By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Lyft stock (NASDAQ:LYFT) tumbled 9% as the company’s warning of driver shortages and the surging Delta variant combined to make traders nervous about the ride-haling app’s earnings in the ongoing quarter.
Companies everywhere are finding it hard to hire suitable workers as world economies have boomed after a year of the pandemic.
Company executives said revenue per ride is expected to decrease on a sequential basis.
The company said payouts for driver incentives and a decrease in prices for riders would keep third-quarter revenue under pressure.
Still, Lyft recorded adjusted profitability for the first time.
According to Reuters, late-night and weekend trips, as well as rides to airports, had significantly increased for Lyft drivers during the second quarter, in a sign of the company's most profitable rides returning.
Overall, ridership grew by more than 3.6 million from the March quarter, to more than 17 million riders during April-June. This happened as most cities in the U.S. lifted restrictions and more Americans returned to the road after a year of the pandemic.
Revenue more than doubled to $765 million versus $339.3 million, an increase of 125% year-over-year. Adjusted net loss sharply narrowed to $18 million compared to a net loss of $265.8 million in the second quarter of 2020.
Both revenue and EPS came in ahead of expectations.