Lyft says push into Europe and luxury travel will help draw riders, as stock rises

By Bill Peters

Ride-hailing platform sees gains in Freenow acquisition and in luxury travel, says 'luxury belongs at Lyft'

Lyft reported quarterly results on Wednesday.

Lyft Inc. on Wednesday offered up a fourth-quarter forecast for a key demand metric that topped Wall Street's expectations and said its push into Europe would give sales a boost next year, even as the ride-hailing platform said it expected higher insurance costs.

The company's shares (LYFT) jumped 2.7% after hours, after ending the day's regular trading session up 3.4%.

For the fourth quarter, Lyft said it expects gross bookings of around $5.01 billion to $5.13 billion, with the midpoint above FactSet analyst forecasts for $5.02 billion. It expects ride growth in the "mid- to high-teens" percentage range.

It noted, however, that "renewal of our third-party insurance agreements should result in a mid-single-digit percentage increase in cost of insurance on a per-ride basis quarter over quarter."

Over the summer, Lyft bought Freenow, a ride-hailing app in Europe, in a move that helps it tap more markets abroad. On Wednesday, Lyft said the acquisition would add millions of riders.

"Our strategic acquisition of Freenow is expected to bring more than 6 million annual riders to our platform in 2026," the company said in prepared remarks. "This, combined with the organic strength in our core Lyft rider base and the strong growth in the U.S. underpenetrated markets, positions us for continued Active Riders growth."

Lyft reported third-quarter revenue of $1.69 billion, an 11% year-over-year gain. That was roughly in line with FactSet forecasts. On a GAAP basis, the company earned 11 cents a share, above forecasts.

Gross bookings - or the the total dollar value of transactions on the platform - rose 16% to $4.8 billion during the third quarter. Wall Street expected $4.74 billion. The company called out strong rides growth and back-to-school demand as highlights.

Lyft reported the results as Wall Street remains focused on the ride-hailing industry's push into robotaxis. The company is also trying to expand abroad, lean more into serving commuters, expand into higher-end transportation and land more partnerships.

On Tuesday, Uber Technologies Inc. (UBER), Lyft's larger rival, said its plans related to self-driving cars were unlikely to be profitable for some time. Shares of Uber finished 2% lower on Wednesday.

Last month, Lyft announced a partnership with Tensor, an autonomous-vehicle developer. In September, Lyft and Google's (GOOGL) (GOOG) Waymo said they were partnering to offer Waymo's autonomous ride service in Nashville, Tenn., next year.

On Wednesday, Lyft said that U.S. riders could earn airline miles for some rides via a new collaboration with United Airlines (UAL). Last month, the company acquired TBR Global Chauffeuring, in a play toward corporate travel and events.

Lyft, in prepared remarks Wednesday, said luxury offerings paired well with the company. "Luxury belongs at Lyft," the company noted.

"Imagine you book a chauffeur for the day. On the ride in, you spill coffee on your shirt minutes before your first meeting. After the meeting, your driver has a backup shirt ready for you, and a fresh nonfat vanilla latte waiting in the cup holder," Lyft said.

"That's service," the company continued. "That level of care is what will create a halo effect for our entire brand."

Shares of Lyft are up more than 55% so far this year.

-Bill Peters

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11-05-25 2025ET