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Lyft Stock Goes Bonkers—Because of a Typo

What a difference one zero makes.

Lyft stock surged in after-hours trading Tuesday because of a typo in an earnings report: an extra zero that made it appear as though a profit margin had improved far more than it actually did, The Wall Street Journal reports. Shares shot up 60 percent right after the release of the incorrect figure and leveled off after the chief financial officer corrected the record in an earnings call—though the stock still remained up from the close. That’s likely because while Lyft is not profitable and struggles to compete with Uber, the earnings release contained some good news about the rideshare company: It anticipates a positive cash flow this year. “As we move in 2024, we have a foot on the pedal,” CEO David Risher said. Lyft reported it lost $340 million in 2023, though that was better than the $1.6 billion in red ink for 2002—and bookings are expected to be up in the first quarter of this year.