Lyft Delivers Strong Bookings Outlook, Easing Concerns
Earnings Forecast, However, Falls Below Analyst Estimates
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Lyft Inc. projected an acceleration in bookings this quarter, easing concerns about the ride-hailing company’s efforts to expand globally and maintain customer loyalty.
The company expects gross bookings — a closely watched metric that includes ride hails, delivery orders and driver and merchant earnings but not tips — of as much as $5.13 billion in the fourth quarter, representing a 20% gain from a year earlier. The midpoint of the firm’s outlook range beat analysts forecasts, as did its third-quarter orders.
The results of ride-hailing companies like Lyft and its much-larger rival Uber Technologies offer a glimpse into consumers’ appetite for discretionary spending. They’re especially key sets of data now as the longest government shutdown in U.S. history delays the releases of officialeconomic reports.
Lyft’s earnings landed a day after those of Uber, which issued a muted earnings forecast and said legal charges ate into its third-quarter profits.
Lyft's bookings outlook beat worked to overshadow an earnings forecast that fell below analysts’ estimates. Shares gained nearly 7% in extended trading Nov. 5.
Lyft’s Q3 2025 results are in, and it was another record-breaking quarter. We hit an all-time high for Active Riders, Rides, Gross Bookings, driver hours, and free cash flow (trailing 12 months).
Proof that Lyft’s comeback is fully in motion.
Learn more:… — Lyft (@lyft)
Lyft is on track for the second straight year in the company’s history of positive free cash flow, signaling that the underdog may finally be turning a new leaf as it works to consistently deliver profits amid a global expansion.
While well known in the U.S. and Canada, San Francisco-based Lyft had never operated outside of North America until it began offering rides in Europe through itsacquisitionof the region’s largest taxi app, Freenow. By contrast, Uber operates in more than 70 countries globally. Lyft has said it expects the Freenow business to increase annualized gross bookings by about 1 billion euros ($1.14 billion).
Lyft also bought TBR Global Chauffeuring in October for $110 million in a bet on the luxury rideshare market.
The company has been working to shore up customer loyalty in recent months. It’s rolling out a program that allows riders in the U.S. to earn United Airlines Holdings miles after ending a partnership with Delta Air Lines. In October, the firm began piloting a program that offers some customers cash back on future rides. Two months earlier, Lyft introduced a feature that allows riders to “favorite” or block drivers.
Lyft started piloting autonomous rides in Atlanta in September with a safety driver on board, a long-planned launch meant to help it better compete against Waymo and Uber. In 2026, Lyft plans to offer driverless rides in Nashville; autonomous shuttles in collaboration with the Austrian manufacturer Benteler Group; and autonomous vehicles in Europe with China’s Baidu Inc.
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