What's going on?

Investors pulled further away from Lyft’s stock on Wednesday, sending it 6% lower despite the US ride-hailing company reporting better-than-expected quarterly results.

What does this mean?

In its first update since becoming a public company in March, Lyft revealed that its revenue last quarter almost doubled compared to the same time last year � and that, excluding one-off costs related to its initial public offering, it reduced its losses too, zooming past analysts� estimates.


Lyft�s pumping the gas, but perhaps not hard enough. The company�s revenue forecast for this quarter is higher than analysts predicted � but Lyft is still forecasting its revenue growth will slow by around a third compared to the quarter just gone (tweet this). And with losses predicted to grow once again, profit is still a long ride away�

Why should I care?

For markets: Little reason for Lyft-off.

Lyft�s stock has fallen 20% since going public, with some investors now claiming the company misrepresented itself in order to attract their cash. And a better-than-expected earnings report wasn�t enough to encourage investors to lift the company�s shares on Wednesday. While the investment bank analysts who recommend shares to investors were impressed, their forecasts typically follow a company�s earnings guidance closely, allowing it to underpromise and subsequently overdeliver; the investors themselves may have had higher expectations. That may help explain why some 44% of Lyft�s listed shares are being used by investors (including existing backers) to bet that their price will fall, according to Bloomberg.

The bigger picture: Your robot is arriving shortly.

Lyft announced late on Tuesday that Alphabet-owned Waymo’s driverless cars will be rolled out for rides in the next few months. After testing its robo-taxi service in Phoenix, Arizona, Lyft plans to start with 10 robocars in the city � similarly to its previous Las Vegas partnership with Aptiv. Arch-rival Uber (hitting stock markets on Friday) also has its eye on expensive self-driving taxis � but is yet to make a major breakthrough.