Lyft Stock Jumps 60% On Q4 Earnings Error Before Pullback

Zinger Key Points
  • Lyft initially said it expected adjusted EBITDA margin expansion of approximately 500 basis points year-over-year in 2024.
  • The company corrected its guidance on a conference call following the earnings release.

Lyft Inc LYFT shares are trading higher in Tuesday’s after-hours session, but are well off the highs for the day. The stock initially soared more than 60% in after-hours trading on earnings before the company corrected its guidance on the conference call.

What Happened: Lyft reported fourth-quarter financial results after the market close Tuesday. The company’s results were largely in line with analyst expectations, but strong guidance sent shares racing higher.

Lyft guided for gross bookings of approximately $3.5 billion to $3.6 billion in the first quarter and adjusted EBITDA of $50 million to $55 million.

For full-year 2024, the ride share company said it expects rides growth in the mid-teens on a year-over-year basis and for gross bookings to grow slightly faster than rides growth.

Lyft initially said it expected adjusted EBITDA margin expansion of approximately 500 basis points year-over-year, but the stock pulled back significantly after CFO Erin Brewer corrected the adjusted EBITDA margin guidance on the conference call.

The reported figure was incorrect, Brewer said, as she issued corrected guidance for adjusted EBITDA margin expansion of 50 basis points in 2024.

Shares were still trading higher by approximately 16% at last check, likely due to the company’s upbeat forecast for free cash flow. Lyft said it expects to generate positive free cash flow in full-year 2024 for the first time.

Check This Out: These Most Accurate Analysts Revised Forecasts Ahead Of Lyft’s Earnings Call

LYFT Price Action: Lyft shares were up 16.4% after hours at $14.12 at the time of writing, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: Shutterstock.

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