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Lyft (LYFT) Up 11.1% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Continue?

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It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Lyft (LYFT - Free Report) . Shares have added about 11.1% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Lyft due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.

Lyft Beats on Revenues in Q1

Lyft incurred a loss (excluding 95 cents from non-recurring items) of 36 cents per share in the first quarter of 2021, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 54 cents. Moreover, total revenues of $609 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $556.8 million.

The top line, however, declined 36.3% year over year due to 36.4% drop in Active Riders (riders who take at least one ride during a quarter on Lyft’s multimodal platform through its app). Active Riders totaled 13.49 million in the quarter under review. The company’s Revenue per Active Rider inched up 0.2% year over year to $45.13.

With continued recovery in rideshare rides, Lyft’s first-quarter performance improved sequentially. Total revenues increased 7% from the fourth quarter of 2020 with 7.5% rise in Active Riders. During the first-quarter conference call, the company stated that it expects ride volumes to continue to improve as more Americans get vaccinated and coronaviurs-led restrictions ease. It remains confident of being able to achieve adjusted EBITDA profits in the third quarter itself.

Adjusted EBITDA loss for the first quarter improved $12.2 million year over year to $73 million. The adjusted EBITDA loss margin came in at 12% compared with 8.9% in the year-ago period. Total costs and expenses fell 25.1% year over year to $1.02 billion in the quarter.

Contribution deteriorated 38.4% year over year to $337.3 million. Contribution margin dipped to 55.4% from 57.3% a year ago. Lyft exited the first quarter with unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $2.2 billion compared with $2.25 billion at the end of 2020.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

It turns out, fresh estimates have trended upward during the past month. The consensus estimate has shifted 12.09% due to these changes.

VGM Scores

Currently, Lyft has a nice Growth Score of B, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with a D. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock was allocated a grade of F on the value side, putting it in the bottom 20% quintile for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of D. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Outlook

Estimates have been trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions looks promising. Notably, Lyft has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.


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