Prepared remarks
Good afternoon, and welcome to Lyft's Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded. On the call today, we have our CEO, David Risher; and our CFO, Erin Brewer. Our prepared remarks are available on the investor relations website, and we'll use this time to answer your questions. We'll make forward-looking statements on today's call, including statements relating to our business strategy and performance, partnerships, future financial and operating results, trends in our marketplace and guidance. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those projected or implied during this call. These factors and risks are described in our earnings materials and in our recent SEC filings. All of the forward-looking statements that we make today on this call are based on our beliefs as of today, and we disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
Additionally, today, we're going to discuss customers. For rideshare, there are generally two customers in every car. The driver is Lyft's customer and the rider is the driver's customer. We care about both. Our discussion today will include non-GAAP financial measures, which are not a substitute for GAAP results. Reconciliations of our historical GAAP to non-GAAP results can be found in our earnings materials, which are available on our investor relations website. And with that, I'll pass the call to David.
Thank you, Aaron. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us. Q2 2026 was a quarter of record-breaking performance for Lyft, demonstrating the durable strength of our marketplace. We achieved an all-time high of over 30 million active riders, proving that rideshare is embedded in people's everyday lives. Our results are guided by a simple, powerful strategy built on our relentless focus on customer obsession, operational excellence and being a world-class partner. This leads to more riders, more rides and more ways to ride. With 262 million rides in the second quarter alone, we are well on our way to hitting over 1 billion rides in 2026. Our UP strategy continues to gain momentum with premium modes growing double digits year-over-year for the 12th consecutive quarter, supported by record performance in our TBR chauffeuring business. We're also seeing unprecedented success in our ecosystem of partnerships with approximately 30% of North American rideshare rides linked to a partner, a new all-time high, highlighting the scalable impact of our collaborations with leaders like DoorDash and United Airlines.
And with the international part of our strategy, our global integration efforts are on track as we move toward one unified Lyft app worldwide. Beta testing is now live in over a dozen European cities, while our autonomous vehicle roadmap advances with smooth fleet operations in Nashville and strong testing results in London, ensuring we are well positioned for a hybrid AV future. And with that, let me turn it over to Erin to take you through a few of our financial highlights.
Thanks, David. From a financial perspective, we delivered accelerating top-line growth with gross bookings up 23% year-over-year to $5.5 billion. Adjusted EBITDA grew 37% year-over-year, reflecting continued cost leverage, driving margin expansion and our fourth consecutive quarter of over $1 billion in free cash flow for the trailing 12 months. Our team continues to build a business that is both high growth and highly disciplined. And with that, let's take your questions.
Questions and answers
The operator provided instructions for the question-and-answer session. Our first question comes from Eric Sheridan with Goldman Sachs.
Hopefully, you can hear me okay. I wanted to ask about the rider growth metric you reported in the quarter. Can you unpack the elements of what's driving rider growth and maybe track it back to elements of structural product improvements you're making, including some of the go-to-market partnerships you signed? And how much of it might have been things that were newer into the business like the California insurance dynamics, World Cup demand, any promotional activity? I just wanted to go a little bit deeper in terms of some of the structural versus maybe some of the transient dynamics around rider growth.
Yes. Eric, this is Erin. Why don't I start and then David can jump in. As I think about our results across Q2, it's really, to your point, not one thing. I think about the strength of our North America rideshare business, our growth foundationally, and our continued strong growth as we think about expanding in low-scale markets like Canada. We also just had an outstanding quarter within our bikes business. We talked about in our prepared remarks across several of our operated markets, just hitting weekly and daily all-time highs. The popularity of e-bikes and the way those are embedded into people's commutes in certain cities is really impressive. Even Freenow, while we didn't have Freenow in the same quarter last year, even if I look at that organically, rides are up there. So that's great progress in some of the early improvements we've made in delivering great rides across Europe. So it's really foundational strength across the business as we think about growing Active Riders to that record number that we achieved in the quarter. David, I don't know if you want to join in. Obviously, partnerships play a role here, and we had some great results there. I'll turn it over to you.
Yes. That's an interesting question, and you can answer it on many dimensions and see strength across many areas. Erin mentioned geography. We're seeing growth in North America in some of our largest markets like New York and in some of our low-scale markets, as she said. In Canada, we're continuing to see extraordinary growth, almost double year-on-year. In Europe, we're seeing organic growth, which is wonderful. This is about a year into Freenow, and already we're starting to see real results from some of the technology and product innovation we've added to that platform, and we're really just getting started there. On the product improvement dimension, you can look at everything from early efforts like Lyft Teens doing very well, Lyft Silver continuing to do well, and improvements in marketplace health. For example, we've improved our ETAs and pickup times year-over-year. On average, pickup times are faster by anywhere from 0.5% to 3%, depending on the geography.
At our scale, that's meaningful. Our team has done an excellent job. If I look at our competitor, we pick up riders the same or faster than they do 75% of the time right now, which is extraordinary given our smaller share. So foundational work is helping save money and improve service. On the marketing side, the work we're doing and the customer acquisition efforts are working across nearly every dimension. Even if you remove seasonality, World Cup and other external factors, the core work we're doing is producing durable results.
Our next question comes from Brad Erickson with RBC.
Two questions. One, as you think about where you are on margins on the path, hopefully, to 4% next year, where do you think you're really outperforming right now as we look forward? And where do you think there's still work to do? And then second, just on Nashville, with the depot coming online, it sounds like in October. Can you give us an update on what the gating factors are there to rolling out as a potential distribution partner? And is that still on time to happen before the end of the year?
That sounds good, Brad. Why don't I start with the second part and then Erin can take the first. Nashville is very much on track for the purpose-built depot opening in October. It's an approximately 80,000-square-foot depot that used to be a USPS facility, now outfitted with 4 megawatts of power and multiple charging stations, capable of handling hundreds of vehicles. The big news in Nashville last quarter was our team taking on the temporary depot Waymo had stood up. Our staff took over on June 9, and the transition was seamless. We exceeded our SLAs with those vehicles, which is a great first step. Then comes the opening of the purpose-built depot later this year. As for supply sharing, we haven't announced full public details, but it will happen before the end of the year that Lyft riders will have the opportunity to be matched with Waymo on the Lyft app. We're on track, and we have a great partnership with our partner.
Yes, Brad. On the margin side, Q2 expanded our EBITDA by 37%. Our guide for Q3 calls for margin expansion quarter-on-quarter, and we feel great about the trajectory. What's driving that is consistent with themes we've discussed: a growing market with continued opportunity in low-scale markets, strong performance in Canada, operational excellence driving better service and smarter investments in rider incentives. Those investments bring new riders who ride more frequently, and as we get scale and operational improvements, there's natural leverage in the business. Cost discipline remains a priority, and we've been disciplined as we scale. We've continued to grow in higher-value modes, and that mix has been important. We have great early progress with programs like B2B, and partnerships have been meaningful—about one in three rides tied to a partner, and those rides tend to skew toward higher-value. There's more work to do, but I'm pleased with the discipline and the trajectory reflected in our results and guidance.
Our next question comes from John Blackledge with TD Cowen.
Great. First question on the gross bookings and rides growth gap. There was an 11% gap between gross bookings growth and rides growth. How should we think about that gap in the back half of the year? Would you expect it to close a bit? And then on autonomous vehicles, I thought it was interesting to call out the 20% rides growth in San Francisco and the ODD. Can you talk about that dynamic and your thoughts on it?
Yes, John, glad you noticed that. It underscores our thesis that as AVs enter the market, they can expand the total addressable market for rideshare. We're seeing data quarter after quarter that supports that. Anecdotally, people tell us AVs open up rideshare for them in ways they hadn't used it before, without taking away from traditional rides. We're seeing growth in commutes, particularly in San Francisco, and also on the leisure side—parties, gyms, and more people taking rideshare to gyms than ever. These trends layer on top of the AV story; people may enter rideshare via an AV and continue to use driver-driven rides. That dynamic is encouraging and makes me excited about the road ahead for the industry.
John, to add color on gross bookings and rides as we head into Q3: there are seasonal impacts. Q3 is our highest quarter for the bikes business, which carries a lower average gross bookings per ride, though unit economics are strong. For Freenow, we're lapping the acquisition; last year we had two months in the quarter, and this year we'll have the full three months. Freenow in the third quarter tends to have lower rides but higher gross bookings per ride due to the August holiday season and other patterns. So you have mix effects from higher bikes and a different Freenow cadence that influence gross bookings per ride. We provided commentary in our prepared remarks that rides growth should increase in the second half, and that growth will come across our bikes business, North America rideshare, and Freenow.
Our next question comes from Benjamin Black with Deutsche Bank.
There seems to be some consternation about the stand-alone economics of AV ownership and the near-term implications for the P&L. Obviously, you have the Baidu RT6 in London. Can you dig into the expected initial unit economics of your AV deployment there? How does it compare to a standard drive? And how do you expect that to evolve over the next 12 to 24 months?
Let me provide context on economics and where we are. We're excited to be on the road with Baidu in London, with a lot of effort across teams to get testing and mapping underway. Today, it's still a relatively small number of vehicles, so the way it shows up in our P&L is de minimis, and I expect it to remain so in the near term. We won't get into detailed unit economics at scale today. When we approach larger scale, we'll have more to say. Safety and rider experience matter, and we'll be deliberate in our rollout of this technology on our platform. David, feel free to add anything.
I think that's well put. We like the unit economics both long-term and short-term. There isn't a significant change in our financials today from the AV activity.
Our next question comes from Ken Gawrelski with Wells Fargo.
Two questions, please. First, David, could you talk about opportunities beyond Nashville potentially with Waymo? There's been press about partnerships with Waymo and maybe one of your competitors. Could you talk about the opportunity set for you and what you need to demonstrate in Nashville to prove yourself as a partner? Second, Erin, can you touch on pricing dynamics, especially in the North America rideshare market? It continues to be robust—how do you expect that to continue into the back half or any outlook you can provide?
Ken, I'll start with relationships. I won't comment on other companies' arrangements, but Lyft is a very strong partner. Partnerships are in our DNA. Thirty percent of our rides being tied to a partner is not a small thing, and that figure has grown significantly over a couple of years. We seek partnerships where both parties benefit—that's why we expanded with DoorDash to Canada and why the United Airlines partnership is off to a strong start. Our partnership with Bilt has seen riders spend 1.5 billion Bilt points on Lyft rides. Chase partnerships have been reinvigorated, and our Alaska Airlines partnership has been successful; their CEO has joined our Board. These examples show partnerships we start tend to flourish for both parties. In Nashville, the partnership has two parts. First is fleet management, where we get paid for availability. We're experienced in fleet operations—from Flexdrive and other programs—and availability and uptime are crucial.
Second is supply sharing, which is a dynamic pool of vehicles that are constantly deployed across the network to maximize utilization, throughput, customer experience, and pickup times. We're engineering that carefully because it's complex, and we'll be judged on both fleet operations and supply-sharing performance. If you look at AV readiness for us, there are four pillars: marketplace health, policy issues, real estate (depot siting and operations), and the AV technology itself. We'll be evaluated on all of those, particularly supply sharing and fleet operations. We intend to be the best partner and to scale this beyond a single location, though we're still in the early days and holding ourselves and our partner to high standards.
Ken, on pricing, a couple of points. The current environment in 2026 has been relatively stable. Gross bookings per ride includes mix shifts: we've been growing quickly in higher-value modes, and our ads and chauffeuring businesses contribute to gross bookings without an equivalent rides component. Those mix factors influence overall metrics. Our portfolio offers a mode for every price point, from bikes to premium options, meeting riders where they are. Wait & Save remains a strong product for customers willing to trade price for time. We're also delivering value through partnerships—United and DoorDash have scaled—and through targeted rider incentives to drive loyalty and encourage trying new modes. The results speak to our strategy: record active riders and record rides in the quarter, and rides are becoming more embedded in daily life, not just special occasions. That positions us well to continue serving riders effectively.
Our next question comes from Chad Larkin with Oppenheimer.
It sounds like you're starting the rebrand of Freenow. How should we think about the long-term tailwinds from that? And near term, how do rebrands sometimes work—was there any impact baked into the third quarter guide?
I'll talk about it big picture. I don't think there's anything significant baked into Q3 from the rebrand. I was recently in Europe and saw it in action. There's an active rebranding effort, visible in places like Barcelona, Dublin and Athens, where some taxi cabs now say 'Freenow by Lyft.' In Barcelona, about one-third of the taxi cabs have that labeling. Many people already have a sense of Lyft as an American innovative rideshare company, and we're starting to make that more visible. By next year, as we said in the prepared remarks, we expect to be fully integrated so any traveler can open the Lyft app and order natively without opening a separate app—that's slated for 2027. Between now and then, you'll see incremental rebranding steps, but we don't want to overpromise before the product is ready. There's also substantial back-end integration work to make Lyft truly global, and we've made massive progress on that. Branding will proceed step by step as the product readiness allows.
Our next question comes from Michael Morton with MoffettNathanson.
I wanted to ask about the acceleration in the business. Is it fair to assume directionally that the 3.5% acceleration could also be reflected in the U.S. rideshare business? Within the U.S. rideshare market, you've spoken in the past about increasing competition—any update on the competitive environment? And lastly, can you quantify the contribution from the World Cup?
I'll take the last two in reverse order. We commented in our prepared remarks on certain cities where the World Cup increased airport rides and some local trips. Lyft is great at events; we rally to deliver reliable service for major events like Coachella and Outside Lands. The World Cup was another event where we showed up for our customers. I categorize it similarly to how we handle other major events. Regarding Wait & Save, it remains an important part of our portfolio and customers continue to engage with it; it's serving its purpose when riders trade off price for time. On the first question about acceleration, we gave color on expected rides growth in the second half in our prepared remarks, and that increase is expected across bikes, North America rideshare, and Freenow. So the dynamic is coming from multiple parts of the business.
Our next question comes from Nikhil Devnani with Bernstein.
Given the improving outlook for rides, how do you feel about driver supply as you think about the balance of the year? Do you feel the industry is adequately supplied to keep up with this level of improving growth? Can you talk about any investments you intend to make to help bridge that gap if needed?
Nikhil, we feel great about driver supply and the relationship we have with drivers. Since Erin and I started, we've made focused investments in driver community health, not just dollars but energy and programs. There are two customers in every car, and we've invested accordingly. For example, we implemented a 30% fee cap and launched a driver rewards program earlier this year. That rewards program has paid out $14 million so far to drivers, with a portion co-funded, which is wonderful. These investments have produced results: we have very strong supply right now, both in active drivers and driver hours. Driver earnings are effectively at an all-time high, up about 8% per ride year-on-year. Tipping is up 10%, reflecting strong service. We also have about a 30-point preference gap when you ask drivers who drive on multiple platforms which they prefer—over 50% of drivers prefer Lyft, with a much smaller share preferring the other major competitor. We feel we are doing a good job in competing for driver supply.
Our last question comes from Andrew Northcutt with Wolfe Research.
This is Andrew on for Shweta. I want to follow up on partnerships more broadly. As you look at the portfolio of partnerships today, how are you thinking about the incremental opportunity from deepening existing partnerships versus adding new ones? Where do you see the most untapped runway?
Thanks, Andrew. We prioritize deepening existing partnerships because there's significant untapped opportunity in them. There's a lot of innovation left in the space—millions of private car rides annually remain addressable. Each partnership we have, like DoorDash, where we recently expanded to Canada, or Chase with recent product relaunches, still has white space to go much further. Our partnerships have been reinvigorated—Chase Sapphire Reserve enhancements, additional benefits like Chase Southwest—and partners continue to ask for deeper collaboration. We believe many of our existing partnerships are still in early days and will continue to expand. Stay tuned for more developments as we deepen those relationships.
This concludes the question-and-answer session. I will now turn the call back over to Lyft's CEO, David Risher, for closing remarks.
You all, as always, thank you so much for your time today and for following us so closely. Thank you for your continued interest in Lyft. We are firing on all cylinders and are super excited for a strong year and strong times ahead. Thanks again, and we will see you next time.