In a completely bananas turn of events, an error in the earnings report sent Lyft shares up nearly 70 percent after the stock bell on Tuesday. as reported CBS. The report had an additional zero that suggested a five percent margin expansion in 2024 instead of a .5 percent margin. That has excited investors as the company has struggled to turn a profit for a long time.
The bug was even on Lyft’s slide deck part of this income statement, and accompanying press release. The company quickly corrected the mistake, calling it a clerical error, but the stock rally had already begun. Lyft CFO Erin Brewer addressed the issue on an earnings call last night that sent the stock into a tailspin. It’s worth noting that the earnings report, even if it wasn’t a mistake, was good news for Lyft, so the stock price experienced a more steady increase of around 35 percent.
Now on to the blame game. Lyft CEO David Risher appeared on CNBCs Squawk box Taking responsibility for the mistake by saying, “Look, it was a bad mistake, and it’s on me.” Risher noted that it was “very frustrating” for everyone on the team, and said he could see one employee’s “jaw drop” when he discovered the problem.
The good news? Even with that adjustment, this is Lyft’s best day since the company launched Initial IPO offering in 2019. Yesterday’s earnings report showed revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, up four percent from last year. During the quarter, orders increased by 17 percent and amounted to 3.7 billion dollars. Risher called it a “big quarter.”
A misplaced zero on the schedule isn’t the ridesharing giant’s only concern. Thousands of Lyft and Uber drivers they are on holiday today demanding better pay and safe working conditions. The walkout workers are mostly concentrated around ten major US airports, although it is only planned to last a few hours.
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