Lyft continues to post losses despite revenue growth

NEW YORK (AP) — Lyft continued to bleed money in its second quarter but says it expects to stem some of those losses, raising its outlook for 2019.

The ride-hailing company on Wednesday posted revenue of $867.3 million, up 72% from the same time last year.

But the San Francisco-based company lost $664.2 million in the quarter, which was worse than the $445 million loss that analysts polled by FactSet expected.

More than a third of the loss, or $296.6 million, came from stock-based compensation Lyft paid out after its IPO in March. The company also lost $141.1 million due to changing requirements for liabilities for insurance.

The company's growth in active riders — and revenue per active rider — was better than expected, which drove its revenue growth, said Logan Green, co-founder and chief executive officer of Lyft, in a news release. Lyft's revenue per active rider was $39.77, up 22% compared to the same time last year.

"We remain focused on reshaping transportation and we are pleased with the continued improvement in market conditions," Green said. "This environment along with our execution is translating to strong revenue growth and sales and marketing efficiencies."

Green said because of that positive momentum, the company expects 2019 losses to be better than previously expected.

The company now predicts it will lose between $850 million and $875 million after expenses such as interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in 2019, an improvement from the previous predicted loss of $1.15 billion to $1.175 billion.

Uber, which is Lyft's main and much larger rival, is set to report earnings Thursday.

Lyft's stock price has fallen sharply since its debut. It hovered around $60 per share Wednesday, down 17% from its IPO price of $72.

It was the first of the major ride-hailing companies to go public, beating Uber to its stock market debut. Early enthusiasm among investors quickly fizzled, along with the stock price. The company has not turned a profit or demonstrated a path to profitability. However, its losses were steeper last quarter, when the company was hit with more expenses from stock compensation related to its IPO.

Its adjusted net loss, after accounting for the stock compensation, insurance change and other expenses, was $197.3 million, which was 12% more than the $176.5 million adjusted net loss it posted during the same quarter last year.