Lyft's revenue miss clouds upbeat bookings forecast on European expansion

By Akash Sriram

(Reuters) -Lyft's quarterly revenue miss overshadowed an upbeat gross bookings forecast for the September-quarter on Wednesday, as the ride-hailing services provider expands into Europe and forges new partnerships.

Larger rival Uber Technologies, which offers ride-hailing, food and grocery delivery globally, beat revenue estimates and issued an upbeat forecast for the third-quarter earlier in the day.

Lyft's shares were down 5.5% in after-hours trading.

"Investors are likely selling off because it is growing far slower than Uber, owns less of the ride-share market, and is far less aggressive in grabbing a piece of the robotaxi market – which will eventually dominate the space," said Andrew Rocco, stock strategist at Zacks Investment Research.

Lyft recently completed its nearly $200 million acquisition of European mobility platform FreeNow and has signed a deal with China's Baidu to introduce the search-engine giant's robotaxis in the region.

The company posted revenue of $1.59 billion in the second quarter, missing estimates of $1.61 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The 10.6% rise in revenue was slower than the 18.8% at which Uber's ride-hailing unit grew in the same period.

Still, Lyft reported earnings of 10 cents per share for the June quarter, more than double analysts' expectations of 4 cents, driven by stronger adoption of higher-margin premium ride-hailing services.

Rides on its platform grew 14% to a record high of 234.8 million, slightly below estimates of 235.9 million, according to 27 analysts polled by Visible Alpha.

The company on Wednesday also announced a partnership, set to launch later this year, with United Airlines that will allow the carrier's customers to earn rewards on all Lyft rides.

With partnerships including DoorDash and Chase already in place, Lyft's entry into Europe positions the company to extend such collaborations into international markets.

Lyft said it expects gross bookings to be between $4.65 billion and $4.80 billion for the third quarter, well above estimates of $4.59 billion.

The company recorded an adjusted core earnings of $129.4 million in the second quarter, above the average estimate of $124.5 million.

(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

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