Lyft, Inc. (LYFT) Earnings

Management highlights

### Overall Company Performance - Q2 2026 delivered record-breaking results, including an all-time high of over 30 million active riders and 262 million total rides, putting Lyft on track to hit over 1 billion rides in full year 2026. - Gross bookings grew 23% year-over-year to $5.5 billion; adjusted EBITDA grew 37% year-over-year, driven by cost leverage and margin expansion. Lyft achieved its fourth consecutive quarter of over $1 billion in trailing twelve-month free cash flow. ### Core Strategic Priorities - Leadership focuses on three core pillars: customer obsession (prioritizing both drivers and riders), operational excellence, and being a world-class partner for third-party collaborations. - 30% of all Lyft rides are currently tied to a third-party partnership, up from low single-digits a few years ago, and this share continues to grow. Current high-performing partnerships include DoorDash, United Airlines, Chase credit card products, and Alaska Airlines. ### Key Operational Milestones - Foundational product improvements have reduced average pickup ETAs by 0.5% to 3% year-over-year depending on market; Lyft now matches or beats competitor pickup times 75% of the time despite smaller market share. - New product offerings including Lyft Teens and Lyft Silver are performing very well, driving incremental rider growth. - Driver supply is at one of its strongest levels ever, with both active driver count and driver hours at near all-time highs. Driver earnings per ride are up 8% year-over-year, and tipping is up 10% year-over-year. 50% of multi-platform drivers prefer Lyft, creating a 30-point preference gap over the major competitor. - Global app integration is on track, with beta testing of the unified Lyft app live in over a dozen European cities, for full 2027 native global integration. - AV operations: Lyft took over Waymo's temporary Nashville depot operations seamlessly in June 2023 and is exceeding all service level agreements. Purpose-built 80,000 square-foot Purposeville Depot remains on track to open in October 2026, with supply sharing (Waymo AVs available for booking via the Lyft app) planned before the end of 2026. Baidu AV testing in London is progressing well.

Guidance

- Management reaffirmed that Lyft is on track to hit over 1 billion total rides in full year 2026, and expects ride growth to accelerate in the second half of 2026 across all business segments (Core North America Rideshare, Bikes, Free Now Europe). - Q3 2026 is expected to deliver sequential EBITDA margin expansion, maintaining the positive margin trajectory that puts Lyft on track to hit its 4% margin target in 2027. - The 11% gap between gross bookings growth and rides growth in Q2 2026 is expected to shift in the back half of 2026 due to seasonal and mix effects, with the gap projected to narrow slightly. - Full native integration of the unified global Lyft app across European markets is targeted for 2027, with no changes to this timeline disclosed on the call. - AV deployment remains deliberate and gradual, with no material impact to Lyft's P&L expected in the near term as testing and scaling progresses.

Segment performance

Lyft does not break out full formal segment financials with absolute values and contribution percentages in this call, but discloses the following directional performance: 1) Core North America Rideshare: Drove the majority of overall rider and ride growth, with growth seen across both large markets (e.g. New York) and smaller markets, plus 100% year-over-year growth in Canada. Premium ride modes have grown double digits year-over-year for 12 consecutive quarters, with record performance in the TBR chauffeuring business. 2) Bikes & Scooters: This is Lyft's highest growth quarter of the year for the bikes business, which carries a lower average gross booking per ride than core rideshare, but has strong unit economics. Bikes saw significant surges in commute usage during Q2 2026 Bike to Work Week. 3) Europe (Free Now): Organic growth is accelerating approximately one year after acquisition, with product and technology improvements driving results. A rebranding to integrate Free Now under the Lyft brand is currently rolling out on a step-by-step basis ahead of full app integration in 2027. 4) Autonomous Vehicles (AV): Pilot operations are ongoing in Nashville (with Waymo) and London (with Baidu), with strong initial testing results and 20% year-over-year rides growth reported in San Francisco.

Risks & headwinds

No specific material new risks or operational failures were explicitly discussed by management on this call. Management did note that all forward-looking statements, including those related to AV deployment, partnership scaling, and global expansion, are subject to inherent uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from projections, as detailed in Lyft's recent SEC filings.

Analyst Q&A

• Q: What share of recent rider growth is structural from product improvements and partnerships versus transient factors like the World Cup or promotional activity?

  A: Growth is broad-based across nearly all segments and regions. North America (including double-digit growth in Canada) and Europe both posted strong organic results from recent product innovation. Foundational improvements like faster ETAs and new products like Lyft Teens drive ongoing structural growth. Transient factors like the World Cup provided a small tailwind but are not the core driver of the acceleration.

• Q: When will Waymo AVs be available to book via Lyft in Nashville, and what do you need to prove to scale the Waymo partnership to other markets?

  A: The Nashville Purpose-built depot remains on track for an October 2026 opening, with AV matching via the Lyft app launching before the end of 2026. Lyft already took over temporary depot operations from Waymo in June and is exceeding all SLAs. To scale, Lyft needs to prove strong fleet availability and healthy marketplace dynamics that keep AVs utilized close to 24/7, while navigating local city policy requirements. The partnership is built to scale beyond Nashville once these milestones are met.

• Q: What is your outlook for the 11% gap between gross bookings growth and rides growth in the back half of 2026?

  A: The gap is driven mostly by mix effects. Q3 is the peak quarter for the bikes business, which has lower average gross bookings per ride than core rides, while the higher average-booking Free Now business typically sees slower ride volumes in Q3 due to the European holiday season. Rides growth is expected to accelerate across all segments in the second half, which will narrow the gap slightly.

• Q: What is the expected near-term P&L impact of the Baidu AV pilot in London, and how do AV unit economics compare to standard driver-driven rides?

  A: The pilot still only has a small number of vehicles, so the impact to Lyft's P&L is de minimis and will remain so for the near term. Management declined to share detailed unit economic projections at this early stage of deployment, noting they will provide more detail closer to full scale. The rollout will remain deliberate, with prioritization of safety and rider experience over rapid scaling.