Yahoo Finance Previewing Lyft's Q4 Following Strong Results From Uber
Easily one of the most critical periods for stocks, earnings season, is well underway. Investors have been busy sorting through a surplus of quarterly results daily for some time now, with many more on the way.
To the likes of investors, the feared “earnings apocalypse” has yet to materialize, helping to keep the market afloat after a harsh 2022.
Now, Lyft LYFT is on deck to unveil its Q4 FY22 results on Thursday, February 9th, after the market close.
Lyft offers an on-demand ride-hailing platform for consumers in the United States and Canada.
How does the company stack up heading into the release? We can use results from a peer, Uber Technologies UBER, as a small gauge. Let’s take a closer look.
Uber Technologies Q4
Uber posted strong quarterly results, reporting earnings per share of $0.29 and crushing the Zacks Consensus EPS Estimate by a sizable 240%.
Quarterly revenue totaled $8.6 billion, modestly surpassing our consensus estimate and growing nearly 50% year-over-year.
The better-than-expected bottom line results snapped a streak of negative surprises, undoubtedly a major positive that signals the tide could be turning.
There were also other several notable highlights, including –
Gross Bookings throughout the quarter totaled $30.7 billion, growing an impressive 19% year-over-year and beating our consensus estimate by roughly 0.6%. This is illustrated in the chart below.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Further, total trips throughout Q4 tallied 2.1 billion, representing a quarterly record and growing nearly 20% year-over-year. Impressively, the total beat our consensus estimate by roughly 1.5%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
And to top it off, Uber posted adjusted EBITDA of $665 million, growing $579 million from the year-ago quarter.
Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO, on the results, “We ended 2022 with our strongest quarter ever, with robust demand and record margins,” He continued, “Our outlook for a Gross Bookings and Adjusted EBITDA step up in Q1 builds on that progress, and sets us up for yet another record year."
The market took the strong results in stride, sending Uber shares soaring in pre-market trading. Now, onto Lyft.
Lyft
Quarterly Estimates –
A singular analyst has lowered their outlook for the quarter, with the Zacks Consensus EPS Estimate of $0.10 suggesting an 11% year-over-year climb.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
In addition, our consensus revenue estimate stands firm at $1.2 billion, indicating an improvement of nearly 20% year-over-year.
Quarterly Performance –
Lyft has primarily posted mixed quarterly results, exceeding the Zacks Consensus EPS Estimate in back-to-back quarters but falling short of revenue expectations in each instance.
In its latest release, the company registered a sizable 38% EPS beat but marginally fell short of sales expectations. Below is a chart illustrating the company’s revenue on a quarterly basis.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Valuation –
Lyft’s valuation multiples have pulled back by notable margins; the company’s forward price-to-sales ratio currently works out to be 1.3X, nowhere near the 3.6X median since its IPO in 2019.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The company carries a Style Score of “D” for Value.
Putting Everything Together
Investors remain busy with quarterly results, with an extensive list of companies reporting daily. And in the coming weeks, more are slated to come.
This week on Thursday, February 9th, after the market close, Lyft is slated to unveil its Q4 results.
We already received results from a peer, Uber Technologies UBER, with the company posting better-than-expected results that sent shares flying in the pre-market session.
A singular analyst has lowered their outlook for Lyft’s upcoming quarter, with estimates indicating an uptick in earnings and revenue year-over-year.
In addition, the company has primarily posted mixed results as of late, struggling to exceed revenue estimates.
Heading into the print, Lyft LYFT is a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) with an Earnings ESP Score of 42.4%.
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