Yahoo Finance Here's Why Investors Should Retain LYFT Stock for Now
Lyft LYFT thrives on increased driver availability and robust rideshare demand, which bolsters its top line. However, elevated operating expenses and weak liquidity are major headwinds.
Factors Favoring LYFT
Driven by upbeat demand, Lyft achieved a 21% year-over-year increase in gross bookings in the first quarter of 2024, boosting the company's top line. The platform supported 188 million rides and 21.9 million active riders, with total rides increasing by 23%, reflecting strong demand across various use cases. Active riders grew by 12%, indicating improved rider retention and an influx of new users.
For the second quarter of 2024, Lyft expects gross bookings to rise by 16% to 19% year over year, assuming a 15% increase in rides.
In the first quarter of 2024, Lyft saw a jump in driver availability. The company enhanced earnings opportunities for drivers with improved transparency and control over schedules, leading to increased earnings and a nearly 50% reduction in ride cancellations compared to last year.
The nationwide rollout of Women+ Connect in the first quarter boosted activations of women and non-binary drivers by nearly 24% year over year. As a result, Lyft saw more drivers using the platform in the first quarter of 2024. Driver hours surged more than 40% year over year, while ride frequency reached its highest point in four years.
Key Risks
High operating expenses are adversely impacting LYFT’s bottom line, with total operating expenses increasing by 10.1% year over year in the first quarter of 2024. This rise is driven by a 37.6% jump in the cost of revenues due to higher ride volumes and increased per-ride insurance costs. Moreover, sales and marketing expenses rose by 25.5% year over year in the first quarter of 2024.
Lyft's liquidity position is concerning. At the end of the first quarter of 2024, its cash and cash equivalents totaled $507.91 million, falling short of its long-term debt of $942.17 million. Moreover, Lyft's current ratio (a measure of liquidity) was 0.82. A current ratio of less than 1 is undesirable as it indicates that the company does not have enough cash to meet its short-term obligations.
Shares of LYFT have rallied 31.4% in the past year compared with its industry’s growth of 47% in the same period.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Zacks Rank
LYFT currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Stocks to Consider
Some better-ranked stocks for investors’ consideration in the Zacks Transportation sector include SkyWest SKYW and Kirby Corporation KEX.
SkyWest currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and has an expected earnings growth rate of 787% for the current year.
SKYW has an impressive earnings surprise history. Its earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 128%. Shares of SkyWest have jumped 106% in the past year.
KEX holds a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Kirby has an expected earnings growth rate of 42.5% for the current year.
The company has an encouraging track record concerning the earnings surprise, having surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters. The average beat is 10.3%. Shares of Kirby have climbed 61.4% in the past year.
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SkyWest, Inc. (SKYW) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Kirby Corporation (KEX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Lyft, Inc. (LYFT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
