The two largest ride-sharing companies reportedly filed for initial public offerings as of last week. Lyft and Uber are said to debut as public companies as soon as the first quarter of 2019.
The New York Times reported on Friday that Uber filed for its IPO the day before, the same day rival Lyft filed identical documents to start the IPO process with the Securities and Exchange Commission. According to the report, Uber may beat Lyft to the market and debut in the first few months of 2019. A timeline for Lyft’s market debut as a public company isn’t as clear, but 2019 is said to be the target.
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Uber, the largest ride-share company, could be worth as much as $120 billion in its IPO. Rival Lyft is said to be valued at $15 billion. Both IPOs will likely be hot buys for traders when shares go live sometime next year. However, both companies also face major hurdles on the stock market: neither is profitable. Lyft financials aren’t as well known, but Uber remains incredibly unprofitable. The company lost $1.07 billion in the third quarter of this year. Paying drivers and working to outmaneuver rivals such as Lyft has made the company unprofitable for some time.
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The goal is to one day introduce self-driving cars to take over driving duties from humans and unlock a profitable revenue stream. Uber has also worked to expand into other segments such as food delivery, scooter rentals, and more. Both companies will also roll out rewards programs for frequent riders to shore up loyalty in the months to come, too.
Despite the profitability hardships, Uber said it’s profitable in cities where it’s operated the longest, but chooses to spend money elsewhere to increase revenue quicker.
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