Lyft's revenue declined 61 percent year over year to $339.3
million in the second quarter as its number of active riders fell to 8.7
million, compared with 21.8 million in the second quarter of 2019.
Despite the overall drop, rideshare demand grew throughout
the quarter, and that continued into July even as Covid-19 cases spiked in many
parts of the United States, co-founder and CEO Logan Green said in an earnings
call. Rides in July were up 78 percent compared with April and up 12 percent
compared with June, he said.
Lyft reported a net loss of $437.1 million for the quarter,
compared with a net loss of $644.2 million in the second quarter of 2019. The
company still
aims to be profitable by the fourth quarter of 2021, and cost-cutting
measures amid the pandemic mean Lyft will be able to make that goal even if rides
are still down up to 25 percent by that point, CFO Brian Roberts said.
The company's ongoing battle with the state of California in
how its drivers are classified could potentially deal another blow to revenue,
however. A Superior Court judge in San Francisco earlier this week ruled that
Lyft and other rideshare companies must classify its drivers as employees
rather than contractors. That ruling is currently stayed until Aug. 20 as Lyft
and Uber pursue appeal options, and state residents in November are voting on a
proposition that, if passed, would classify drivers as contractors.
Lyft co-founder and president John Zimmer said the company's
current projections are based on it being able to keep drivers classified as
contractors in California. "If our efforts here are not successful, it
would force us to suspend operations in California," he said.
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