Lyft stock was trading higher late Tuesday after the ride-hail company posted better-than-expected first quarter earnings and sales. Lyft also gave a better than expected forecast for demand in the current quarter.
In results published late Tuesday, Lyft said that it earned an adjusted 15 cents per share on sales of $1.28 billion for the March-ending quarter. On average, analysts projected the San Francisco-based company would post adjusted earnings of 6 cents per share on sales of $1.16 billion, according to FactSet.
For the same period a year earlier, Lyft posted adjusted earnings of 8 cents per share on sales of $1 billion.
For the current quarter, Lyft guided for gross bookings between $4 billion and $4.1 billion. Analysts were projecting Lyft would record gross bookings of $3.98 billion for the June-ending period, according to FactSet.
On the stock market today, Lyft stock rose more than 4% to 17.41 in recent after-hours action.
Lyft Rides Up 23%
For the three months ending in March, Lyft said its gross bookings were $3.7 billion, up 21% year-over-year. That topped analyst consensus of $3.6 billion, according to FactSet.
Revenue growth, meanwhile, accelerated to 28% year-over-year for the quarter, compared to 4% growth in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Lyft's app connected 188 million rides during the first quarter, up 23% year over year. Active riders, meanwhile, increased 12% to 21.9 million.
Overshadowed by its larger rival Uber, Lyft's leadership has focused on cutting costs and working toward profitability.
Chief Financial Officer Erin Brewer noted in the company's press release that the company has had positive free cash flow for two consecutive quarters.
On the basis of generally accepted accounting principles, Lyft lost 8 cents per share in the first quarter, compared to a 50 cent per share loss for the same period a year earlier.
Lyft Stock: Technical Ratings
Prior to earnings, Lyft fell 5% in Tuesday trading. Still, shares have gained 10.7% this year compared to a 8.8% gain for the S&P 500. And Lyft stock is up 92% from 12 months ago, compared to a 25% gain for the S&P 500.
Coming into the report, Lyft stock had an IBD Composite Rating of 87 out of 99, according to IBD Stock Checkup. The score combines five separate proprietary ratings into one rating. The best growth stocks have a Composite Rating of 90 or better.
Further, Lyft's IBD Relative Strength Rating was 96 out of 99.
Before earnings, Lyft stock was trading in a consolidation pattern below a buy point of 20.82, according to MarketSmith.
