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Lyft Files for IPO

reuters.com

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Re: Lyft Files for IPO

#251

Post by brendanw »

degenerate wrote: post #226
calvinbhai wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IIRC, Lyft was the first mover, Uber shamelessly ripped off Lyft's model that anyone can be a driver and come out with Uber X. So, imo Lyft was the first mover, but was smart to let Uber face all the heat sacrificing short term growth for long term success. Uber has been in too many things for me to believe that they can sustain the business (I may be wrong)

I don't think you are wrong. I have both apps, and my last 10 rides have been in Lyft, because it's consistently cheaper. If uber wants me back all they need to do is compete on price, but I think their operating costs are too high to do that, so they will eventually lose out from being too big and have to either scale back or implode.

Lyft is consistently 30% or more more expensive for my apt-to-work route in SF. A few of my friends observe similar. Perhaps you have to look at things on a route-by-route basis.

Re: Lyft Files for IPO

#252

Post by hn_throwaway_99 »

the_reformation wrote: post #200

The most exciting implication here is that we can finally pour over the financials of a major ride-hailing company. Whether these companies have the unit economics to succeed is, remarkably, still an open question.

> Whether these companies have the unit economics to succeed is, remarkably, still an open question.

I don't think there are many people who doubt that ride hailing apps can be done profitably. I think the big question is (a) is it a commodity business (I personally believe it is) and (b) can potential profit margins support their astronomical valuations.

I think the main problem (though MUCH more so for Uber than for Lyft) is that it is valued as a "network effects" business, e.g. something like a Facebook or a Google with substantial pricing power, but I think the reality is that it will turn out to be much more like the airline business - basically a commodity business where raising prices is extremely difficult.

Re: Lyft Files for IPO

#253

Post by kochikame »

sigfubar wrote: post #5
spiderPig wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would rather wait for the Magic carpet service due by 2025.

And the home teleportation portal announced for 2027. I just hope it doesn't have too many privacy implications.

Big Magic Carpet will shut the whole teleportation industry down before it even gets going

Re: Lyft Files for IPO

#254

Post by webninja »

I’ll invest in Lyft when it IPOs if the valuation is fair (unlike Snapchat’s IPO lol) Every dollar Lyft raises in the IPO is an extra dollar it can use against Uber. Sometimes, the one with the biggest warchest wins.

Re: Lyft Files for IPO

#255

Post by wturner »

I'm curious what a company like Lyft (or any number of companies that have grown rapidly due to funding but still seem like they have some kind of sustainable business model) how they might look as democratically owned companies (basically a giant coop). Technically their is no reason that the entire thing can't be owned directly by the drivers, software developers and legal people with profit sharing and extreme voting. The social scaffolding is still a radical idea and the cultural assumptions are not crystalized like dictatorial businesses , but as a general idea it's hard for me not to "feel" like the democratically owned equivilent to many of these "VC funded" companies is not the the disruption model to the disruption model. I picture companies like lyft getting off the ground due to huge influx of investor money, experimenting, feng shuing out any uneeded clutter and then some leaner, more organic democratically-owned alternative gradually becoming more of a norm after the previous iteration did all the experimental work. I kind of hope that happens - at least as an experiment. If it were successful it would be funny....and neat. I can dream. :/

Re: Lyft Files for IPO

#256

Post by pmart123 »

glitch003 wrote: post #236
pmart123 wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Southwest Airlines for a long time just focused on point-to-point flights, avoiding money-losing flight patterns that routed passengers through a Chicago to New York type connection. Additionally, SWA only maintained 737's, and free checked baggage allowed for faster onboarding and deplaning, and therefore, faster turnaround times. Eventually, this little airline became the largest airline after the major airlines bo…

>Instead of buying 19-month-old scooter company for $2B Actually, Lyft has a scooter program that is the result of an acquisition. "It wasn’t until July, when Lyft acquired Motivate, the nation’s largest bike-share operator, that the company began to send signals that it was considering joining the frenzy." https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/6/17824040/lyft-electric-sco...

Interesting. 2.5x revenue though and has exclusive city contracts. I still view this differently than paying $680M pre-revenue for Otto. On the scooter side, at $300/scooter, Uber could buy 100k scooters and stick an UberScoot button on their app and probably can more ridership than any of the year old startups.

Re: Lyft Files for IPO

#257

Post by lorenzorhoades »

pmart123 wrote: post #195
docker_up wrote: post #63

From a purely investment point of view, why would anyone invest in Lyft over Uber? Lyft has a smaller footprint and only operates in the US (except Toronto). They are more susceptible to economic conditions in a single country, the US, and every point of marketshare they get is a zero-sum game against Uber and presumably expensive because Uber won't give it up for free. Uber has a global operations, is in multiple st…

Southwest Airlines for a long time just focused on point-to-point flights, avoiding money-losing flight patterns that routed passengers through a Chicago to New York type connection. Additionally, SWA only maintained 737's, and free checked baggage allowed for faster onboarding and deplaning, and therefore, faster turnaround times. Eventually, this little airline became the largest airline after the major airlines bo…

Most of the points made in this are untrue.

Lyft was the one to fight the battle of having 'ridesharing' become a thing. Uber didn't mind if the decision went one way or another as they already had a lockdown on the "professional driver market".

>> Instead of buying 19-month-old scooter company for $2B, it is spending money on its core value proposition.

Lyft aquired a scooter company Motivate, and announced the plans in June about their bike and scooter strat.

>>At some point, investors might not hand over Uber any more cash.

Lyft has raised 4.9B. It's the unicorns of Unicorns with a burn rate to match.

I agree with the OP, am pessemistic of an IPO, and would say it has the possibility of failure. I don't think that will happen, but an IPO flop of this scale would have major repercussion on the funding market in general. Again with the Hauwei arrest today, and the stock market in a major flux as tensions rise with China it has added risk.

Re: Lyft Files for IPO

#258

Post by nicetryguy »

wturner wrote: post #255

I'm curious what a company like Lyft (or any number of companies that have grown rapidly due to funding but still seem like they have some kind of sustainable business model) how they might look as democratically owned companies (basically a giant coop). Technically their is no reason that the entire thing can't be owned directly by the drivers, software developers and legal people with profit sharing and extreme vot…

I'd love to see you start that company :)

Re: Lyft Files for IPO

#259

Post by untog »

lorenzorhoades wrote: post #257
pmart123 wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Southwest Airlines for a long time just focused on point-to-point flights, avoiding money-losing flight patterns that routed passengers through a Chicago to New York type connection. Additionally, SWA only maintained 737's, and free checked baggage allowed for faster onboarding and deplaning, and therefore, faster turnaround times. Eventually, this little airline became the largest airline after the major airlines bo…

Most of the points made in this are untrue. Lyft was the one to fight the battle of having 'ridesharing' become a thing. Uber didn't mind if the decision went one way or another as they already had a lockdown on the "professional driver market". >> Instead of buying 19-month-old scooter company for $2B, it is spending money on its core value proposition. Lyft aquired a scooter company Motivate, and announced the plan…

A small point, but Lyft acquired Motivate for $250m, which is a lot less than $2bn. Plus, Motivate has profitable bikeshare programs in various cities across North America, and have done for many years. They're not a flashmob, fly by night scooter rental company.

Re: Lyft Files for IPO

#260

Post by lallysingh »

deminature wrote: post #183
Synthetase wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The way its built requires no human operational cost.

I'd be skeptical if ridesharing is possible without some human operational involvement. The most complex part is not the 99% of trips that go right, but the 1% that go wrong. The consequences of failure are more severe than say, a SaaS app not working correctly.

It's not like Uber does a good job here.
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