Sales surging for Lyft as rebound taking hold

Lyft’s sales surged by almost half in the third quarter from the previous period, and its losses narrowed, showing that the ride- hailing company is bouncing back from a pandemic-induced slump more swiftly than analysts predicted.

Lyft reported $499.7 million in sales for the quarter, an improvement from earlier this year that slightly beat analyst expectations, but still 48% lower than the same period in 2019, before pandemic-related heath restrictions froze travel across its major markets.

Lyft shares closed at $36.41, up 36 cents, or 1% on Wednesday.

The company’s loss, excluding tax, interest and other costs, widened from the previous year to $239.7 million, better than Wall Street’s expected loss of $250 million for the quarter, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Lyft Chief Financial Officer Brian Roberts reiterated the company’s goal to turn an adjusted profit by the end of 2021, “even with a slower recovery.”

In an interview, John Zimmer, the co-founder and president of Lyft, sounded an optimistic note about the promise of a coronavirus vaccine bringing the pandemic to a close. Earlier this week, Pfizer said it has developed a COVID-19 vaccine that was 90% effective in a trial, a breakthrough that broadly rallied the stock market and increased hope that transportation and other industries would rebound more quickly.

“We believe the vaccine will accelerate our recovery,” Zimmer said. “As the economy recovers and people get out again, it directly correlates” to Lyft’s performance.

Lyft also scored a legislative win this month, when California voters approved a ballot measure exempting it — along with Uber Technologies, Instacart and other app-based gig companies — from a state law designed to make drivers employees.

“For us, the election was a turning point,” Zimmer said, adding that next, “we want to get something done on a national scale. Better than a patchwork of regulations state by state would be providing something on a federal level,” he said. Lyft will take both approaches, talking with policy and labor leaders at both state and federal levels to “see which one is most fruitful,” Zimmer said.