Lyft Reports First-Ever Full Year Adjusted Profit

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Ride-hailing platform Lyft announced its earnings for Q4 2021 and FY2021 after the bell on Tuesday, turning in its first-ever profitable year in terms of adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. The company reported a figure of $92.9 million after a loss of more than $750,000 in 2020.

A sizable chunk of that profit came during Q4. Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2021 was $74.7 million, up from losses of $150 million in Q4 2020 and topping Lyft's record-high gains of $67.3 million in Q3 2021. 

Also reaching record highs in the fourth quarter were Lyft's contribution margin and revenue per active rider. Contribution (defined by Lyft as revenue less cost of revenue adjusted to exclude several metrics, such as amortization of intangible assets) for Q4 2021 was $578.8 million on a margin of 59.7%, up more than 4 percentage points year-over-year and surpassing the company's outlook of 59%. Revenue per average rider reached $51.79, a 14.1% increase over Q4 2020.

"2021 was a big year. We strengthened our financial position and continued investing in exciting growth initiatives. I'm proud of the team for what we've accomplished together and I'm looking forward to building on our momentum," said co-founder and CEO Logan Green. "We are also thrilled that Elaine Paul has joined our leadership team as our chief financial officer. She's a perfect cultural fit and we will tap into her expertise scaling best-in-class disruptive businesses as we enter our next phase of growth."

"We had a solid Q4 and achieved full-year revenue growth of 36 percent in 2021," added Paul. "Revenue per active rider, contribution margin and adjusted EBITDA all reached new highs in the fourth quarter, driven by improving service levels and higher ride volumes in our marketplace. Despite short-term headwinds from omicron, we remain optimistic about full-year 2022."

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Lyft's LYFT FY2021 revenue came in at $3.2 billion versus $2.4 billion in 2020, rising 36%. Of that, $969.9 million came in Q4, up from $569.9 million during the fourth quarter of 2020.

Fiscal year net loss, meanwhile, was an even $1 billion, an improvement on the company's losses of $1.8 billion the previous fiscal year. Net loss for Q4 2021 accounted for $258.6 million compared to $458.2 million in Q4 2020. 

Adjusted net income for FY2021 was $82.2 million, up from an adjusted net loss of $828.9 million in 2020. Lyft reported $32.1 million in net adjusted income for its most recent quarter, up from a loss of $185.3 million during the same period in 2020 and good for 9 cents per diluted share, just above analyst consensus estimates of 8 cents per diluted share. Last quarter, the company posted a net loss of 21 cents per diluted share.

Lyft also reported an increase in its active rider base of nearly 50% year-over-year. The company reported a total of about 18.7 million active riders as of the end of 2021, compared to about 12.6 million as of the end of 2020.

Though that number did fall slightly from Q3 and missed on StreetAccount analyst expectations of 20.2 million, it was counterbalanced by those riders spending more than ever before despite concerns surrounding COVID-19 and the omicron variant. 

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According to Lyft co-founder and President John Zimmer, that's in part due to a doubling of expensive airport rides compared to the year prior. In a statement to Barron's, Paul said the jump was "driven by improving service levels and higher ride volume," noting that Lyft remains confident it can pull off a second profitable year despite the short-term challenges of omicron.

While rider numbers fell short of consensus estimates, driver numbers came in strong. According to Zimmer, active drivers in the fourth quarter were up 34% year-over-year, and the number of new drivers who had never worked for Lyft grew by 50% over that same period.

Lyft reported $2.3 billion of unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, the same as the year prior.

Additionally, Lyft's earnings report noted the company's transaction with Woven Planet Holdings, a Toyota subsidiary that acquired its self-driving car division in April. Through that transaction, Lyft will enter into multiyear, nonexclusive commercial agreements with Woven Planet, receiving $515 million in cash over a five-year period.

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This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.