Lyft achieves first billion-dollar revenue quarter, keeps 2021 profitability target date in place

As Lyft tries to recover from its first less-than-stellar year in the public markets, the ride-sharing company showed significant improvement in its fiscal year 2019 results.

Revenue increased 68% from $2.2 billion in 2018 to $3.6 billion in 2019.

Lyft’s adjusted EBITDA loss was $678.9 million, down from $943.5 million in fiscal year 2018.

The earnings come just days after Uber moved its target profitability date up by one year to the fourth quarter of 2020.

In a call to discuss earnings, Lyft President and co-founder John Zimmer says the company remains “truly confident” to achieve its profitability target by the fourth quarter of 2021.

“When we set that target just a couple of months ago, we wanted to be very clear that our strategy is to drive profitable growth,” says Zimmer.”

The San Francisco-based company reported a 52% year-over-year increase in revenue to $1.01 billion for the fourth quarter of 2019, surpassing analyst expectations of $984 million.

Adjusted EBITDA loss reached $130.7 million in the quarter, down from $251.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Fourth quarter recap

It was a busy quarter for Lyft, which launched a partnership with corporate transportation company Gett, relaunched its e-bike program in California and introduced its latest scooter model.

The company’s primary rideshare operations also flourished in the fourth quarter.

Active riders rose to 22.9 million in the quarter, up from 18.6 million a year ago.

Revenue per active rider increased from $42.82 in the third quarter to $44.40 in the fourth quarter.

CEO Logan Green attributes the growth in its ride sharing operations to “significant improvements to the technology stack that powers our marketplace.”

“We'll continue to invest in technology advancements in 2020 and are committed to applying a disciplined approach to this investment,” says Green.

In 2019, Lyft launched new products such as shared saver, which Green says, “accounts for roughly one third of all shared rides.”

It also grew its partnerships with travel brands.

Users can link their Lyft and Hilton accounts and redeem Hilton points for Lyft ride credits, which Zimmer says is “a first in the hospitality industry.”

Lyft also saw an increase in spending as a result of its partnership with Delta, and there are plans to “to deepen this partnership with future product development.”

“We are working to make it possible to pay for this ride with miles later this year and we are working closely with Delta to further integrate Lyft into the fly Delta app,” says Zimmer.