Bidenflation: Lyft Shares Drop 30% on Gloomy Guidance Based on Gas Prices

Shares of ridesharing giant Lyft plunged 30 percent in intraday trading on Wednesday as investors expect short-term headwinds and surging gas prices to weigh heavily on the company’s performance in the coming months.

As part of the company’s first-quarter earnings report, Lyft provided guidance for the second quarter that disappointed Wall Street, noting that it would have to keep spending on driver incentives due to surging gas prices. The gloomy guidance for the next quarter sent shares dropping, according to a report by CNBC News.

It remains unclear how much Lyft plans to spend, or whether the company will continue spending into the second half of the year, the report added.

“We believe the softer near-term outlook, need to increase investments, and numerous macro headwinds are likely to weigh on shares in the near-term, causing us to move to the sidelines,” Susquehanna analysts said in a note on Wednesday that downgraded the stock.

In September, Lyft joined 50 other companies in expressing its support for the systemic killing of unborn children, signing a letter that claimed Texas’ pro-life legislation threatened the health and economic stability of their employees and customers.

Earlier that month, the founder and president of the ride-sharing company donated $1 million to the largest U.S. abortion provider.

Lyft, along with Uber, also announced it would cover legal fees for drivers sued under the Texas law banning abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected.

In 2020, after the death of George Floyd, Lyft executives told customers in an email to be “part of the solution” to “systemic racism” in the United States. The company had also announced that it would offer $500,000 in free rides to civil rights organizations providing transportation to protest events.

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