Lyft shares tumble as weaker ride growth puts long-term targets under scrutiny

Lyft’s shares tumbled 18 per cent in premarket trading on Wednesday, as slowing ride growth cast doubt on the company’s ability to deliver on its long-term profitability targets

Ride growth, a crucial measure of marketplace strength, has slowed in the face of persistent competitive pressure from larger rival Uber despite Lyft’s margin gains, international expansion and a new US$1 billion buyback.

Lyft forecast a weaker-than-expected adjusted core profit for the first quarter, hurt by harsh U.S. winter weather and seasonal costs, and posted an unexpected operating loss for 2025.

Over the past two years, the ride-hailing platform has made progress on profitability and cash flow, but analysts say the next phase of its turnaround will depend on executing more complex growth initiatives to sustain ride momentum against Uber’s scale.

“To achieve its 2027 target of four per cent EBITDA margin, Lyft needs to execute on its premiumization strategy while integrating newer adjacencies and scaling white-glove chauffeuring. These are execution-heavy initiatives,” said Evercore ISI analyst Mark Mahaney.

Combined with investments in autonomous vehicles, those efforts increase operational complexity and upfront costs, creating the risk that margins could come under pressure if growth does not reaccelerate, analysts said.