Lyft (LYFT) - Q2 2025 Earnings Call
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Date: August 6, 2025
Executives Present:
John David Risher – CEO & Director
Erin Brewer – Chief Financial Officer
Aurelien Nolf – VP of FP&A and Investor Relations
Financial Performance
CEO highlighted: “Q2 was a record-breaking quarter for Lyft. We delivered all-time highs across gross bookings, adjusted EBITDA and free cash flows for the first time in company history.”
Lyft repurchased $200M worth of stock, reducing share count for the first time.
Active riders grew double digits for the second consecutive quarter; total rides hit ~235 million, up double digits YoY.
Adjusted EBITDA up 26% YoY in Q2.
Free Cash Flow: $993M over the trailing 12 months. CFO: “Nothing in particular to highlight… we are incredibly proud of the progress.”
Strong driver engagement: over 1 million drivers, driving 40% more hours each than pre-COVID.
Guidance & Future Trends
Q3 gross bookings growth guided to 13–17% YoY.
Guidance includes two months of Free Now acquisition results. CFO: “Taxi tends to be a little bit more of an elevated experience… this is generally a seasonally lower quarter for them.”
Expect mid-teens ride growth to continue in Q3.
CFO: prices “roughly flat sequentially and up year-over-year” with profitability maintained.
CEO: “We remain on track to achieve our long-term targets… momentum is building.”
Capital Allocation
$200M stock repurchase in Q2 – first reduction in company share count.
Strong balance sheet and cash flow position emphasized.
CFO: no unusual one-time items in free cash flow, strength is organic.
Partnerships & Ecosystem
United Airlines: first-ever rideshare partner, riders earn points on every ride.
Chase Sapphire: refreshed benefits; over 1M linked accounts, global expansion via Free Now.
DoorDash DashPass: “Produced unbelievable results… 300% more account linking in one day than typical.”
Alaska Airlines: refreshed partnership; growth in loyalty rider engagement.
Built Rewards: 360M points redeemed in just 4 months.
Business Rewards Program launched: free cash-back program + double points with partners like Hilton.
Partnerships now linked to 25% of rides, >50M rides.
Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) & Technology
Baidu Partnership:
Initial deployment in Europe (hundreds of vehicles → thousands).
Lyft will operate and manage fleets; Baidu supplies AV tech.
Deployment expected in Germany & UK by 2026 after regulatory approval.
CEO: “In AV markets, industry growth is 5x higher than other markets.”
Lyft has strong fleet management via FlexPod (10–15k cars, 28 depots in US).
Free Now adds European regulatory relationships, boosting AV deployment.
Competition & Industry Trends
CEO: Lyft’s market share at highest point in last 2.5 years.
Lyft sees competitor strategy as “photocopy” of its innovations (Price Lock, Lyft Silver, etc.).
TAM remains underpenetrated: “151 billion rides annually; between us and Uber, we only do ~3 billion.”
Affordability strategy: product variety, Price Lock, partnerships, media subsidies. CFO: affordability “not new to Lyft”.
Notable Direct Quotes
“Q2 was a record-breaking quarter for Lyft… all-time highs across gross bookings, adjusted EBITDA and free cash flows.”
“For the first time in company history, we reduced our share count by repurchasing $200 million worth of stock.”
“Rides reached an all-time high of almost 235 million, marking our ninth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth.”
“Our driver cancellation rate was about 15%. Now it’s sub-5%, about 4.7%.”
“Partnerships now account for 25% of rides—more than 50 million rides linked to partners.”
“United has never had a rideshare partner before. This will be their first.”
“In AV markets like San Francisco and Phoenix, growth is 5x larger than in other markets.”
“Our market share is at the highest point it has been in the last 2.5 years.”
“We continue to make $993 million over a trailing 12-month period in free cash flow.”
“I think it’s a new Lyft you’re looking at now—a much more global, diversified Lyft.”
Q&A Summary
Q (Goldman Sachs – Eric Sheridan): On affordability and rider growth.
A (Risher & Brewer): Growth driven by operational excellence, innovations like Price Lock, partnerships (Chase, DoorDash, United). Prices flat QoQ, up slightly YoY. Active riders +10%, frequency up mid-single digits.Q (TD Cowen – John Blackledge): Gross bookings guide & partnerships.
A (Brewer & Risher): Q3 ride growth mid-teens; guidance includes 2 months of Free Now. Highlighted United, Chase, DoorDash, Alaska, Built, Business Rewards. Partnerships now 25% of rides.Q (JPMorgan – Doug Anmuth): AV strategy in Europe & Baidu.
A (Risher): AVs expand TAM, Lyft brings fleet management, demand, regulatory ties. Baidu cars in Germany & UK by 2026.Q (Deutsche Bank – Benjamin Black): Baidu economics & Free Now investment.
A (Risher & Brewer): Initial deployment hundreds → thousands of AVs; process well understood. Free Now integration not costly, growth-focused, EUR 1B run rate target.Q (Fox Advisors – Steven Fox): Free cash flow drivers.
A (Brewer): No one-time items, strength from insurance management and ride growth; TTM $993M FCF.Q (UBS – Stephen Ju): Innovation vs competitors.
A (Risher): Lyft continues innovating while competitors copy. Market share at highest in 2.5 years.Q (Bernstein – Nikhil Devnani): Europe investment and subscription bundles.
A (Risher & Brewer): Free Now growth not costly; European rideshare underpenetrated. Open to larger subscription bundles; highlighted Sephora pilot partnership.Q (Wells Fargo – Ken Gawrelski): Pricing & replacing car ownership.
A (Risher): Long-term decline in car ownership inevitable. AVs and media subsidies lower prices; insurance/regulatory hurdles remain.
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