Lyft: A Comedy of Errors (and Maybe a Buy?)

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So, Lyft. Ah, yes. The ride-hailing service that’s currently performing a rather spectacular impression of a deflating bouncy castle. Closed at $13.99 today, down a robust 16.97%. Folks, that’s not a dip, that’s a swan dive! A truly magnificent plummet. The market, it seems, is not amused. And frankly, neither is my tailor; these losses are making my portfolio look…threadbare. Trading volume? 73.1 million shares. That’s enough activity to make a Wall Street broker spontaneously break into the Charleston. They’ve been down 82% since their IPO in 2019. Eighty-two percent! I’ve seen better returns from a fruitcake! But, hold on, dear reader, before you reach for the smelling salts, let’s examine the wreckage.

How the Markets Performed Today (Or, a Very Brief Interlude)

The S&P 500 barely twitched, slipping 0.03% to 6,940. The Nasdaq Composite, feeling a bit grumpy, eased 0.16% to 23,066. Meanwhile, Uber took a modest hit (-3.44%) and Grab stumbled a bit (-1.86%). It’s like watching a slow-motion demolition derby. A very expensive slow-motion demolition derby. They’re all reassessing growth and regulatory risks. You know, the usual. Honestly, it’s enough to give a man a craving for a nice, relaxing carriage ride. A *horsedrawn carriage, mind you. No surge pricing.

What This Means for Investors (Or, Why I’m Still Smiling)

Lyft reported earnings yesterday. Record profitability, they say. Record profitability! And yet, the stock went south faster than a penguin on a waterslide. Revenue came in at $1.59 billion, a little shy of the $1.75 billion Wall Street was expecting. But here’s the kicker: $168 million of that shortfall was due to legal, tax, and regulatory…stuff. Legal stuff. Tax stuff. Regulatory stuff. It’s like they’re paying for the privilege of driving people around! It’s a racket, I tell you! A racket!

But here’s where it gets interesting. Active riders are up 18%. Gross bookings are projected to grow 18% in Q1. They’re guiding for over $1 billion in free cash flow in 2027. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “2027? That’s an eternity in stock market years!” And you’d be right. But with a market cap of just $5.6 billion today, this is a discounted growth story. A very discounted growth story. I’m happily keeping my shares of both Lyft and Uber. Why? Because sometimes, the funniest jokes are the ones that take a while to land. And sometimes, the best investments are the ones everyone else is running away from. Besides, I need something to bet on during the next ice age.

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2026-02-12 02:03