Today's Pickup: Lyft Value Falls Ahead Of Uber's Initial Public Offering

 

Good day,

On-demand cab hailing company Lyft had its initial public offering (IPO) on March 28, after many months of its speculation. Though Lyft's LYFT valuation started out aggressively at its launch, valued at $72 per share, the stock price fell subsequently with it priced at $60.12 yesterday - an 11 percent drop in value.

There could be many reasons for the slump. For one, it is difficult to gauge the actual value of the company. Lyft still functions like a startup at its core, with investors having a hard time perceiving the company's long-term growth, making Lyft's stock value rise and fall based on speculation. Lyft is also the first company to go public in the much-publicized "gig economy", which likely contributes to its stocks' volatility.  

With Uber all set to go public with an estimated valuation of $100 billion, it needs to be wary of Lyft's fortunes at the stock market. Though Uber and Lyft differ in size and scale, they still are branches stemming from the same trunk - spending billions in market expansion while struggling to muster the profit margins that can boost investor confidence.

Did you know?

Air freight movement in Europe is declining at the fastest pace in six years, with air-cargo volumes falling 3.3 percent in February, making it the fourth consecutive decline and the worst reading since 2013.  

Quotable:

"While the macro risk-on environment and the threat of disruptions may drive spot prices even higher, we still expect that prices will decline gradually from this summer as shale and OPEC production increases. With large spare capacity in OPEC and the Permian basin and a wave of long-cycle projects still expected to come online in 2020, we maintain our $60 per barrel forecast for next year."

- Jeff Currie, Goldman Sachs' head of commodities research, on speculations of an oil price rise  

In other news:

Tesla falls on report of Panasonic factory expansion freeze

Tesla Inc. slumped after Nikkei reported the carmaker and Panasonic Corp. are suspending plans to expand the capacity of their $4.5 billion U.S. battery plant in the face of uncertain demand for electric vehicles. (Bloomberg)

‘Retail apocalypse' now: Analysts say 75,000 more U.S. stores could be doomed.

Widespread closures have roiled the retail industry, but many more stores are likely to shut down in coming years to keep up with a shift to online shopping, according to a report by investment firm UBS. (The Washington Post)

This Alphabet-owned company is delivering espresso via drone in Australia

Wing, the drone delivery company of Google's parent company Alphabet, announced Tuesday that it's delivering food and other items within minutes to a limited number of homes in the suburbs of Canberra, Australia's capital. (CNN)

U.S. bill to boost electric car tax credits could revive GM and Tesla

A legislation introduced this Wednesday can expand the electric vehicle tax credit by 400,000 vehicles per manufacturer, a provision that would give a boost to Tesla Inc and General Motors Co before the existing credit comes to an end for them. (Reuters)

Deep cuts planned at China's JD.com

Chinese online retail giant JD.com is working on a substantial round of layoffs that could slash the workforce of some teams by half, according to people briefed on the matter. (The Information)

Final thoughts:

Ford CEO Jim Hackett joins the list of automaker technology executives who have publicly stated that self-driving cars would not be a reality as early as it was anticipated. Hackett noted that the industry had overestimated the arrival of autonomous vehicles and that though Ford is sticking to its self-imposed 2021 deadline for introducing its self-driving cars, they still will not be fully autonomous and would most likely be driving in a geofenced area.

Primary amongst the reasons is the complexity in designing an autonomous driving software that can navigate through every possible event on the road. On top of this, there are regulatory issues with governments that are wary of allowing machine-driven vehicles on the road. Companies would also have to convince communities on the advantages of having self-driving vehicles on the road, as studies have repeatedly shown that people have a deep-seated skepticism towards vehicle automation.

Hammer down everyone!

Image sourced from Pixabay

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