I took part in Lyft's conference call ($LYFT (-2,42 %) ) for the 4th quarter and the full year 2024, which I would like to summarize for you.
CEO David Risher announced that 2024 had been a year of "reinvention and industry leadership" for Lyft. The company has reached all-time highs in rides, riders and driver hours. At the end of January, Lyft achieved its highest market share since 2022. The financial results were the best everconfirming the thesis that customer centricity drives profitable growth.
Drivers are choosing Lyft at record ratesand drivers collectively earned nearly 9 billion dollars in 2024. Technological innovations have shortened pick-up times and reduced "prime time" prices. The average number of rides per person has increased and Lyft has the most high-frequency riders in 5 years. The partnership with DoorDash was successful as it resulted in a record number of scheduled rides.
CFO Erin Brewer announced that 2024 was a remarkable year for Lyft. The company exceeded all targets in its multi-year plan. The gross bookings amounted to 16.1 billion dollarsan increase of 17%. By reducing "prime time" pricing and increasing efficiency and cost discipline, Lyft be GAAP profitable for the first time in a full year and generated free cash flow of 766 million dollars dollars.
In the fourth quarter, the number of rides increased by 15% and the number of active riders by 10%, while prices in the US market fell. For the first quarter of 2025 growth in gross bookings of around 10 % to 14 % is is expected. Lyft has also launched a share buyback program in the amount of 500 million dollars. announced.
In addition, the impact of new market participants such as Waymo was also discussed.
It was made clear that Waymo is seen as a company with very impressive technology, especially when it comes to their autonomous vehicles. In San Francisco, however, Waymo was seen as a premium product that is about 20% more expensive than Lyft's services. Despite Waymo's presence in San Francisco, its market market share there has remained stable. It is expected that these new technologies, like Waymo's, will create new demand from which Lyft can also benefit.
In addition, the introduction of autonomous vehicles is being driven forward. Lyft is planning the introduction of AVs in 2025 in collaboration with May Mobility in Atlanta. A partnership with Marubeni was also announced, which will utilize Mobileye's "Lyft-ready" AV technology, starting with a fleet of fleet of 1,000 vehicles in Dallas starting in 2026. AVs are seen as an opportunity to expand the market not as competition to existing rides.
I hope you enjoyed the summary. Basically, however, I am still #TeamUber ($UBER (-2,45 %) )
