Latest news with #FreeNow
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Prediction: Lyft Stock Could Double in the Next 3 Years
Lyft's business has improved significantly over the last three years. The ride-share company is expanding into Europe with its recently announced acquisition of FreeNow. It continues to add new features like Lyft Silver. 10 stocks we like better than Lyft › Lyft (NASDAQ: LYFT) has had a tough time on the public markets. Share prices of the ridesharing company, which has long been in the shadow of the larger Uber Technologies (NYSE: UBER), are down 77% since its IPO in 2019. Both ridesharing stocks were overpriced when they went public, and both tumbled when the pandemic started, but since then, their performances have diverged. Uber stock has soared as the company has brought costs under control and delivered steady growth, reinforcing its competitive advantages. Based on its weak stock performance, you might expect to hear that Lyft lagged behind Uber in growth, but that isn't the case. Its revenue growth has been faster than Uber's over the last year. Lyft has now reported 16 straight quarters of double-digit percentage gross bookings growth. It made strides on the bottom line as well. Last year, it reported a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) profit for the first time. In 2025's first quarter, Lyft reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of $106.5 million, which was nearly double what it booked a year before. Lyft also reported free cash flow over the last four quarters of $919.9 million due in part to a large increase in insurance reserves. With Lyft's market cap at less than $7 billion, the stock trades for less than 8 times trailing free cash flow. That's one good reason to bet that Lyft can double over the next three years. Let's take a look at a couple of others. Unlike Uber, Lyft has historically only operated in North America, but the company made a big move in April, paying $200 million to acquire FreeNow, a ride-share platform in Europe that was owned by BMW and Mercedes-Benz. The move essentially doubles Lyft's addressable market by giving it exposure to nine countries and more than 150 cities. The deal, which is expected to close in the second half of the year, should increase the company's annualized gross bookings by about $1 billion. That's less than 10% of Lyft's current gross bookings, but the growth opportunity is what's most valuable here. Additionally, FreeNow's revenue increased 13% in 2024, and the operation has reached break-even. FreeNow will continue to operate under its own brand, but Lyft plans to roll out new benefits for riders and drivers and integrate the apps so that riders can use either one in North America or Europe. Lyft also continues to improve its service with new features and innovations. For example, it just rolled out Lyft Silver, a feature directed at older riders that makes the app easier to use and makes customer service more readily available. The goal is to more effectively appeal to a market that's soon to reach 70 million Americans. Currently, the over-65 demographic makes up just 5% of Lyft rides. The company also introduced Price Lock, a feature that allows customers to lock in their prices for regular commutes for a small fee, rather than risking a jump from surge pricing, or "prime time" pricing, as Lyft calls it. And it rolled out a new AI earnings assistant for drivers that's designed to help them maximize the value of their time on the road. Overall, Lyft has growth opportunities thanks to the acquisition of Freeform and its track record of innovation, which has allowed it to take market share from Uber at times. The stock is also trading at an attractive price-to-sales ratio of just above 1, and its low free cash flow ratio is setting it up to buy back shares, which could give a boost to the stock price over the long term. If the company can maintain its growth rate and improve its profitability, doubling in the next three years seems achievable for the stock. Before you buy stock in Lyft, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Lyft wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $638,985!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $853,108!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 978% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 171% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 19, 2025 Jeremy Bowman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool recommends Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Prediction: Lyft Stock Could Double in the Next 3 Years was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Lyft to enter European market with $200 million FreeNow acquisition
By Akash Sriram (Reuters) - Lyft is buying mobility platform FreeNow from German automotive giants BMW and Mercedes-Benz for 175 million euros ($198.40 million) to expand into the European ride-hailing market, the U.S. company said on Wednesday. Under pressure from dominant ride-hailing rival Uber Technologies in its home North American market, Lyft has been seeking new avenues to grow its business. The acquisition of FreeNow will nearly double its potential market and open doors to major European cities such as London, Frankfurt, Paris and Milan, where the German firm offers services ranging from traditional taxi to e-scooter rentals and car-sharing options. Lyft would be entering the European market at "a good price and more importantly, a great time," Lyft CEO David Risher told Reuters, adding the company was in a financially strong position to expand. FreeNow operates in more than 150 cities across nine European countries. The company said in September it had achieved break-even status, on the back of a 13% year-on-year increase in 2024 revenue and its focus on taxi operations. Lyft said the acquisition will almost double its addressable market to more than 300 billion personal vehicle trips per year from about 161 billion. "Almost half of the taxi industry in Europe is still offline. So it's also where a lot of growth potential comes from," FreeNow CEO Thomas Zimmermann said in an interview. But its efforts to grow in Europe by capturing more of the offline market will face competition from Uber as well as Estonia's Bolt Technology, as both companies have a strong hold over the European market. European regulations are also pushing ride-hailing firms to enhance driver benefits, such as minimum wage guarantees and holiday pay, while also increasing pressure on pricing structures to ensure fair compensation. Bolt recently introduced benefits such as holiday pay and minimum wage guarantees for UK drivers in response to regulatory pressures. ($1 = 0.8821 euros) Sign in to access your portfolio
Reuters
16-04-2025
- Automotive
- Reuters
Lyft to enter European market with $200 million FreeNow acquisition
April 16 (Reuters) - Lyft (LYFT.O), opens new tab is buying mobility platform FreeNow from German automotive giants BMW ( opens new tab and Mercedes-Benz ( opens new tab for 175 million euros ($198.40 million) to expand into the European ride-hailing market, the U.S. company said on Wednesday. Under pressure from dominant ride-hailing rival Uber Technologies (UBER.N), opens new tab in its home North American market, Lyft has been seeking new avenues to grow its business. The acquisition of FreeNow will nearly double its potential market and open doors to major European cities such as London, Frankfurt, Paris and Milan, where the German firm offers services ranging from traditional taxi to e-scooter rentals and car-sharing options. Lyft would be entering the European market at "a good price and more importantly, a great time," Lyft CEO David Risher told Reuters, adding the company was in a financially strong position to expand. FreeNow operates in more than 150 cities across nine European countries. The company said in September it had achieved break-even status, on the back of a 13% year-on-year increase in 2024 revenue and its focus on taxi operations. Lyft said the acquisition will almost double its addressable market to more than 300 billion personal vehicle trips per year from about 161 billion. "Almost half of the taxi industry in Europe is still offline. So it's also where a lot of growth potential comes from," FreeNow CEO Thomas Zimmermann said in an interview. But its efforts to grow in Europe by capturing more of the offline market will face competition from Uber as well as Estonia's Bolt Technology, as both companies have a strong hold over the European market. European regulations are also pushing ride-hailing firms to enhance driver benefits, such as minimum wage guarantees and holiday pay, while also increasing pressure on pricing structures to ensure fair compensation. Bolt recently introduced benefits such as holiday pay and minimum wage guarantees for UK drivers in response to regulatory pressures. ($1 = 0.8821 euros)
New European
01-04-2025
- Automotive
- New European
Germansplaining: Our embarrassing mobile network
Driving through Brandenburg we admired the grey herons and storks, the beech forests, the lakes and the legendary oak-lined avenues. We also lamented a few dead foxes whose journey hadn't gone quite as smoothly as ours. Eventually, we arrived at our very rural destination, where I put our VW Polo in park mode via the Free Now app. Last weekend, my sister and I had to make a family visit to the sparsely populated northern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It was a beautiful day, so we ditched the Autobahn for scenic country roads on our 2½-hour trip. Since I don't own a car in Berlin, I booked one via a car-sharing service. When it was time to leave, I tapped my phone to unlock the car. Nothing. The app was stuck on the loading screen, the spinner spinning. Free Now suddenly felt like anything but free. My mobile phone had lost its signal. My sister's, too, making us rather immobile. We were locked out in the land of no bars. Germany's mobile networks have long been a source of national embarrassment, despite the insistence of politicians and phone companies that things have improved since the first frequency auction in 2000. Back then, across Europe, governments cashed in by selling off the valuable UMTS spectrum. Or rather: some did, the UK and Germany among them. You could argue that frequencies – being a naturally scarce resource not created by the state in the first place – should be managed in a way to maximise accessibility, not treated as a cash cow. Yeah, well… In Germany, the auction winners paid a total of around 99bn deutsche marks (£42bn). Not much, considering the British Vodafone group had just taken over its German competitor Mannesmann for the equivalent of 360bn marks in the largest corporate acquisition in history. In hindsight, however, the amounts paid for licenses and takeovers had been too high and the stock prices nosedived, resulting in record losses (for the exchequer, too). Companies ran out of funds for actual network expansion. Other countries – the Netherlands, Finland, Spain, France and Austria – resisted the temptation of a windfall for the treasury. They held beauty contests instead of auctions, rewarding those who promised to invest in infrastructure (and usually favouring national providers over foreign competitors). In Germany, however, the term Funkloch – literally 'radio hole' – was born. To this day, many Germans are on a first-name basis with their local dead spot. When in office, Peter Altmaier, the former economy minister, admitted he asked his office to no longer 'put foreign ministerial colleagues through when I'm on the road because it's totally embarrassing when I have to call back three or four times because I get cut off all the time.' So why didn't his government do something about it? They tried: in 2018, the Bundesnetzagentur (Federal Network Agency) ordered operators to provide 99% household coverage. Mission accomplished? Not quite, the flaw in the plan was the keyword 'household' – not land area. While Deutsche Telekom now covers 99.6% of households with 4G and 98% with 5G, its land area coverage is at 92% for 4G and 84.4% for 5G. O2 and Vodafone? Even worse. This means tons of dead zones in sparsely populated areas, including along railways and roads. So, while boasting the most expensive mobile tariffs in the EU, Germany only has a mediocre ranking when it comes to network coverage. This should finally change. In theory. Last month, the Bundesnetzagentur, instead of forcing providers into another bidding war, extended existing licences for five years – with strings attached. By 2030, for instance, operators must provide 50 megabits per second across 99.5% of Germany's land area and minimum coverage will be required on all roads, not just on the Autobahn. How this will happen is a mystery. Will we be allowed to roam on to rival networks, like when you're abroad? Or will there finally be more masts? Given that installing a single cell tower can take more than two years in Germany – thanks to red tape and nimby lawsuits – don't hold your breath. As for our road trip? We begged the carers at the nursing home we visited to let me into their wifi. Standing by a window, I finally managed to unlock the VW and drive back to Berlin – where, fittingly, my own private Funkloch is in the living room.
Bloomberg
03-03-2025
- Automotive
- Bloomberg
Mercedes, BMW Are Said to Weigh Sale of FreeNow Taxi App
Mercedes-Benz Group AG and BMW AG are making a fresh attempt to sell their jointly-owned taxi hailing app FreeNow, according to people familiar with the matter. The carmakers, who both own just under 50%, are working with Lazard Inc. to gauge interest from potential buyers, said the people, who asked not to be identified because discussions are private. The business could fetch as much as €500 million ($521 million), they said.
