First quarter revenue grew to $776 million, up 95% year-over-year
Active Riders grew to over 20.5 million in the quarter

SAN FRANCISCO, May 07, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lyft, Inc. (Nasdaq:LYFT) today announced financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2019.

“The first quarter was a strong start to an important year, our first as a public company,” said Logan Green, Co-Founder and CEO of Lyft.  “Our performance was driven by the increased demand for our network and multi-modal platform, as Active Riders grew 46 percent and revenue grew 95 percent year-over-year. Transportation is one of the largest segments of our economy and we are still in the very early stages of an enormous secular shift from personal car ownership to Transportation-as-a-Service.”

First Quarter 2019 Highlights

• Lyft reported Q1 revenue of $776.0 million versus $397.2 million in the first quarter of 2018, an increase of 95 percent year-over-year. 
• Net loss for Q1 includes $894 million of stock-based compensation and related payroll tax expenses, primarily due to RSU expense recognition in connection with our initial public offering. As a result, net loss for Q1 2019 was $1,138.5 million versus a net loss of $234.3 in the same period of 2018. Net loss margin was not meaningful in the quarter and (59.0%) in the first quarter of 2018.
• Adjusted net loss was $211.5 million versus an adjusted net loss of $228.4 million in the first quarter of 2018. Adjusted net loss is adjusted for amortization of intangible assets, stock-based compensation expense, payroll tax expense related to stock-based compensation, changes to the insurance reserve attributable to historical periods, and cost related to acquisitions. 
• Lyft reported Contribution of $384.9 million versus $140.4 million in the first quarter of 2018, up 174% year-over-year. Contribution Margin increased to 49.6% from 35.4% versus the first quarter of 2018.
• Adjusted EBITDA was ($216.0) million versus ($238.7) million in the first quarter of 2018. Adjusted EBITDA Margin was (27.8%) versus (60.1%) in the first quarter of 2018. 
• Lyft’s IPO Registration Statement was declared effective on March 28, 2019. The IPO closed on April 2, 2019.

Outlook:
For Q2, we anticipate:

• Total revenue to be between $800 million and $810 million
• Adjusted EBITDA loss to be between $270 million and $280 million

For FY 2019, we anticipate:

• Total revenue to be between $3.275 billion and $3.3 billion
• Adjusted EBITDA loss to be between $1.15 billion and $1.175 billion

For more information regarding the non-GAAP financial measures discussed in this letter, please see "GAAP to non-GAAP Reconciliations" below. Guidance for adjusted EBITDA loss excludes interest income, other income (expense), provision for income taxes, depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation expense, payroll tax expense related to stock-based compensation, changes to the insurance reserve attributable to historical periods, and costs related to acquisitions. We have not reconciled adjusted EBITDA guidance to GAAP net income (loss) because we do not provide guidance on GAAP net income (loss) or the reconciling items between adjusted EBITDA and GAAP net income (loss), as a result of the uncertainty regarding, and the potential variability of, certain of these items. Accordingly, a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measure guidance to the corresponding GAAP measure is not available without unreasonable effort. A reconciliation of historical adjusted EBITDA is below.

Webcast
Lyft will host a webcast today at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time) to discuss these financial results and business highlights. To listen to a live audio webcast, please visit the Company’s Investor Relations page at https://investor.lyft.com/. The archived webcast will be available on the Company’s Investor Relations page shortly after the call.

About Lyft
Lyft was founded in 2012, and has over 30 million riders and 2 million drivers. We are singularly focused on improving people’s lives with the world’s best transportation and committed to building reliable, affordable and sustainable transportation.

Available Information
Lyft intends to use its Investor Relations website, its blog and its Twitter account as a means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD.

Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or Lyft's future financial or operating performance. In some cases, you can identify forward looking statements because they contain words such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates,” “going to,” "could," "intends," "target," "projects," "contemplates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential" or "continue" or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions that concern Lyft's expectations, strategy, priorities, plans or intentions. Forward-looking statements in this release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the deployment of vehicles on the Lyft platform and timing of such deployment, Lyft’s future financial and operating performance, including its outlook and guidance for the second quarter and full year 2019, demand for Lyft’s products and services and the markets in which Lyft operates and the future of Transportation-as-a-Service. Lyft’s expectations and beliefs regarding these matters may not materialize, and actual results in future periods are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, including risks regarding our ability to forecast our business due to our limited operating history, our competition, fluctuations in the ridesharing market, our ability to attract and retain drivers and riders and our partner relationships. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are also subject to other risks and uncertainties, including those more fully described in Lyft's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Lyft’s prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, on March 29, 2019 and in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q that will be filed following this earnings release. The forward-looking statements in this release are based on information available to Lyft as of the date hereof, and Lyft disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

A Note About Metrics
Lyft defines Active Riders as all riders who take at least one ride on our multimodal platform through the Lyft app during a quarter. An Active Rider is identified by a unique phone number. If a rider has two mobile phone numbers or changed their phone number and such rider took rides using both phone numbers during the quarter, that person would count as two Active Riders. If a rider has a personal and business profile tied to the same mobile phone number, that person would be considered a single Active Rider. If a ride has been requested by an organization using our Concierge offering for the benefit of a rider, we exclude this rider in the calculation of Active Riders since using the Lyft app is not required. With acquired businesses, including Motivate, only riders that have taken a ride or rented a bike or scooter through our Lyft app during the quarter will count as an Active Rider. Additionally, our calculation of Active Riders is not based on any standardized industry methodology and is not necessarily calculated in the same manner or comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies. Lyft defines Revenue per Active Rider as quarterly revenue divided by the number of Active Riders for the same quarter.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement Lyft's financial information presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America, or GAAP, Lyft considers certain financial measures that are not prepared in accordance with GAAP, including adjusted net loss, Contribution, Contribution Margin, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin. Lyft defines adjusted net loss as net loss adjusted for amortization of intangible assets, stock-based compensation expense, payroll tax expense related to stock-based compensation, changes to the insurance reserve attributable to historical periods, and cost related to acquisitions; Lyft defines Contribution as revenue less cost of revenue, adjusted to exclude the following items from cost of revenue: amortization of intangible assets, stock-based compensation expense, payroll tax expense related to stock-based compensation, changes to the insurance reserve attributable to historical periods, and cost related to acquisitions; Lyft defines Contribution Margin for a period as Contribution for the period divided by Revenue for the same period. Lyft defines Adjusted EBITDA as net loss adjusted to exclude interest income, other income (expense), provision for income taxes, depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation expense, payroll tax expense related to stock-based compensation, changes to the insurance reserve attributable to historical periods, and cost related to acquisitions. Adjusted EBITDA Margin is calculated by dividing adjusted EBITDA for a period by revenue for the same period.

Lyft records changes to historical insurance claims under ridesharing for financial reporting purposes in the quarter of positive or adverse development even though such development may be related to claims that occurred in earlier periods. For example, if in the first quarter of a given year, the cost of claims grew by $1 million for claims related to the prior fiscal year or earlier, the expense would be recorded for GAAP purposes within the first quarter instead of in the results of a previously reported prior period. Lyft believes these prior period insurance reserve changes do not illustrate the current period performance of Lyft’s ongoing operations since these prior period reserve changes relate to claims that could date back potentially years. Lyft has limited ability to influence the ultimate development of historical claims. Accordingly, including the prior period reserve changes would not illustrate the performance of Lyft’s ongoing operations or how the business is run or managed by Lyft. For consistency, Lyft does not adjust the calculation of adjusted net loss, Contribution and Adjusted EBITDA for any prior period based on any positive or adverse development that occurs subsequent to the quarter end. Lyft believes the exclusion of the insurance reserves adjustment from adjusted net loss, Contribution and Adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors by enabling them to better assess Lyft’s operating performance in the context of current period results.

Lyft uses adjusted net loss, Contribution, Contribution Margin, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin in conjunction with GAAP measures as part of Lyft’s overall assessment of its performance, including the preparation of Lyft’s annual operating budget and quarterly forecasts, to evaluate the effectiveness of Lyft’s business strategies, and to communicate with Lyft’s board of directors concerning Lyft’s financial performance. Adjusted net loss, Contribution and Contribution Margin are measures used by our management to understand and evaluate our operating performance and trends. Lyft believes Contribution and Contribution Margin are key measures of Lyft’s ability to achieve profitability and increase it over time. Adjusted net loss, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin are key performance measures that Lyft’s management uses to assess Lyft’s operating performance and the operating leverage in Lyft’s business. Because Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin facilitate internal comparisons of our historical operating performance on a more consistent basis, Lyft uses these measures for business planning purposes.

Lyft’s definitions may differ from the definitions used by other companies and therefore comparability may be limited. In addition, other companies may not publish these or similar metrics. Furthermore, these metrics have certain limitations in that they do not include the impact of certain expenses that are reflected in our consolidated statement of operations that are necessary to run our business. Thus, adjusted net loss, Contribution, Contribution Margin, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin should be considered in addition to, not as substitutes for, or in isolation from, measures prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Contacts
Catherine Buan   
investor@lyft.com

Adrian Durbin / Alexandra LaManna
press@lyft.com