Lyft Announces Record Third Quarter Results

Third quarter revenue grew to $956 million, up 63% year-over-year
Raising outlook for fiscal 2019

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 30, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Lyft, Inc. (Nasdaq:LYFT) today announced financial results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2019. 

“Our third quarter results demonstrated the significant progress Lyft has made on our path to profitability. Record revenue was generated by strong growth in both Active Riders and Revenue per Active Rider as we continue to increase engagement through product innovation and execution,” said Logan Green, co-founder and chief executive officer of Lyft. “Our continued focus on consumer transportation is yielding meaningful improvements in monetization and strong operating leverage. As a result of the continued strength of our execution, we are updating our outlook for 2019. Importantly, we now expect to be profitable on an Adjusted EBITDA basis in the fourth quarter of 2021.”

Third Quarter 2019 Financial Highlights

• Lyft reported Q3 revenue of $955.6 million versus $585.0 million in the third quarter of 2018, an increase of 63 percent year-over-year.  
• Net loss for Q3 2019 was $463.5 million versus a net loss of $249.2 million in the same period of 2018. Net loss for Q3 includes $246.1 million of stock-based compensation and related payroll tax expenses, primarily due to RSU expense recognition, as well as $86.6 million related to changes to the liabilities for insurance required by regulatory agencies attributable to historical periods. Net loss margin was (48.5%) in the quarter and (42.6%) in the third quarter of 2018.
• Adjusted net loss was $121.6 million versus an adjusted net loss of $245.3 million in the third quarter of 2018. Adjusted net loss is adjusted for amortization of intangible assets, stock-based compensation expense, payroll tax expense related to stock-based compensation, changes to the liabilities for insurance required by regulatory agencies attributable to historical periods, and expenses related to acquisitions.  
• Lyft reported Contribution of $479.2 million versus $263.2 million in the third quarter of 2018, up 82% year-over-year. Contribution Margin increased to 50.1% from 45.0% versus the third quarter of 2018. 
• Adjusted EBITDA was ($128.1) million versus ($263.2) million in the third quarter of 2018. Adjusted EBITDA Margin was (13.4%) versus (45.0%) in the third quarter of 2018.  

Outlook:

For Q4, we anticipate: 

• Revenue to be between $975 million and $985 million 
• Q4 revenue growth to be between 46% and 47% year-over-year
• Adjusted EBITDA loss to be between $160 million and $170 million (improved from prior implied guidance between $240 and $245 million)

For FY 2019, we anticipate:

• Revenue to be between $3.57 billion and $3.58 billion (up from between $3.47 billion and $3.50 billion)
• Annual revenue growth rate to be approximately 66% (up from between 61% and 62%) 
• Adjusted EBITDA loss to be between $708 million and $718 million (improved from prior guidance between $850 million and $875 million)

For more information regarding the non-GAAP financial measures discussed in this earnings release, please see “GAAP to non-GAAP Reconciliations” below. Guidance for Adjusted EBITDA loss excludes interest income, other income (expense), net, provision for income taxes, depreciation and amortization, costs related to acquisitions, stock-based compensation expense, payroll tax expense related to stock-based compensation, and changes to the liabilities for insurance required by regulatory agencies attributable to historical periods. We have not reconciled Adjusted EBITDA guidance to GAAP net income (loss) because we do not provide guidance on GAAP net income (loss) or the reconciling items between Adjusted EBITDA and GAAP net income (loss) as a result of the uncertainty regarding, and the potential variability of, certain of these items. Accordingly, a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measure guidance to the corresponding GAAP measure is not available without unreasonable effort. A reconciliation of historical Adjusted EBITDA is below.

Webcast
Lyft will host a webcast today at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time) to discuss these financial results and business highlights. To listen to a live audio webcast, please visit the Company’s Investor Relations page at https://investor.lyft.com/. The archived webcast will be available on the Company’s Investor Relations page shortly after the call. 

About Lyft
Lyft was founded in 2012, and has over 30 million riders and 2 million drivers. We are singularly focused on improving people’s lives with the world’s best transportation and committed to building reliable, affordable and sustainable transportation. 

Available Information 
Lyft intends to use its Investor Relations website, its blog and its Twitter account as a means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD.

Forward Looking Statements 
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or Lyft’s future financial or operating performance. In some cases, you can identify forward looking statements because they contain words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “going to,” “could,” “intends,” “target,” “projects,” “contemplates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions that concern Lyft’s expectations, strategy, priorities, plans or intentions. Forward-looking statements in this release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Lyft’s future profitability and timing for profitability, Lyft’s future financial and operating performance, including its outlook and guidance for the fourth quarter and full year 2019, demand for Lyft’s products and services and the markets in which Lyft operates and the future of Transportation-as-a-Service. Lyft’s expectations and beliefs regarding these matters may not materialize, and actual results in future periods are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, including risks regarding our ability to forecast our business due to our limited operating history, our competition, fluctuations in the ridesharing market, our ability to attract and retain drivers and riders and our partner relationships. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are also subject to other risks and uncertainties, including those more fully described in Lyft’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including Lyft’s prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, on March 29, 2019, in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2019 and June 30, 2019 and in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q that will be filed with the SEC following this earnings release. The forward-looking statements in this release are based on information available to Lyft as of the date hereof, and Lyft disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

A Note About Metrics 
Lyft defines Active Riders as all riders who take at least one ride on our multimodal platform through the Lyft app during a quarter. An Active Rider is identified by a unique phone number. If a rider has two mobile phone numbers or changed their phone number and such rider took rides using both phone numbers during the quarter, that person would count as two Active Riders. If a rider has a personal and business profile tied to the same mobile phone number, that person would be considered a single Active Rider. If a ride has been requested by an organization using our Concierge offering for the benefit of a rider, we exclude this rider in the calculation of Active Riders since using the Lyft app is not required. With acquired businesses, including Motivate, only riders that have taken a ride or rented a bike or scooter through our Lyft app during the quarter will count as an Active Rider. Additionally, our calculation of Active Riders is not based on any standardized industry methodology and is not necessarily calculated in the same manner or comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies. Lyft defines Revenue per Active Rider as quarterly revenue divided by the number of Active Riders for the same quarter.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures 
To supplement Lyft’s financial information presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America, or GAAP, Lyft considers certain financial measures that are not prepared in accordance with GAAP, including adjusted net loss, adjusted net loss per share, Contribution, Contribution Margin, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin. Lyft defines adjusted net loss as net loss adjusted for amortization of intangible assets, stock-based compensation expense, payroll tax expense related to stock-based compensation, changes to the liabilities for insurance required by regulatory agencies attributable to historical periods, and cost related to acquisitions; Lyft defines adjusted net loss per share by dividing adjusted net loss by weighted-average shares outstanding; Lyft defines Contribution as revenue less cost of revenue, adjusted to exclude the following items from cost of revenue: amortization of intangible assets, stock-based compensation expense, payroll tax expense related to stock-based compensation, and changes to the liabilities for insurance required by regulatory agencies attributable to historical periods; Lyft defines Contribution Margin for a period as Contribution for the period divided by Revenue for the same period. Lyft defines Adjusted EBITDA as net loss adjusted to exclude interest income, other income (expense), net, provision for income taxes, depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation expense, payroll tax expense related to stock-based compensation, costs related to acquisitions, if any, and changes to the liabilities for insurance required by regulatory agencies attributable to historical periods. Adjusted EBITDA Margin is calculated by dividing Adjusted EBITDA for a period by revenue for the same period.

Lyft records historical changes to liabilities for insurance required by regulatory agencies for financial reporting purposes in the quarter of positive or adverse development even though such development may be related to claims that occurred in prior periods. For example, if in the first quarter of a given year, the cost of claims or our estimates for our cost of claims grew by $1 million for claims related to the prior fiscal year or earlier, the expense would be recorded for GAAP purposes within the first quarter instead of in the results of the prior period. Lyft believes these prior period changes to insurance liabilities do not illustrate the current period performance of Lyft’s ongoing operations since these prior period changes relate to claims that could potentially date back years. Lyft has limited ability to influence the ultimate development of historical claims. Accordingly, including the prior period changes would not illustrate the performance of Lyft’s ongoing operations or how the business is run or managed by Lyft. For consistency, Lyft does not adjust the calculation of adjusted net loss, adjusted net loss per share, Contribution and Adjusted EBITDA for any prior period based on any positive or adverse development that occurs subsequent to the quarter end. Lyft believes the adjustment to exclude the historical changes to liabilities for insurance required by regulatory agencies from adjusted net loss, adjusted net loss per share, Contribution and Adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors by enabling them to better assess Lyft’s operating performance in the context of current period results.

Lyft uses adjusted net loss, adjusted net loss per share, Contribution, Contribution Margin, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin in conjunction with GAAP measures as part of Lyft’s overall assessment of its performance, including the preparation of Lyft’s annual operating budget and quarterly forecasts, to evaluate the effectiveness of Lyft’s business strategies, and to communicate with Lyft’s board of directors concerning Lyft’s financial performance. Adjusted net loss, adjusted net loss per share, Contribution and Contribution Margin are measures used by our management to understand and evaluate our operating performance and trends. Lyft believes Contribution and Contribution Margin are key measures of Lyft’s ability to achieve profitability and increase it over time. Adjusted net loss, adjusted net loss per share, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin are key performance measures that Lyft’s management uses to assess Lyft’s operating performance and the operating leverage in Lyft’s business. Because Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin facilitate internal comparisons of our historical operating performance on a more consistent basis, Lyft uses these measures for business planning purposes.

Lyft’s definitions may differ from the definitions used by other companies and therefore comparability may be limited. In addition, other companies may not publish these or similar metrics. Furthermore, these metrics have certain limitations in that they do not include the impact of certain expenses that are reflected in our consolidated statement of operations that are necessary to run our business. Thus, adjusted net loss, adjusted net loss per share, Contribution, Contribution Margin, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin should be considered in addition to, not as substitutes for, or in isolation from, measures prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Contacts
Catherine Buan   /  Shawn Woodhull                                              Adrian Durbin  /  Alexandra LaManna
[email protected]                                                                           [email protected]

LYFT, INC.
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(in thousands, except per share data)
(unaudited)

LYFT, INC.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(in thousands, except for per share data)
(unaudited)

LYFT, INC.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(in thousands, except per share data)
(unaudited)

LYFT, INC.
GAAP to non-GAAP Reconciliations
(in millions, except per share and percentage data)
(unaudited)

Three Months Ended September 30, 2019

Three Months Ended September 30, 2018

LYFT, INC.
Calculations of Key Metrics and
GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliations
(in millions, except percentage data)
(unaudited)