Lyft stocks skyrocket by 60% thanks to a typo

The error coincided with a planned strike of Uber, Lyft and DoorDash drivers on Valentine’s Day

A typo error in ride-sharing platform Lyft’s earnings report saw a huge jump in their stock price before the company was forced to correct the embarrassing mistake.

Lyft had announced on Tuesday the seemingly exciting news: their profit margins were expected to grow by 5 percentage points — or 500 basis points, as they noted in the release.

That announcement sparked major after-hours trading as investors thought the company made a major jump — but the victory was short-lived.

Soon after, the company announced the increase was a typo and should have said 50 basis points all along. In a statement to The Independent, a spokesperson for Lyft said the error was “clerical” and it has since been amended.

“It was a bad error, and that’s on me,” Lyft’s Chief Executive Officer David Risher said on CNBC this week.

Lyft’s stock soared over 60 per cent after the close of trading on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported. 45 million shares were traded after the initial earnings release, which is about three times as many shares as Lyft usually trades in a day, Bloomberg reports.

When the markets reopened on Wednesday, the shares rose 38 per cent to $16.77, according to the Journal.

When news of the mistake made the rounds, people didn’t hesitate to crack jokes about the error.

“Your margin Lyft has unexpectedly cancelled, we apologize for the inconvenience,” one user posted.

“Surge pricing,” another user said on X.

Experts also weighed in — CNBC reporter Deirdre Bosa said on X she has “never seen anything like this.”

Despite all this, Lyft still remains behind its competitor Uber, which reported its first fully profitable year in 2023, according to the Journal. Lyft has yet to report a profitable year but may be on track to do so soon, the Journal also reports.

Meanwhile, Lyft, Uber and DoorDash drivers across the country are on strike this Valentine’s Day.

Justice for App Workers, who is organising the protest, represents more than 130,000 drivers on these apps.

“Together, we are taking on the multi-billion dollar app industry to win dignity at work. This means living wages, a safe working environment, an end to unfair deactivation, quality healthcare benefits, reliable bathroom access, and the right to form a union,” the organisation said on its website.

The coalition of drivers planned to refuse to provide rides to and from airports in at least 10 US cities on Wednesday. The group is calling for better earnings for the gig workers they represent.

“While Silicon Valley and Wall Street take an ever-increasing cut of driver earnings, they’re raising rates on passengers, and expecting consumers and workers alike to accept their increasing corporate greed,” Justice for App Workers wrote in a news release.

Just last year, Lyft made significant layoffs under Mr Risher impacting some 1,200 employees. The layoff did not impact the rideshare company’s drivers, however.