Executive Summary

Record quarter: Revenue $1.59B (+11% YoY), Gross Bookings $4.49B (+12% YoY), Adjusted EBITDA $129.4M (+26% YoY), Free Cash Flow $329.4M; Active Riders 26.1M (+10% YoY) and Rides 234.8M (+14% YoY) hit all-time highs .
Versus S&P Global consensus, EPS modestly beat and revenue was slightly below: Primary EPS $0.30 vs $0.28 consensus (beat), Revenue $1.589B vs $1.610B consensus (miss)*. Management delivered Adjusted EBITDA near the high end of prior Q2 guidance ($115–$130M) .
Q3 guide embeds two months of FreeNow: Gross Bookings $4.65–$4.80B (+13–17% YoY) and Adjusted EBITDA $125–$145M (2.7–3.0% margin); rides growth mid-teens YoY .
Strategic catalysts: United Airlines loyalty partnership launch, Baidu AV deployment in Europe starting 2026, and FREENOW acquisition closing (doubling TAM to >300B trips per year). Management emphasized a 29-pt driver-preference advantage and growing partnership flywheel as drivers of sustained share and engagement .

Values retrieved from S&P Global.*

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

Strong execution drove records in Rides, Gross Bookings, and cash generation; CEO: “off-the-charts performance, resulting in our strongest quarter ever.” CFO: “record ... cash flow generation.”
Partnerships scaling as growth engine: new United Airlines loyalty tie-up (first rideshare partner for United) and expanding global reach through FREENOW; 25% of rides now tied to partnerships, >50M partnership-linked rides .
Product and marketplace quality: dual-app driver preference advantage widened to 29 pts; Lyft Silver exceeding expectations with ~80% retention and nearly 1 in 5 activations from new users .

What Went Wrong

Top-line vs consensus mixed: revenue slightly below S&P Global consensus in Q2; pricing roughly flat QoQ and only modestly up YoY, limiting ASP tailwind* .
Near-term FREENOW contribution constrained by seasonality and partial-quarter consolidation (two months in Q3), with EBITDA impact expected to be roughly neutral near-term .
Structural headwinds to further lowering rider prices persist (insurance and regulatory minimums in certain states); management flagged Washington and California dynamics as examples .

Values retrieved from S&P Global.*

Financial Results

Core P&L and Margins (oldest → newest)

Metric	Q4 2024	Q1 2025	Q2 2025
Gross Bookings ($B)	$4.279	$4.162	$4.490
Revenue ($B)	$1.550	$1.450	$1.588
Net Income ($M)	$61.7	$2.6	$40.3
Diluted EPS ($)	—	$0.01	$0.10
Adjusted EBITDA ($M)	$112.8	$106.5	$129.4
Adj. EBITDA Margin (% GB)	2.6%	2.6%	2.9%
Net Income Margin (% GB)	1.4%	0.1%	0.9%

Notes: EPS for Q4 2024 not disclosed in cited materials.

KPIs and Cash Flow (oldest → newest)

KPI	Q2 2024	Q1 2025	Q2 2025
Active Riders (M)	23.7	24.2	26.1
Rides (M)	205.3	218.4	234.8
Gross Bookings ($B)	$4.019	$4.162	$4.490
Free Cash Flow ($M)	$256.4	$280.7	$329.4
Net Cash from Ops ($M)	$276.2	$287.2	$343.7

Q2 2025 vs S&P Global Consensus

Metric	Q2 2025 Consensus*	Q2 2025 Actual (Company/SPGI)*	Comment
Revenue ($B)	1.610*	1.589 / 1.588*	Slight miss vs consensus*
Primary EPS ($)	0.284*	0.300*	Beat vs consensus*

Values retrieved from S&P Global.* Company actuals cited.

Guidance Changes

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance	Change
Gross Bookings ($B)	Q2 2025	$4.41–$4.57 (2.6–2.8% Adj. EBITDA margin proxy)	Actual: $4.49	In-line vs range
Adjusted EBITDA ($M)	Q2 2025	$115–$130	Actual: $129.4	Near high end
Rides Growth (YoY)	Q3 2025	—	Mid-teens YoY	New
Gross Bookings ($B)	Q3 2025	—	$4.65–$4.80 (+13–17% YoY)	New
Adjusted EBITDA ($M)	Q3 2025	—	$125–$145 (2.7–3.0% margin)	New

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

Topic	Q4 2024 (Q-2)	Q1 2025 (Q-1)	Q2 2025 (Current)	Trend
Product/marketplace quality	Best-in-class ETAs; record rides and riders	Record Q1 rides/riders; driver AI pilot “Earnings Assistant”	Driver pref +29 pts; record rides/riders; Price Lock, Lyft Silver momentum	Improving service/engagement
Pricing/affordability	—	Guided GB growth despite pricing backdrop	Prices roughly flat QoQ, up slightly YoY; profits still expanded	Stable pricing, mix/efficiency-led profits
Partnerships/flywheel	—	Announced planned FREENOW acquisition	United partnership; DoorDash/Chase momentum; 25% rides via partnerships	Accelerating contribution
International expansion	—	FREENOW plan introduced	FREENOW closed; Europe integration starting; Q3 includes 2 months, seasonally lower	Foundation in place; early days
Autonomous vehicles (AV)	—	Multi-partner commentary at FY call (outlook)	Baidu partnership for EU (RT6) from 2026; Lyft to own ops/regulatory interface	Clear roadmap; regulatory focus
Regulatory/insurance	—	—	Insurance/regulatory floors constrain price in some states; ongoing engagement	Managed headwind; advocacy ongoing
Media/adjacent monetization	—	—	Media business tracking to ~$100M run-rate exiting Q4 (subsidize rides over time)	Emerging lever

Management Commentary

CEO framing the quarter and momentum: “We delivered all-time highs across gross bookings, adjusted EBITDA and free cash flows... We reduced our share count by repurchasing $200 million worth of stock.”
Partnerships as growth engine: “United... will be their first [rideshare partner]... you’ll get points on every single ride.”
On affordability and pricing: “Prices were roughly flat quarter over quarter, up a little bit year over year... and yet, we’ve continued to drive great profitability.”
AV strategy and Lyft’s role: “AVs are a massive TAM expander... you’re gonna need demand, a marketplace, 24/7 operational excellence, and great fleet management... we’ve got it.”
Europe (FREENOW) near-term outlook: “Q3 guidance includes two months of FREENOW... seasonally lower quarter... EBITDA dollars relatively neutral near term.”

Q&A Highlights

Consensus/affordability and growth: Frequency up mid-single digits; active riders +10% YoY; prices roughly flat QoQ; profitability at record levels despite tame pricing .
Q3 guide and FreeNow: Two months included; taxi is elevated experience with business traveler mix; seasonally softer in Q3 in Europe .
Partnerships: DoorDash (18M members) producing spikes; Chase refresh accelerating adoption; United first rideshare partner; expansion of Business Rewards .
AV economics and deployment: Initial hundreds scaling to thousands in EU starting 2026; Lyft to purchase vehicles and manage ops/regulatory; homologation/testing process per country .
Pricing floors and regulation: Insurance and local rules (e.g., Washington, California) set floors; exploring innovation (bundles, media, subsidies) to lower effective rider cost over time .

Estimates Context

Q2 2025 vs S&P Global consensus: Primary EPS $0.30 vs $0.28 (beat); Revenue $1.589B vs $1.610B (slight miss)*. Company Adjusted EBITDA of $129.4M grew 26% YoY and was near the high end of prior guidance .
Q3 2025 setup: Company guided Adjusted EBITDA $125–$145M; S&P Global EBITDA consensus was ~$140M, but note S&P “EBITDA” may not be directly comparable to Lyft’s Adjusted EBITDA definition*.
Values retrieved from S&P Global.*

Key Takeaways for Investors

Execution quality remains high: records across riders, rides, bookings, EBITDA, and FCF point to durable engagement and operational discipline .
Near-term setup: Q3 guide implies continued double-digit growth with FREENOW consolidation, albeit seasonally softer in Europe; profitability guide remains healthy at 2.7–3.0% Adj. EBITDA margin on GB .
Partnerships flywheel is a differentiator (United, DoorDash, Chase, Alaska); 25% of rides now partnership-linked, supporting volume, mix, and loyalty .
Strategic optionality from AVs: Baidu RT6 European deployment (from 2026) leverages Lyft’s marketplace, ops, fleet, and regulatory relationships; timing/regulation are the gating factors .
Pricing environment stable; growth driven more by service levels, product innovation (Price Lock, Lyft Silver), and partnerships than by price increases .
Capital allocation: $200M repurchased in Q2 (12.8M shares), and additional financial flexibility highlighted post-quarter via convertible notes offering in early September .
Watch list of catalysts: United program rollout details, EU integration milestones (FREENOW tech/pricing/matching improvements), media run-rate traction, and AV regulatory approvals/initial deployments .

Sources
- Q2 2025 8-K/Press Release and financials: **[1759509_0001759509-25-000123_lyft-20250630xpressrelease.htm:0]** **[1759509_0001759509-25-000123_lyft-20250630xpressrelease.htm:1]** **[1759509_0001759509-25-000123_lyft-20250630xpressrelease.htm:7]** **[1759509_0001759509-25-000123_lyft-20250630xpressrelease.htm:9]** 
- Q2 2025 earnings call transcript: **[1759509_2060446_0]** **[1759509_2060446_2]** **[1759509_2060446_3]** **[1759509_2060446_4]** **[1759509_2060446_6]** **[1759509_2060446_7]** **[1759509_2060446_9]** **[1759509_2060446_11]** **[1759509_2060446_17]** **[1759509_2060446_18]**
- Q1 2025 press/8-K (prior quarter performance and guidance): **[1759509_5ccbdcf8642a48538322b769e9410e58_0]** **[1759509_0001759509-25-000084_lyft-20250331xpressrelease.htm:1]**
- Q4 2024 press (two quarters prior): **[1759509_24ac0758b78b491da04527a1dd764f26_1]** **[1759509_24ac0758b78b491da04527a1dd764f26_2]** **[1759509_24ac0758b78b491da04527a1dd764f26_13]**
- Baidu AV partnership press release: **[1759509_149a8ee19b3242a492a8a5cff4198766_0]**
- FREENOW acquisition completion press release: **[1759509_bf6abb3208a14a3f9a77ec338b83b240_0]**
- September 2025 convertible notes press release: **[1759509_df921cbf177c4045aa9ffdd854845c36_0]**

Values retrieved from S&P Global where marked with an asterisk (*).

Lyft, Inc. (LYFT)·Q2 2025 Earnings Summary