This stock has been left for dead more than once, but lately it’s acting like it still has places to be.
Rides and bookings are climbing, new features are boosting repeat usage, and the robotaxi angle is getting real enough to matter.
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Lyft (NASDAQ: LYFT) has spent the last few years doing something markets rarely reward in real time: fixing the basics.
After the post-pandemic boom faded and investors lost patience with cash-burning platforms, the company was forced into a quieter reset.
Costs were tightened, incentives were recalibrated, and the focus shifted away from flashy growth narratives toward making the core ride-share engine work better, more often, and more predictably.
Strategic Positioning
You already know the core idea: tap a button, get a ride. But the business isn’t just about being an app on your phone.
It’s about owning the moment when you need to go somewhere now, and making that moment feel reliable enough that you stop price-checking every time.
That matters because ride-share is a two-sided game. Riders want short wait times and fair pricing.
Drivers want consistent demand and predictable earnings. When either side gets cranky, the whole thing wobbles.
The company’s recent strategy looks pretty straightforward:
Get more riders to ride more often
Keep driver supply healthy so wait times stay tight
Add features that make the platform feel sticky, not just convenient
And the bigger story in the background is autonomous vehicles.
Not building them in-house, but partnering so the company can show up to the robotaxi party without paying the entire bill.
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What’s Driving The Stock Right Now
The stock is up about 40% year to date, trading around $19 with a market cap near $7.7B.
That’s not a victory parade, but it’s a meaningful comeback for something that traded under $10 within the last year.
What’s behind the better mood is simple: usage is climbing, bookings keep growing, and guidance suggests the momentum hasn’t faded.
Investors also love a clean narrative, and this one currently has two:
The core ride-share engine is improving again
Robotaxis could reshape the market, and this company wants a seat at the table
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The Scoreboard
In Q3 2025, the company posted results that were a little “good news, small groan” on the headline numbers, but strong where it counts for a ride-share platform.
Revenue: $1.68B, up 11% y/y (slightly below expectations)
Gross bookings: $4.78B, up 16% y/y, an all-time high
Rides: 248.8M, up 15% y/y
Active riders: 28.7M, up 18% y/y
Adjusted EBITDA: $138.9M, up 29% y/y
So yes, earnings per share came in a bit light versus expectations, and that’s been a pattern recently.
But the more important thing is that the platform is getting busier, and the economics are gradually improving as it scales.
For Q4, management is guiding to:
Rides growth in the mid-to-high teens y/y
Gross bookings of $5.01B to $5.13B, up roughly 17% to 20% y/y
Adjusted EBITDA of $135M to $155M, with margin around 2.7% to 3% of gross bookings
That’s basically the company telling you: we think demand is still strong, and we can keep turning growth into profit at a better clip than before.
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The Sticky Feature That’s Quietly Smart
One of the most retail-friendly catalysts here is a feature called Price Lock.
The pitch is dead simple: pay $2.99 a month to lock in your commute pricing and avoid surge spikes during peak hours.
If the ride is cheaper than your locked price, you pay the lower price.
This does two things at once:
It makes budgeting easier for riders, which increases habit and loyalty
It makes demand more predictable, which helps drivers know when to show up
Management has said riders using Price Lock take about four more rides per month on average than before.
That’s the kind of behavior change Wall Street loves because it’s not theoretical. It’s literally more trips.
The Robotaxi Angle
Robotaxis are the big shiny object in this space. The important detail is how the company is approaching it.
Instead of spending billions trying to invent self-driving tech, it’s building partnerships with players who already have it.
The headline partnership is with Waymo, with plans to bring fully autonomous ride-hailing to Nashville in 2026.
The company’s Flexdrive unit is expected to handle fleet operations like maintenance and depot management.
Translation for you: it’s trying to become the operating system and marketplace for rides, whether a human is driving or not.
That strategy has a real upside. If robotaxis scale, platforms that can manage fleets, match supply and demand, and deliver a consistent customer experience could still have leverage.
The risk is also real: Uber is bigger, and the timeline for robotaxis is never as clean as the press releases make it sound.
Capital Return And Balance Sheet Reality
There’s also a shareholder-friendly lever here: buybacks.
The repurchase authorization was raised to $750M, and management intends to use $500M within the next 12 months. That’s meaningful at this market cap, and it signals confidence.
On the balance sheet, you’ve got:
Cash around $1.31B
Long-term debt around $1.01B
So it’s not a debt-free story, but it’s also not a company gasping for oxygen.
The bigger question is execution: can it keep improving profitability while still investing enough to stay competitive.
What Could Go Wrong
If you’re considering this stock, the risks are not hidden. They’re loud.
Competition is intense, and Uber sets the tone in many markets
Costs can swing fast due to insurance, regulation, and incentives
Robotaxis could take longer than expected to matter financially
If demand softens, ride-share can get promotional quickly, and margins suffer
Also worth remembering: the stock’s valuation is not cheap in a vacuum. At a P/E around the mid-50s, the market is already paying for a cleaner future than the past.
Valuation And What You’re Really Buying
A more forgiving way to look at it is the sales multiple.
The company is often described as trading around 1.2x forward sales, which is cheaper than some peers and reflects the market still treating this as a prove-it story.
So what you’re really buying is not just ride-share demand. You’re buying:
Improving frequency and engagement
A path to steadier profitability
Optionality that the robotaxi ecosystem becomes real, and this platform participates
Action Plan
If you already own it: this is a momentum story with fundamentals improving.
The main thing to watch is whether bookings and ride growth stay strong into 2026 without profitability stalling.
If you’re new to it: consider a starter position rather than going all-in at once.
This stock can move fast in both directions, and it’s not unusual to get better entry points when sentiment flips.
If you hate volatility: this is not your calm dividend stock. It’s a turnaround plus future-tech optionality bundle, and the market will treat it that way.
Final Take
This company is proving it can grow again, and the business looks healthier than it did when everyone was writing obituaries.
The bull case is pretty simple: more rides, better engagement, improving profits, and a smart approach to autonomous vehicles that avoids massive R&D spending.
The bear case is also simple: competition stays brutal, costs flare up, robotaxis take longer, and the stock gets priced like a winner before it fully earns it.
If you like comeback stories with a real operating improvement underneath, this one has earned a spot on your watchlist.
That’s all for today. Thank you for reading. If you have any feedback, please reply to this email.
Best Regards,
— Adam Garcia
Elite Trade Club
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