Spotting Winners: Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) And Gig Economy Stocks In Q4

The end of an earnings season can be a great time to discover new stocks and assess how companies are handling the current business environment. Let’s take a look at how Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) and the rest of the gig economy stocks fared in Q4.

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 softer Q4. As a group, revenues missed analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.1% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 0.7% below.

Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 14.4% 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 $1.59 billion, up 2.7% year on year. This print fell short of analysts’ expectations by 9.1%. Overall, it was a softer quarter for the company with a significant miss of analysts’ revenue estimates and EBITDA guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations significantly.

Lyft delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates of the whole group. The company reported 29.2 million users, up 18.2% year on year. Unsurprisingly, the stock is down 18% since reporting and currently trades at $13.82.

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

Best Q4: Uber (NYSE:UBER)

Notoriously funded with $7.7 billion from the Softbank Vision Fund, Uber (NYSE:UBER) operates a platform of on-demand services such as ride-hailing, food delivery, and freight.

Uber reported revenues of $14.37 billion, up 20.1% year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. The business performed better than its peers, but it was unfortunately a mixed quarter with strong growth in its users.

Although it had a fine quarter compared its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 1.6% since reporting. It currently trades at $76.72.

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

Weakest Q4: Fiverr (NYSE:FVRR)

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

Fiverr reported revenues of $107.2 million, up 3.4% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 1.7%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted full-year revenue guidance missing analysts’ expectations significantly and full-year EBITDA guidance missing analysts’ expectations significantly.

Fiverr delivered the weakest full-year guidance update in the group. The company reported 3.1 million active buyers, down 13.9% year on year. As expected, the stock is down 16.8% since the results and currently trades at $10.90.

Read our full analysis of Fiverr’s results here.

DoorDash (NASDAQ: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 $3.96 billion, up 37.7% year on year. This result lagged analysts' expectations by 1.1%. Overall, it was a softer quarter as it also logged a slight miss of analysts’ revenue estimates and EBITDA guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations significantly.

DoorDash scored the fastest revenue growth among its peers. The company reported 903 million service requests, up 31.8% year on year. The stock is up 2.7% since reporting and currently trades at $178.13.

Read our full, actionable report on DoorDash 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 $198.4 million, up 3.6% year on year. This print met analysts’ expectations. Aside from that, it was a slower quarter as it recorded a decline in its customers and revenue guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations significantly.

Upwork pulled off the biggest analyst estimates beat and highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. The company reported 785,000 active customers, down 5.6% year on year. The stock is down 28.3% since reporting and currently trades at $13.47.

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

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