticipates COVID-19 vaccine distribution to scale up in the second quarter, allowing more people to return to pre-pandemic normality, and said its own cost cuts were ahead of target. That will help it achieve a profit on an adjusted basis of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
LYFT in the fourth quarter of FY 20 has reported the adjusted loss per share of 58 cents, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted loss per share of 72 cents, according to Refinitiv survey of analysts. The company had reported 44 percent decline in the adjusted revenue to $570 million in the fourth quarter of FY 20, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $563 million.
Moreover, Ride volumes had fallen 52% in December and 51% in January compared with the previous year. Lyft said ride demand in the first quarter could be flat or slightly lower than during the last three months of 2020. Lyft’s number of active riders in the fourth quarter fell by more than 45% on a yearly basis to 12,552, but revenue per active rider rose by $1 to $45.40. Further, Lyft said that it plans to cut an additional $35 million in costs in the first quarter of 2021, but also added it will incur additional expenses during the first three months of the year to bring more drivers on board in preparation for an uptick in ride demand.