. Lyft, which forecast growth would slow in the second quarter, is watched as a bellwether for its larger rival Uber Technologies Inc which will price its offering on Thursday.
An outlook for second-quarter revenue of $800 million to $810 million was ahead of analysts’ expectations of $783.1 million. The low end of that forecast would amount to revenue growth of 58 per cent, however, far short of the growth Lyft has enjoyed recently. Total costs and expenses rose more than 200 per cent in the quarter as it stepped up its promotional activities to compete with rival Uber, although a contribution margin improvement to 49.6 per cent from 35.4 per cent pointed to greater efficiency.A net loss widened to $1.14 billion, or $48.53 per share, in the first quarter ended March 31 from $234.3 million, or $11.69 per share, a year earlier. Stock-based compensation and payroll tax made up $894 million of that amount.
Unlike its larger, more international rival, Lyft focuses almost exclusively on ride-hailing in the United States.