Lyft IPO Priced At $72 Per Share, Top Of Range

Lyft, the second largest U.S. ridehailing firm, will begin trading at Nasdaq on Friday, after pricing its IPO at $72 per share -- at the top of the range.

The IPO pricing gives Lyft a valuation of $2.3 billion. The success of the IPO will give Lyft more room to maneuver against its larger rival, Uber Technologies, which will have its own initial public offering next week.

In its S-1 filing earlier this month, Lyft said it controlled 39 percent of the U.S. ridehailing market in 2018, up 17 percent since 2016. The filing also made public Lyft’s formerly undisclosed operating results.

Lyft revealed a loss of $911 million in 2018, which was 32 percent higher than the loss for 2017 of $688.3 million. It lost $682.8 million in 2016.

It also reported revenue of $2.2 billion, double the total for 2017. It had $8.1 billion in bookings in 2018, a 78 percent jump from $4.6 billion in 2017.

Lyft’s 1.1 million drivers in North America ferried over 18.6 million “active riders” from October to December 2018, the S-1 revealed.

Lyft drivers have earned more than $10 billion since Lyft debuted in 2012. The company says its service is active in more than 300 markets in the U.S. and Canada.

During its IPO road show, Lyft said it was targeting a valuation ranging from $20 billion and $25 billion. In 2018, Lyft was valued at $15 billion in a funding round.

Even at $25 billion, Lyft’s valuation will pale in comparison to Uber’s. The Lyft’s rival’s IPO might value it in the unheard of range of $100 billion to $120 billion, the largest in history.

Lyft launched its ridehailing app in 2012. The company was founded by CEO Logan Green and President John Zimmer in 2007.