Lyft reveals financial details ahead of its IPO

NEW YORK (AP) — Ride-hailing giant Lyft released financial details in a federal filing before it begins selling its stock to the public, giving investors the first chance to buy into the ride-hailing phenomenon.

The company showed impressive growth, with $2.2 billion in revenue last year – more than double its $1.1 billion in revenue in 2017. Revenue had skyrocketed more than 200 percent in 2017 compared to 2016, when the company brought in $343.3 million.

But Lyft is still losing money, and the losses are growing. The company lost $911.33 million last year, about $223 million more than in 2017. Its cash balance also is shrinking. Lyft had $517,690 in cash and equivalents at the end of last year, about half of what it had at the end of 2017.

Lyft has been in a race with Uber to be first to offer its stock to the public, and has positioned itself as the affable alternative to its larger rival as Uber struggled with public-relations setbacks. Uber expects to file its own initial offering later this year.

Together, the two could raise billions of dollars to fuel their expansions and give investors an opportunity to see how the companies plan to become profitable.

Lyft's filing today says CEO Logan Green and President John Zimmer, both co-founders, will keep significant control of the company after it goes public. Although it doesn't say what percentage of votes they would control, the filing says they "will be able to significantly influence any action requiring the approval of our stockholders," including the election of board members, a merger, asset sales or other major corporate transactions.

Lyft had 30.7 million riders in more than 300 cities in 2018, and has given more than 1 billion rides since its inception in 2012, according to the filing.

Bookings – the amount of money spent by customers – are rising dramatically, which Lyft will try to emphasize for investors. The company had just over $8 billion in bookings last year, 76 percent more than in 2017 and more than four times the number from 2016.