US transportation firm Lyft closed its first day on the stock exchange on the NASDAQ index, gaining 8.7 percent, equivalent to a unit value per share of $ 78.29. According to analysts and observers, the company's stock market debut was disappointing compared to the high expectations that had accumulated around such a large company with considerable potential. In the early hours of trading, Lyft's stock nevertheless hit notable peaks, up to a maximum gain of 23 percent. Lyft had placed 32.5 million shares before trading began. The company now has a market value of around $ 22.2 billion.
The stock market debut was long overdue and came in anticipation of Uber, a Lyft competitor that offers similar services to book chauffeured cars. From the documents presented, we know that in 2018 Lyft generated $ 2.2 billion in revenues and handled more than a billion rides. However, Lyft is not yet profitable and had losses of $ 911.3 million last year. Investors and analysts are looking with interest at the IPOs of these companies (in the jargon “unicorns”), which have waited a long time before starting the procedures to go public and which could be worth several tens of billions of dollars once listed.
