Lyft's results show pain but also hope as some riders return

NEW YORK (AP) — Lyft is still feeling the pandemic's severe impact on the ride-hailing industry but its third-quarter results show signs of a recovery from the previous three months when passengers stayed locked down.

The San Francisco-based ride-hailing company brought in $499.7 million in revenue in the three months that ended Sept. 30. That was down 48% from the same time last year.

But it was up 47% from revenue in the April-June quarter. And while the number of active riders plunged to 12.5 million in the latest quarter, down 44% from the same time last year, that figure was up 44% from the second quarter.

“We are encouraged by the ongoing recovery in ridesharing and the performance improvements we saw across bikes, scooters and fleet,” said Logan Green, co-founder and CEO of Lyft, in a prepared statement. “We remain confident that demand will continue to return as we progress through the recovery.”

Lyft lost $459.5 million in the third quarter, or $1.46 a share, compared with a loss of $463.5 million, or $1.57 a share, a year earlier.

Despite the losses, Lyft had reason for optimism after prevailing last week in California, where voters passed Proposition 22, allowing it and other app-based transportation companies to continue treating their drivers as contractors instead of employees. That victory spares the company from paying for benefits such as sick time and other expenses steep enough that Lyft had threatened to shut down operations in the state.

“As we look to the future, the win on Proposition 22 in California was a landmark achievement and a major victory for drivers, our industry and the broader Lyft community,” said John Zimmer, co-founder and president of Lyft, in a statement.

Lyft, Uber, DoorDash and others spent a combined $200 million pushing the proposal.