Reflecting On Gig Economy Stocks’ Q2 Earnings: Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT)

The end of the earnings season is always a good time to take a step back and see who shined (and who not so much). Let’s take a look at how gig economy stocks fared in Q2, starting with Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT).

The iPhone changed the world, ushering in the era of the “always-on” internet and “on-demand” services - anything someone could want is just a few taps away. Likewise, the gig economy sprang up in a similar fashion, with a proliferation of tech-enabled freelance labor marketplaces, which work hand and hand with many on demand services. Individuals can now work on demand too. What began with tech enabled platforms that aggregated riders and drivers has expanded over the past decade to include food delivery, groceries, and now even a plumber or graphic designer are all just a few taps away.

The 6 gig economy stocks we track reported a slower Q2. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 2% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 4.3% below.

Big picture, the Federal Reserve has a dual mandate of inflation and employment. The former had been running hot throughout 2021 and 2022 but cooled towards the central bank's 2% target as of late. This prompted the Fed to cut its policy rate by 50bps (half a percent) in September 2024. Given recent employment data that suggests the US economy could be wobbling, the markets will be assessing whether this rate and future cuts (the Fed signaled more to come in 2024 and 2025) are the right moves at the right time or whether they're too little, too late for a macro that has already cooled.

Luckily, gig economy stocks have performed well with share prices up 24.9% on average since the latest earnings results.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT)

Founded by Logan Green and John Zimmer as a long-distance intercity carpooling company Zimride, Lyft (NASDAQ: LYFT) operates a ridesharing network in the US and Canada.

Lyft reported revenues of $1.44 billion, up 40.6% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 3.6%. Overall, it was a strong quarter for the company with exceptional revenue growth and solid growth in its users.

“For over a year you've heard us say that customer obsession drives profitable growth," said CEO David Risher.

Lyft scored the biggest analyst estimates beat and fastest revenue growth of the whole group. The company reported 23.7 million users, up 10.3% year on year. Unsurprisingly, the stock is up 20.3% since reporting and currently trades at $13.20.

Is now the time to buy Lyft? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Best Q2: DoorDash (NYSE:DASH)

Founded by Stanford students with the intent to build “the local, on-demand FedEx", DoorDash (NYSE:DASH) operates an on-demand food delivery platform.

DoorDash reported revenues of $2.63 billion, up 23.3% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 3.6%. The business had a strong quarter with solid growth in its requests and a decent beat of analysts’ request estimates.

The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 33.1% since reporting. It currently trades at $144.10.

Is now the time to buy DoorDash? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Slowest Q2: Fiverr (NYSE:FVRR)

Based in Tel Aviv, Fiverr (NYSE:FVRR) operates a fixed price global freelance marketplace for digital services.

Fiverr reported revenues of $94.66 million, up 5.9% year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. It was a softer quarter as it posted a miss of analysts’ buyer estimates.

Fiverr delivered the highest full-year guidance raise but had the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. The company reported 3.89 million active buyers, down 7.9% year on year. Interestingly, the stock is up 19.5% since the results and currently trades at $26.19.

Read our full analysis of Fiverr’s results here.

Uber (NYSE:UBER)

Born out of a winter night thought: "What if you could request a ride from your phone?" Uber (NYSE: UBER) operates a global network of on demand services, most prominently ride hailing and food delivery, and freight.

Uber reported revenues of $10.7 billion, up 15.9% year on year. This print topped analysts’ expectations by 1%. More broadly, it was an impressive quarter as it also produced strong growth in its users but slow revenue growth.

The company reported 156 million users, up 13.9% year on year. The stock is up 32.1% since reporting and currently trades at $77.28.

Read our full, actionable report on Uber here, it’s free.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Formed through the 2013 merger of Elance and oDesk, Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) is an online platform where businesses and independent professionals connect to get work done.

Upwork reported revenues of $193.1 million, up 14.5% year on year. This print met analysts’ expectations. However, it was a strong quarter as it recorded a miss of analysts’ gmv estimates and underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter.

Upwork had the weakest full-year guidance update among its peers. The stock is up 2.7% since reporting and currently trades at $10.75.

Read our full, actionable report on Upwork here, it’s free.

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