The cold weather has caused Lyft (LYFT.US) to enter a "winter" performance! The first quarter bookings were lower than expected, jeopardizing market confidence.

In the latest performance report, Lyft (LYFT.US) announced a disappointing outlook for total bookings in the first quarter, and warned that cold weather had impacted demand for ride-hailing and bike rentals. The financial report also showed that Lyft's revenue for the first quarter was 15.5 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 27.0%, exceeding market expectations. The financial report indicates that total bookings for the first three months of 2025 (a closely watched benchmark) will reach between 40.5 billion US dollars and 42 billion US dollars. Wall Street had expected this number to be 42.3 billion US dollars. Adjusted EBITDA is estimated to be around 90-95 million US dollars, with the mid-point also falling below analyst expectations. Adjusted net income for the fourth quarter was 1.145 billion US dollars, compared to 711 million US dollars in the same period last year. The company announced its first stock buyback program, committing to repurchasing up to 5 billion US dollars worth of shares. However, investor selling caused its stock price to drop by about 11% in pre-market trading. Despite setting quarterly records, Lyft's order volume in the fourth quarter was slightly below expectations. Prior to this, Uber Technologies, Inc. announced its financial report last week, with similarly bleak prospects. Chief Financial Officer Erin Brewer told analysts during the financial report conference call that the first quarter "traditionally is our slowest quarter because everyone is coming back from the holidays and the weather in many regions of North America keeps people at home, or at least doesn't encourage biking." She said, "Generally, ride times are shorter and more localized." Compared to the same period last year (a leap year), this quarter had one fewer day. Additionally, the company anticipates a 2 percentage point decrease in second-quarter booking growth, as Delta Air Lines, Inc. is terminating its partnership with Lyft in April. Delta Air Lines, Inc. is seeking to reach an exclusive multi-year agreement with Uber Technologies, Inc. Brewer stated that the company's goal is to ultimately offset this impact by expanding existing partnerships and establishing new ones. In the fourth quarter, travel volume increased by 15% year-on-year, reaching 2.19 billion trips. In 2024, travel volume increased by 17% year-on-year, reaching 8.28 billion trips. The company has been striving to increase user loyalty and reported that active passenger numbers in the fourth quarter reached a record 24.7 million. The company attributes the growth to airport booking services during the holidays, as well as the popular price lock feature launched last fall. This option helps commuters lock in prices for designated routes in advance. Subsequently, Lyft has expanded this feature from weekday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. trips to late-night hours. Lyft CEO David Risher said, "Since its launch last fall, we've found that about 70% of Price Lock passengers continue to purchase passes every month. Many of them are high-frequency passengers, and are now very loyal to Lyft." The company has also further improved its profitability metrics, as promised during the investor day in June last year. In 2024, the company achieved its first annual profit under generally accepted accounting principles, as well as its first full year of positive cash flow. Part of the improvement in profits comes from the expansion of the high-end Lyft Black and Lyft Black SUV services to more markets in 2024. These types of ride services grew by 41% compared to 2023.