Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Key Points

• Lyft narrowly missed earnings expectations: The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.13 versus the $0.14 consensus, while revenue exceeded estimates at $1.84 billion and rose 16.1% year over year.
• Operations reached record levels: Active riders surpassed 30 million, rides reached 262 million, and gross bookings climbed 23% to $5.5 billion. Adjusted EBITDA increased 37%, and trailing-12-month free cash flow remained above $1 billion.
• Management expects growth to accelerate: Lyft forecast approximately $5.50 billion to $5.67 billion in third-quarter gross bookings and anticipates stronger rides growth in the second half of 2026, supported by partnerships, international expansion, and new services.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT - Get Free Report) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The ride-sharing company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.01), FiscalAI reports. Lyft had a negative return on equity of 1.30% and a net margin of 42.32%.The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.10 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Here are the key takeaways from Lyft's conference call:

• Lyft reported record Q2 performance, including more than 30 million active riders, 262 million rides, and $5.5 billion in gross bookings, up 23% year over year. Adjusted EBITDA increased 37%, while trailing-12-month free cash flow exceeded $1 billion for the fourth consecutive quarter.
• Management expects rides growth to accelerate in the second half of 2026 across North American rideshare, bikes, and FreeNow. Growth is being supported by faster pickup times, Lyft Teen and Lyft Silver, strong Canadian and European performance, and continued expansion in higher-value ride modes.
• Partnerships reached a new high, with approximately 30% of North American rides linked to a partner. Lyft said DoorDash, United Airlines, Chase, and other relationships remain early-stage opportunities, while its Waymo partnership in Nashville is on track for a purpose-built depot in October and supply sharing before year-end.
• Driver supply and engagement remain strong, according to management, with active drivers and driver hours near record levels, driver earnings up about 8% per ride year over year, and Lyft claiming a roughly 30-point preference advantage among multi-platform drivers.
• The gap between gross-bookings growth and rides growth reflects business mix, including seasonally stronger bikes activity and the lapping of FreeNow acquisition timing. Autonomous-vehicle operations in London and Nashville are currently expected to have minimal near-term P&L impact, although Lyft believes the long-term unit economics and market expansion opportunity are attractive.

Lyft Price Performance

LYFT traded up $1.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $17.46. 23,940,024 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,629,653. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $14.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Lyft has a twelve month low of $12.46 and a twelve month high of $25.54. The company has a market cap of $6.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.54, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.80.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on LYFT. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Lyft from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Lyft in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Lyft in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. They set an "underperform" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Lyft from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Lyft from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $19.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Lindsay Catherine Llewellyn sold 36,214 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.14, for a total transaction of $584,493.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 817,517 shares in the company, valued at $13,194,724.38. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jill Beggs sold 2,093 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.76, for a total value of $28,799.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 30,092 shares in the company, valued at $414,065.92. This trade represents a 6.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 81,749 shares of company stock worth $1,221,950. 0.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Lyft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Lyft by 410.6% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,217 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 2,587 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Lyft by 763.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,073 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 2,717 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Lyft by 62.8% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,227 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 1,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Lyft during the third quarter worth $75,000. Institutional investors own 83.07% of the company's stock.

Lyft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Lyft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record demand and bookings: Second-quarter gross bookings rose 23% year over year to $5.5 billion, revenue increased 16% to $1.84 billion, and active riders and rides reached records of 30.5 million and 262 million, respectively. Growth was supported by higher-value rides, international expansion and partnerships. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Improving profitability: Adjusted EBITDA climbed 37% to $177.2 million, while the adjusted EBITDA margin improved to 3.2% of bookings from 2.9% a year earlier. Lyft also had $850 million remaining under its 2026 share-repurchase authorization as of June 30, potentially supporting per-share value. Seeking Alpha article
• Positive Sentiment: Constructive near-term outlook: Lyft forecast third-quarter gross bookings of approximately $5.50 billion to $5.67 billion, slightly above expectations, suggesting demand remains resilient even as growth moderates. Several analysts raised targets, including RBC to $20, Piper Sandler to $21 and JPMorgan to $19. RBC price-target article

Lyft Company Profile

Lyft, Inc NASDAQ: LYFT operates a peer-to-peer ridesharing platform that connects passengers with drivers through a mobile application. Since its founding in 2012, the company has expanded beyond traditional ride-hailing to include bike and electric scooter rentals, while also offering rental cars and public transit options in select markets. Lyft's platform uses GPS mapping and dynamic pricing algorithms to optimize driver-passenger matches and route efficiency.

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Lyft primarily serves urban and suburban markets across the United States and Canada.

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