Lyft revenue grew 7% quarter-over-quarter from $569.9 million to $609 million as the ride-share company continues its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
However, its Q1 2021 revenue marks a decrease of 36% compared to the first quarter of 2020 when revenue notched $955.7 million.
The net loss for the quarter was $427.3 million compared to a net loss of $398.1 million in the same period in 2020. Adjusted net loss for Q1 2021 was $114.1 million versus an adjusted net loss of $97.4 million in the first quarter of 2020.
Adjusted EBITDA loss for the quarter ending March 31, 2021, was $73 million, an improvement of $12.2 million compared to the first quarter of 2020 and an improvement of $77 million compared to Q4 2020.
Active riders for Q1 2020 were 13.5 million, a decline of 36.4% over the same period of 2020. Revenue per active rider went up 0.2% from $45.06 in Q1 2020 to $45.13 in the first quarter of this year.
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“We had an exceptionally strong Q1 as more people started moving again. Our results meaningfully exceeded our outlook driven by elevated demand across our network,” says Lyft CFO Brian Roberts.
In a call with analysts, Lyft co-founder and CEO Logan Green says the rollout of vaccines and reduced pandemic-related instructions helped increase demand, however rider demand began to outpace driver supply in February.
John Zimmer, co-founder and president of Lyft, says as demand continues to improve, Lyft expects more drivers will come to the platform, including gig workers who see they could earn more with ride-share than other opportunities like food delivery.
Zimmer says Lyft built a “much stronger” business over the past year, and 2020 was a “reset” for the company.
Notably, last week Lyft announced it will sell its self-driving vehicle division to Woven Planet Holdings, a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation, for $550 million.
Of the sale, Zimmer says it became clear to Lyft that the best way to commercialize autonomous vehicles will be through its existing transportation network.
“With the pending sale of our Level 5 self-driving division, Lyft is set up to win the transition to autonomous through our hybrid network of human drivers and AVs, advanced marketplace tech and leading fleet management capabilities.”
He says Lyft is aligned with its AV partners and “will not have significant ownership in a competing AV program.”
The sale of Lyft’s Level 5 will also help Lyft achieve adjusted EBITDA profitability in Q3 2021. “Once we become profitable, we expect to remain so even as we invest in future opportunities.”