Lyft to launch its first ever investor road show in North America

On Monday March 18, ride-hailing platform Lyft will be seeking investors to invest in its IPO as part of its strategy to compete with rivals like Uber Technologies, which is planning to launch its own public offering ($120 billion at its IPO) next month.

Sources connected to the matter confirm that Lyft will be pitching itself as a more focused bet on ride-hailing to differentiate itself from Uber, which has diversified to areas such as food delivery. Now the company will offer more subsidized rides with promotions to attract customers. Dividends from the IPO will also help finance other areas such as autonomous driving.

Launched in 2012, Lyft will be the first ever ride-hailing platform to go public in the U.S. markets, even though the company continues to face challenges from sectors such as automated driving, regulatory pushback and legal challenges over drivers’ pay and benefits. The ride-hailing industry had garnered a $36.5 billion sales in 2017 globally.

Lyft considers its simple business model as the key differentiator, coupled with its focus on selling rides in cars, bikes and scooters.

Lyft’s revenue was $2.16 billion for 2018, double the previous year and up 528% from $343 million in 2016. However it posted a net loss of $911 million in 2018 compared to $688 million in 2017 and $682 million in 2016, according to its IPO filing. Lyft, in its IPO filing, has said its U.S. market share has increased to 39% from 35% in early 2018, gaining some ground on long-dominant Uber territory.