Lyft accidentally puts extra '0' in earnings report

✍️ From 50 to 500

Lyft, the popular ride-hailing company, took investors on a ride recently, not with a new service or innovative feature, but with a simple typo.

In their fourth-quarter earnings release, an extra zero snuck into the "Adjusted EBITDA margin expansion" section, leading it to state a growth of 500 basis points (5%) instead of the intended 50 basis points (0.5%).

• That extra ‘0’ added 60% to Lyft's stock price

Automated trading algorithms, programmed to react to certain financial data, went into overdrive, interpreting the inflated number as a sign of good performance.

📈 “My bad”

The joyride was short-lived though. Within minutes, Lyft acknowledged the mistake and issued a correction, clarifying the actual, much lower, margin figure.

But the apology didn’t completely erase the initial impact. While the stock price retreated from its peak after the correction, it still remained higher than before the release.

The company surpassed analyst expectations for its fourth quarter, showcasing healthy growth in gross bookings and exceeding forecasts for the following quarter.