SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Lyft, Inc. (Nasdaq:LYFT) today announced financial results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2023. Additionally, Lyft has introduced the following key metrics, each of which is presented on a total company basis: Gross Bookings, Rides, and Adjusted EBITDA margin (calculated as a percentage of Gross Bookings). Descriptions and further information regarding these new metrics, including historical data, are included in this press release and in the Company’s third quarter supplemental slide deck, which is available on the Lyft investor relations website.
“More drivers and riders are choosing Lyft because we’re following a simple formula: listen to customers and build the experiences they want,” said CEO David Risher. “Women+ Connect is a great example, and is now available in more than 50 cities and towns across the U.S. There’s so much open road ahead to create a customer-obsessed financially strong Lyft. We’ve got our foot on the pedal!”
“We had another quarter of solid execution – we saw strong driver and rider growth and our marketplace health continued to improve,” said Erin Brewer, chief financial officer of Lyft. “Our Q4 outlook calls for continued progress, and the updates we are making to our key business metrics today better align our reporting with our strategic priorities. We remain committed to building a durable, healthy and profitable business that our customers love.”
Third Quarter 2023 Financial Highlights
- Gross Bookings of $3.554 billion was up 15% year-over-year.
- Revenue of $1.158 billion was up 10% year-over-year.
- Net loss of $12.1 million compares with $114.3 million in Q2’23 and $422.2 million in Q3’22. Net loss includes $100.4 million of stock-based compensation and related payroll tax expenses. Net loss as a percentage of Gross Bookings was (0.3)% and compares with (3.3)% in Q2’23 and (13.7)% in Q3’22.
- Adjusted EBITDA of $92.0 million compares to $41.0 million in Q2’23 and $(26.7) million in Q3’22. Adjusted EBITDA margin as a percentage of Gross Bookings was 2.6% and compares with 1.2% in Q2’23 and (0.9)% in Q3’22.
Third Quarter 2023 Operational Highlights
- Rides of 187 million: Rides grew 20% year-over-year, reflecting strong growth in rideshare rides (+22% year-over-year) as well as bike and scooter rides.
- Active Riders of 22.4 million: Active Riders grew 10% year-over-year.
- Women+ Connect: This highly requested feature prioritizes matches between women and nonbinary drivers and riders, giving more people the opportunity to earn money on their own terms and giving riders more choice. In our early access cities we’ve seen great results: more than half of eligible drivers have opted in and keep the feature turned on nearly the entire time they’re online – with the majority rating their experience using Women+ Connect as “great.”
- Back to school: Across the roughly 70 regions we targeted for back to school, rideshare rides grew by roughly 25% year-over-year, reflecting a surge in new and returning riders and drivers.
- Lyft Media: Launched in-app advertising in Q3, adding to Lyft Media’s growing network of advertising products where brands can engage with Lyft riders through hundreds of millions of rides every year.
Outlook for Q4’23
- Gross Bookings of approximately $3.6 billion to $3.7 billion.
- Adjusted EBITDA of $50 million to $60 million and an Adjusted EBITDA margin (calculated as a percentage of Gross Bookings) of approximately 1.4% to 1.6%.
- Consistent with the high-end of the directional Q4 outlook we provided in August, we now expect: fourth quarter revenue will grow mid-single-digits quarter-over-quarter; and as a percentage of revenue, fourth quarter Adjusted EBITDA margin will be roughly in-line with the 4% achieved in Q2 of 2023.
We have not provided the forward-looking GAAP equivalent to our Adjusted EBITDA outlook or a GAAP reconciliation as a result of the uncertainty regarding, and the potential variability of, reconciling items such as stock-based compensation and income taxes. Accordingly, a reconciliation of this non-GAAP guidance metric to its corresponding GAAP equivalent is not available without unreasonable effort. However, it is important to note that the reconciling items could have a significant effect on future GAAP results. We have provided historical reconciliations of GAAP to non-GAAP metrics in tables at the end of this release. For more information regarding the non-GAAP financial measures discussed in this earnings release, please see “GAAP to non-GAAP Reconciliations” below.
Financial and Operational Results through the Third Quarter of 2023
Updates to Our Metrics
Our management team assesses a number of metrics to evaluate our business, identify trends affecting our business, formulate business plans and make strategic decisions. As our business and strategy evolve, our management team has updated the metrics and measures assessed to best facilitate an understanding of our business and achievement against our operational and strategic objectives.
Accordingly, starting with the third quarter of 2023, we are presenting Gross Bookings, Active Riders, Rides, and Adjusted EBITDA margin (calculated as a percentage of Gross Bookings) as our key business metrics, which we believe best align with how management assesses our performance and measures achievement against our strategic priorities and opportunities.
Given our focus on Gross Bookings, beginning in the fourth quarter of 2023, we will no longer formally present metrics that anchor to revenue. This includes Revenue per Active Rider, Adjusted EBITDA margin (calculated as a percentage of revenue), Contribution, and Contribution Margin. However, we will continue to disclose revenue, cost of revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and Active Riders – so investors will still be able to calculate revenue-based metrics. Refer to “Definitions of Key Metrics” and “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below for definitions of these metrics and measures.
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2021 |
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2022 |
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2022 |
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2022 |
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2022 |
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2022 |
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2023 |
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|
2023 |
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2023 |
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Total |
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
Q4 |
Total |
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
||||||||||||||||||
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|
(in millions, except for Revenue per Active Rider and percentages) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Active Riders |
|
|
17.8 |
|
|
19.9 |
|
|
20.3 |
|
|
20.4 |
|
|
|
19.6 |
|
|
21.5 |
|
|
22.4 |
|
||||
|
Rides |
|
506.4 |
|
|
139.5 |
|
|
152.1 |
|
|
155.8 |
|
|
151.1 |
|
|
598.5 |
|
|
153.0 |
|
|
177.9 |
|
|
187.4 |
|
|
Gross Bookings |
$ |
9,745.7 |
|
$ |
2,694.2 |
|
$ |
3,092.9 |
|
$ |
3,079.2 |
|
$ |
3,191.0 |
|
$ |
12,057.3 |
|
$ |
3,050.7 |
|
$ |
3,446.0 |
|
$ |
3,554.1 |
|
|
Revenue |
$ |
3,208.3 |
|
$ |
875.6 |
|
$ |
990.7 |
|
$ |
1,053.8 |
|
$ |
1,175.0 |
|
$ |
4,095.1 |
|
$ |
1,000.5 |
|
$ |
1,020.9 |
|
$ |
1,157.6 |
|
|
Net loss |
$ |
(1,062.1 |
) |
$ |
(196.9 |
) |
$ |
(377.2 |
) |
$ |
(422.2 |
) |
$ |
(588.1 |
) |
$ |
(1,584.5 |
) |
$ |
(187.6 |
) |
$ |
(114.3 |
) |
$ |
(12.1 |
) |
|
Net loss as a percentage of Gross Bookings |
|
(10.9 |
)% |
|
(7.3 |
)% |
|
(12.2 |
)% |
|
(13.7 |
)% |
|
(18.4 |
)% |
|
(13.1 |
)% |
|
(6.2 |
)% |
|
(3.3 |
)% |
|
(0.3 |
)% |
|
Adjusted EBITDA |
$ |
(157.5 |
) |
$ |
54.8 |
|
$ |
(196.3 |
) |
$ |
(26.7 |
) |
$ |
(248.3 |
) |
$ |
(416.5 |
) |
$ |
22.7 |
|
$ |
41.0 |
|
$ |
92.0 |
|
|
Adjusted EBITDA margin (calculated as a percentage of Gross Bookings) |
|
(1.6 |
)% |
|
2.0 |
% |
|
(6.3 |
)% |
|
(0.9 |
)% |
|
(7.8 |
)% |
|
(3.5 |
)% |
|
0.7 |
% |
|
1.2 |
% |
|
2.6 |
% |
|
Adjusted Net Income (Loss) |
$ |
(332.6 |
) |
$ |
24.6 |
|
$ |
(229.1 |
) |
$ |
(56.1 |
) |
$ |
(270.8 |
) |
$ |
(531.4 |
) |
$ |
27.7 |
|
$ |
59.5 |
|
$ |
92.3 |
|
|
Revenue per Active Rider(1) |
|
$ |
49.18 |
|
$ |
49.89 |
|
$ |
51.88 |
|
$ |
57.72 |
|
|
$ |
51.17 |
|
$ |
47.51 |
|
$ |
51.67 |
|
||||
|
Gross profit(2) |
$ |
1,506.0 |
|
$ |
435.3 |
|
$ |
340.4 |
|
$ |
483.1 |
|
$ |
400.6 |
|
$ |
1,659.4 |
|
$ |
451.6 |
|
$ |
414.3 |
|
$ |
513.0 |
|
|
Gross profit margin(2) |
|
46.9 |
% |
|
49.7 |
% |
|
34.4 |
% |
|
45.8 |
% |
|
34.1 |
% |
|
40.5 |
% |
|
45.1 |
% |
|
40.6 |
% |
|
44.3 |
% |
|
Contribution(1) |
$ |
1,631.3 |
|
$ |
502.5 |
|
$ |
315.1 |
|
$ |
497.5 |
|
$ |
414.7 |
|
$ |
1,729.8 |
|
$ |
465.1 |
|
$ |
426.4 |
|
$ |
520.0 |
|
|
Contribution Margin(1) |
|
50.8 |
% |
|
57.4 |
% |
|
31.8 |
% |
|
47.2 |
% |
|
35.3 |
% |
|
42.2 |
% |
|
46.5 |
% |
|
41.8 |
% |
|
44.9 |
% |
|
Adjusted EBITDA margin (calculated as a percentage of revenue)(1)(3) |
|
(4.9 |
)% |
|
6.3 |
% |
|
(19.8 |
)% |
|
(2.5 |
)% |
|
(21.1 |
)% |
|
(10.2 |
)% |
|
2.3 |
% |
|
4.0 |
% |
|
7.9 |
% |
_______________
(1) Represents key metric or non-GAAP financial measure that will no longer be presented beginning in the fourth quarter of 2023.
(2) Gross profit is defined as revenue less cost of revenue. Gross profit margin is defined as gross profit divided by revenue for the same period. These financial measures will no longer be presented beginning in the fourth quarter of 2023.
(3) Prior to the third quarter of 2023, this calculation was reported and defined as Adjusted EBITDA Margin.
Note: Information on our key metrics and non-GAAP financial measures are also available on our Investor Relations page.
Definitions of Key Metrics
Gross Bookings
Gross Bookings is a key indicator of the scale and impact of our overall platform. Lyft defines Gross Bookings as the total dollar value of transactions invoiced to rideshare riders including any applicable taxes, tolls and fees excluding tips to drivers. It also includes amounts invoiced for other offerings, including but not limited to: Express Drive vehicle rentals, bike and scooter rentals, and amounts recognized for subscriptions, bike and bike station hardware and software sales, media, sponsorships, partnerships, and licensing and data access agreements.
Adjusted EBITDA margin (calculated as a percentage of Gross Bookings)
Adjusted EBITDA margin (calculated as a percentage of Gross Bookings) is calculated by dividing Adjusted EBITDA for a period by Gross Bookings for the same period. For the definition of Adjusted EBITDA, refer to “Non-GAAP Financial Measures”.
Rides
Rides represent the level of usage of our multimodal platform. Lyft defines Rides as the total number of rides including rideshare and bike and scooter rides completed using our multimodal platform that contribute to our revenue. These include any Rides taken through our Lyft App. If multiple riders take a private rideshare ride, including situations where one party picks up another party on the way to a destination, or splits the bill, we count this as a single rideshare ride. Each unique segment of a Shared Ride is considered a single Ride. For example, if two riders successfully match in Shared Ride mode and both complete their Rides, we count this as two Rides. We have largely shifted away from Shared Rides, and now only offer Shared Rides in limited markets. Lyft includes all Rides taken by riders via our Concierge offering, even though such riders may be excluded from the definition of Active Riders unless the ride is accessible in that rider’s Lyft App.
Active Riders
The number of Active Riders is a key indicator of the scale of our user community. Lyft defines Active Riders as all riders who take at least one ride during a quarter where the Lyft Platform processes the transaction. An Active Rider is identified by a unique phone number. If a rider has two mobile phone numbers or changed their phone number and that 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, unless the ride is accessible in that rider’s Lyft App. There have been no changes to our definition of Active Riders with the update to our key metrics in the third quarter of 2023.
Revenue per Active Rider
Revenue per Active Rider is calculated as revenue for a period divided by Active Riders for the same period. There have been no changes to our definition of Revenue per Active Rider with the update to our key metrics in the third quarter of 2023. Beginning in the fourth quarter of 2023, we will no longer present Revenue per Active Rider.
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 our Investor Relations page at https://investor.lyft.com/. The archived webcast will be available on our Investor Relations page shortly after the call.
About Lyft
Lyft is one of the largest transportation networks in North America, bringing together rideshare, bikes, and scooters all in one app. We are customer-obsessed and driven by our purpose: getting riders out into the world so they can live their lives together, and providing drivers a way to work that gives them control over their time and money.
Available Information
Lyft announces material information to the public about Lyft, its products and services and other matters through a variety of means, including filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, press releases, public conference calls, webcasts, the investor relations section of its website (investor.lyft.com), its X accounts (@lyft and @davidrisher), and its blogs (including: lyft.com/blog, lyft.com/hub, and eng.lyft.com) in order to achieve broad, non-exclusionary distribution of information to the public 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, Lyft’s guidance and outlook, Lyft’s expectations regarding rideshare market growth and Lyft’s beliefs regarding its future goals. 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 related to the macroeconomic environment and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and risks regarding our ability to forecast our performance due to our limited operating history and the macroeconomic environment. 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 in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2023, and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2023 our that will be filed with the SEC by November 9, 2023. 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.
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 Income (Loss), Contribution, Contribution Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin (calculated as a percentage of revenue) and Adjusted EBITDA margin (calculated as a percentage of Gross Bookings). Lyft defines Adjusted EBITDA as net loss adjusted for interest expense, other income (expense), net, provision for (benefit from) income taxes, depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation expense, payroll tax expense related to stock-based compensation and sublease income, as well as, if applicable, restructuring charges, costs related to acquisitions and divestitures and costs from transactions related to certain legacy auto insurance liabilities. Adjusted EBITDA margin (calculated as a percentage of revenue) is calculated by dividing Adjusted EBITDA for a period by revenue for the same period. Adjusted EBITDA margin (calculated as a percentage of Gross Bookings) is calculated by dividing Adjusted EBITDA for a period by Gross Bookings for the same period and is considered a key metric. We previously referred to Adjusted EBITDA margin (calculated as a percentage of revenue) as Adjusted EBITDA Margin. Lyft defines Adjusted Net Income (Loss) as net loss adjusted for amortization of intangible assets, stock-based compensation expense (net of any benefit), and payroll tax expense related to stock-based compensation, as well as, if applicable, restructuring charges and transaction costs related to certain legacy auto insurance liabilities and cost related to acquisitions and divestitures. Lyft defines Contribution as gross profit, or revenue less cost of revenue, adjusted to exclude the following items from cost of revenue: amortization of intangible assets, stock-based compensation expense, and payroll tax expense related to stock-based compensation, as well as, if applicable, restructuring charges and transaction costs related to certain legacy auto insurance liabilities. Lyft defines Contribution Margin for a period as Contribution for the period divided by revenue for the same period.
Beginning in the fourth quarter of 2023, Lyft will no longer present Contribution and Contribution Margin as our management no longer uses these measures for purposes of understanding and evaluating operating performance. Lyft will also no longer present Adjusted EBITDA margin (calculated as a percentage of revenue) as Adjusted EBITDA margin (calculated as a percentage of Gross Bookings) is a more useful measure for business planning purposes.
During the second quarter of 2021, Lyft entered into a Quota Share Reinsurance Agreement (the “Reinsurance Agreement”) for the reinsurance of legacy auto insurance liabilities between October 1, 2018 to October 1, 2020, based on the reserves in place as of March 31, 2021. During the first quarter of 2020, Lyft entered into a Novation Agreement for the transfer of certain legacy auto insurance liabilities between October 1, 2015 and September 30, 2018.
Losses ceded under the Reinsurance Agreement that exceed the combined funds withheld liability balance and collateralized amount established by DARAG for the benefit of PVIC, which was $346.5 million at the execution of the Reinsurance Agreement, but are below the aggregate limit of $434.5 million may result in the recognition of a deferred gain liability. The deferred gain liability is amortized and recognized as a benefit to the statement of operations over the settlement period of the ceded reserves. The settlement period of the ceded reserves is based on the life-to-date cumulative losses collected and likely extends over periods longer than a quarter. The amount of the deferral is recalculated each period based on loss payments and updated estimates of the portfolio’s total losses. Consequently, cumulative reserve adjustments for claims ceded under the Reinsurance Agreement in subsequent periods may result in significant losses to the statement of operations unless a deferred gain is also recognized in the same period to offset said losses. Lyft believes that the net amount recognized on the statement of operations associated with claims ceded under the Reinsurance Agreement, including any reserve adjustments and any benefit recognized for the related deferred gains, should be excluded to show the ultimate economic benefit of the Reinsurance Agreement. This adjustment will help investors understand the economic benefit of our Reinsurance Agreement on future trends in our operations, as they improve over the settlement period of any deferred gains. Therefore, in the event that the net amount of any reserve adjustments and any benefits from deferred gains related to claims ceded under the Reinsurance Agreement is recognized on the statement of operations in a subsequent period, those amounts will be excluded from the calculation of Contribution, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income (Loss) through the exclusion of “Net amount from claims ceded under the Reinsurance Agreement”. As of September 30, 2023, we have no deferred gain related to losses ceded under the Reinsurance Agreement.
During the second quarter of 2022, we completed a transaction which effectively commuted and settled the Reinsurance Agreement. The commutation transaction resulted in a $36.8 million gain recorded to cost of revenue on the condensed consolidated statement of operations. We believe the adjustment to exclude this gain associated with the commutation of the Reinsurance Agreement from Contribution, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income (Loss) is useful to investors by enabling them to better assess our operating performance in the context of current period results and provide for better comparability with our historically disclosed Contribution, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income (Loss) amounts. The gain associated with this commutation transaction, which commuted and settled the Reinsurance Agreement, will be excluded from the calculation of Contribution, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income (Loss) through the exclusion of the “Net amount from claims ceded under the Reinsurance Agreement.”
On July 13, 2021, Lyft completed a transaction with Woven Planet for the divestiture of certain assets related to Lyft’s self-driving vehicle division, Level 5. As part of this transaction, Lyft recognized a pre-tax gain of $119.3 million within other income, net on the condensed consolidated statement of operations in the quarter ended September 30, 2021. Lyft believes this gain does not reflect the current period performance of Lyft’s ongoing operations and that the adjustment to exclude this gain from Adjusted Net Income (Loss) is useful to investors by enabling them to better assess Lyft’s ongoing operating performance and provide for better comparability with Lyft’s historically disclosed Adjusted Net Income (Loss) amounts. This gain is excluded through the exclusion of other income, net from Adjusted EBITDA.
Lyft subleases certain office space and earns sublease income. Sublease income is included within other income, net on the condensed consolidated statement of operations, while the related lease expense is included within operating expenses and loss from operations. Lyft believes the adjustment to include sublease income in Adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors by enabling them to better assess Lyft’s operating performance, including the benefits of recent transactions, by presenting sublease income as a contra-expense to the related lease charges that are part of operating expenses.
In November 2022 and April 2023, Lyft committed to plans of termination as part of efforts to reduce operating expenses. Lyft believes the costs associated with these restructuring efforts do not reflect performance of Lyft’s ongoing operations. Lyft believes the adjustment to exclude the costs related to restructuring from Contribution, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income (Loss) is useful to investors by enabling them to better assess Lyft’s ongoing operating performance and provide for better comparability with Lyft’s historically disclosed Contribution, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income (Loss) amounts.
Lyft uses its non-GAAP financial measures in conjunction with GAAP measures as part of our overall assessment of our performance, including the preparation of our annual operating budget and quarterly forecasts, to evaluate the effectiveness of our business strategies, and to communicate with our board of directors concerning our financial performance.
Contacts
Sonya Banerjee
investor@lyft.com
Media
press@lyft.com
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