By coinnews 
00:00 Speaker A
Lift top and first quarter earnings expectations, the ride share company highlighting record first quarter gross bookings. Lyft also lifting its share repurchase program to $750 million. Rohit Kulkarni, Roth MKM managing director, senior research analyst, joins us now to discuss. Rohit, always good to see you. So Lyft reports, that stock is rallying in the after hours. Walk us through your reaction, your response to what, what that report said, Rohit.
00:36 Rohit Kulkarni
Hey, thanks Josh. Uh, I think uh, after Uber reported, after Dash reported, I think the expectations for Lyft were not that heroic, in a way that people were a little bit cautious. I was a little bit cautious in a way that perhaps second quarter guidance is something that they may not be able to provide, that would be very encouraging. What is the biggest positive in all of this is the number of rides. The number of rides that people take on Lyft, that’s the actual kind of metric that we track outside of bookings, outside of revenue. And that is probably the healthiest we have seen in a while, both in 1q and both what they expect in 2q, mid teens growth. So I feel, the moment the marketplace starts to function very well, rides work, rides grow and that’s what we are seeing in Lyft.
02:00 Speaker A
Right, the conference call’s going to start shortly here, 5 PM Eastern. If you had the chance to ask an executive a question or two, what will be top of mind for you?
02:10 Rohit Kulkarni
Again, it’s, it’s the obligatory question about how have trends changed in March and April as compared to what your normal patterns have been. That’s your tariff question, macro question, what not. Leaving that aside, I think what I would love to learn is how sustainable is the current growth? And with all the new products, the new drivers that you have on the platform, how confident do they feel into the second half of this year that they can sustain this mid teens growth rate, which then would imply that Lyft is probably a profitable company for the first time in the history of Lyft.
03:11 Speaker A
Now Rohit, you’re still neutral on this name. So walk us through, why are you still on the sidelines and what would you need to see before getting more bullish?
03:24 Rohit Kulkarni
I, I think, uh, from a ratings perspective and a stock call perspective, I think what we need to see is, uh, again, baby steps which are very consistent. I think this is the first time in quite a while to be honest Josh, that Lyft has reported two quarters that have been consistent, um, which is, which is a positive step in the right direction. Unfortunately, as a small company, as a company that does not decide the price of its service, it tends to have extreme volatility. So you may have one good quarter, second good, second bad quarter, third good quarter. So there is no consistency. So for us to have a more medium to long term conviction in the stock, in the company, I think we just need consistency. And I think we are starting to see signs of that.
04:31 Speaker A
What about their recent decision, Rohit? They announced this decision about acquire Free Now, which would give them a foothold in Europe. Did you like that decision, Rohit, strategically and financially?
04:48 Rohit Kulkarni
Um, it remains to be seen. I think, uh, it feels that acquisitions is the next leg in growth for almost every company, like Uber, like DoorDash, like Lyft. Uber acquired a company in Turkey. DoorDash acquired a couple of companies recently and Lyft is doing the same. So I feel, uh, there is, now they, these companies are at a point where they are, they are profitable enough. They are generating sufficient amount of cash and now they can start to do consolidation. Lyft has always been 90% US, 10% Canada, and now I think they feel that there are pockets in Europe that they can be a number two, number three player behind Uber, um, to start to grow that addressable market. So it’s word is still out. We, we like the acquisition, but how they execute on it, will, it remains to be seen.
06:00 Speaker A
You know, David Risher became CEO in April 2023. So two years on the job now. You’ve covered this company, you know this company, I’m just curious to get your take, you know, of the job he’s done.
06:20 Rohit Kulkarni
Uh, I would give him four out of five stars. By that, what I mean is, I think he has, he’s turned around the company and has created a narrative amongst investors in a way that is extremely encouraging. Um, now, uh, the proof would be in the numbers that they put up on a quarter over quarter basis. But overall, from a cost structure, from a product, from execution, from operations, and overall, from a narrative standpoint, I think, I think he has done a fantastic job. Now, all we need to see is consistent execution. Uh, last two years have been almost like preparing for the moment of today or over the next six months. Hopefully, they can execute on what they have built in the last two years.