Lyft Speeds Past Uber In Revenue Race

Lyft’s revenue grew more than $1 billion in 2017 — and beat Uber’s growth in Q4 by 2.75 times.

CNET reported that Lyft’s revenue growth was up 168 percent in the fourth quarter, while Uber’s increased by 61 percent.

“We’ve recently achieved record market share levels nationwide even as we significantly reduce sales and marketing expenses,” Brian Roberts, Lyft’s chief financial officer, said in a statement.

Earlier this year, Lyft revealed that it provided 375.5 million rides in 2017, which is up 130 percent year over year. The company also provided rides to a total of 23 million different passengers, which is a 92 percent jump from the prior year, and had 1.4 million drivers at the end of 2017, up 100 percent from the end of 2016.

It’s important to note, though, that Uber made significantly more in revenue than Lyft last year, with its fourth-quarter revenue at $2.2 billion, up 11.8 percent from the previous quarter.

Still, Lyft has been able to benefit from Uber’s many mistakes. The company has been rocked by a steady stream of scandals over the last two years, including allegations of “an aggressive, male-dominated workplace,” a lawsuit brought on by one of its investors, and the Department of Justice investigating the company over allegations of bribes, illicit software, pricing schemes and theft of the intellectual property of a competitor.

Both ridesharing companies are hoping for an initial public offering within the next couple of years. For its part, Lyft has hired several new executives and board members with financial backgrounds. The company is also working to slash sales and marketing costs, and expects the first quarter of this year to be its 20th consecutive quarter of 100 percent (year over year) revenue growth.

“We remain focused on driving sustainable growth and making investments,” Roberts said. “2018 is poised to be a year of exceptional growth and industry rationalization.”