Lyft Stock Is Surging Today: What's Going On?

Lyft, Inc. LYFT shares are trading higher Thursday after the company reported better-than-expected third-quarter financial results. Multiple analysts also raised price targets following the report. Here’s what you need to know.

What To Know: Lyft reported a third-quarter loss of 3 cents per share, beating the expected loss of 4 cents per share. Revenue for the quarter was $1.52 billion, beating the $1.44 billion analysts projected, according to Benzinga Pro.

Total revenue was up 32% year-over-year. The company reported $4.1 billion in gross bookings, a 16% increase year-over-year, and generated free cash flow of $242.8 million. Lyft also reported record numbers in active riders and total rides, with riders coming in at 24.4 million and rides totaling 217 million in the quarter.

“Our team delivered one of the strongest quarters in Lyft history, following the many new innovations we’ve brought to drivers and riders so far this year,” said David Risher, CEO of Lyft. “Going forward, our work with best-of-breed partners and the autonomous future we’re building will give people even more reasons to choose Lyft every time.”

Outlook: For the fourth quarter, Lyft anticipates gross bookings in the range of $4.28 billion to $4.35 billion, representing growth of 15% to 17% on a year-over-year basis.

Lyft now expects full-year rides growth in the mid-teens year-over-year. The company also expects full-year gross bookings to grow approximately 17% year-over-year. Full-year free cash flow is expected to exceed $650 million.

What Else: Lyft also announced partnerships with Intel’s Mobileye and May Mobility for autonomous ride-hailing services. As part of this initiative, Mobileye will integrate its self-driving technology with Lyft’s platform, allowing future operators to deploy autonomous fleets in North American cities. Separately, May Mobility will introduce a fleet of autonomous Toyota Sienna minivans to Lyft's platform in Atlanta starting in 2025.

Analyst Ratings

Following Lyft’s earnings, several analysts updated their ratings and price targets:

• Cantor Fitzgerald and Roth MKM both raised their price targets from $13 to $16, maintaining Neutral ratings.
• Truist Securities and Wedbush both raised their price targets to $20 with Hold ratings.
• Piper Sandler increased its price target from $17 to $23 with an Overweight rating.
• RBC Capital Markets reiterated an Outperform rating with a price target of $17.
• Benchmark and Needham analysts reiterated Hold ratings.

LYFT Price Action: Lyft shares were up 23.2% at $17.75 at the time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro.

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