Lyft’s CEO David Risher says ‘My bad’ on margin error, ‘It was one zero’

Lyft Inc. Chief Executive Officer David Risher’s response to a clerical error that unintentionally inflated the company’s earnings outlook on Tuesday and sent shares soaring: “My bad.” “First of all, it’s on me,” Risher said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Wednesday, taking the blame for a typo in a company press release Tuesday that erroneously projected a particular measure of earnings margin to expand by an eye-watering 500 basis points. “This was a bad error,” he said, “but it was one zero in a press release.” The typo, which actually appeared in multiple company documents on Tuesday, helped drive a 67% surge in Lyft’s shares in after-hours trading. It’s a “black-eye moment” for Lyft, said Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, “a debacle of epic proportions.” He said by email that he’d “never seen an error like this in my almost 25 years on the Street.” When asked whether someone would lose their job as a result of the mistake, Risher said the CFO’s role is “100% safe.” He added that, “we’re not at the point where press releases can be written by AI – at least not financial press releases, no way.” Under Risher, Lyft has cut hundreds of jobs since late 2022 as part of a restructuring, including positions in corporate communications, policy and employee operations. “We’ve entered 2024 with a lot of momentum and a clear focus on operational excellence,” CFO Brewer said, positioning the company to “drive meaningful margin expansion and our first full-year of positive free cash flow.” In the current period, Lyft projected adjusted earnings of as much as $55 million in the first three months of the year, topping analysts’ estimates of $49.5 million.