Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Nikhil Devnani: Hi, there. Thanks for taking my question. So in the press release, you talk about reinforcing the competitive position. Do you expect to be stepping up promotional intensity across the business here for drivers or riders? And how should we think about, I guess, the structural level of growth spends for Lyft going forward? And how do you think about balancing your ambitions on growth and needing to spend for growth with the objectives that you have on free cash flow and EBITDA? Thank you.

John Zimmer: Sure. The balance is important. I think the largest point just to emphasize is what Logan said and kind of what we talked about the changes in impact over the last quarter. Number one, very positively, for the first time in approximately three years, the supply side has come basically into balance with demand. And it really feels like the pandemic is behind us. That was the biggest limiter over these past few years to growth. So there’s pent-up demand, particularly at peak times, such that we don’t need to necessarily coupon to get that demand. Our focus on growth will be on Pink, which is our membership program, which focuses on our most loyal users. And we’re happy with the progress we’ve made there. We’ve actually doubled our Pink members in Q4 and recently launched a partnership with Chase.

So we think partnerships are a smart and efficient way to lean into growth now that the marketplace is in balance. Chase is the top card issuer in the country. And now all Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders receive two years of free link Lyft Pink. And that scaling of Lyft Pink is an important priority. And so the individuals who have signed up for Pink are seeing about $29 a month value from the program that they’re paying just about $9.99 for. So I’d say that’s the most important area of growth in the years ahead, and we’re excited about that.

Operator: Your next question comes from line of Eric Sheridan with Goldman Sachs.

Eric Sheridan: Thanks so much for taking the question. Maybe I’ll ask a multi parter just on relative market share and where you have most exposure. You’ve talked a fair bit about the West Coast, and obviously there’s been elements of a slower return to work in the West Coast of the US. And now we’re seeing layoffs and maybe some reduced benefits inside companies on the West Coast. Can you talk a little bit about the recovery trajectory you’re seeing in some of your key cities on the West Coast and how some of the cost saving measures might be acting as a bit of a headwind as you think about how the arc of the recovery traject into Q1 in the first half of the year?

Logan Green: Yes, absolutely. So in in Q4, the West Coast broadly was 60% recovered versus Q4 at €˜19. So it is still way behind in comparison, the East Coast was much stronger. If you look at a city like New York, it’s more than 100% recovered, even on a rides basis. So we’ve seen general all the kind of typical use cases start to return. One kind of notable callout is that travel has been incredibly strong across the board. We think for the West Coast, one of the things holding it back had been supplying levels. So we do expect that as we see this broader national easing of pressure on the supply side of the market, that that’s going to really benefit service levels on the West Coast. And then we think it’s probably just going to take a little bit more time for the West Coast to get back to normal.