WEBVTT - Lyft CEO David Risher Talks Investing in Markets

0:00:02.520 --> 0:00:06.519
<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio.

0:00:06.720 --> 0:00:10.560
<v Speaker 2>News lifcio Dave Risha joins us for more. Good morning, David,

0:00:10.640 --> 0:00:13.720
<v Speaker 2>there's something really interesting in your kind of forward looking

0:00:13.800 --> 0:00:17.040
<v Speaker 2>strategy commentary on the cool Uber talks about something the same.

0:00:17.079 --> 0:00:21.000
<v Speaker 2>There are parts of this country, America where ride share

0:00:21.320 --> 0:00:24.600
<v Speaker 2>is less pervasive, people don't use as much, probably they

0:00:24.680 --> 0:00:25.480
<v Speaker 2>drive their own car.

0:00:25.840 --> 0:00:26.560
<v Speaker 1>You want to go.

0:00:26.520 --> 0:00:30.400
<v Speaker 2>After that market? Why and how so?

0:00:30.520 --> 0:00:34.400
<v Speaker 3>The answer is we've gotten really good at obsessing over

0:00:34.440 --> 0:00:37.040
<v Speaker 3>our customers and we want to take it bigger and

0:00:37.120 --> 0:00:40.080
<v Speaker 3>go bigger. I mean, look, this is our sixteenth consecutive

0:00:40.159 --> 0:00:43.320
<v Speaker 3>quarter of growth. You know, we're a profitable company. We're

0:00:43.640 --> 0:00:47.200
<v Speaker 3>generating nine hundred million dollars of cash, and yet yet

0:00:47.320 --> 0:00:49.880
<v Speaker 3>the rideshare market is still tiny. One hundred and sixty

0:00:49.960 --> 0:00:52.000
<v Speaker 3>billion rides in the United States every year and we

0:00:52.040 --> 0:00:54.240
<v Speaker 3>only do a couple three billion between the two of us.

0:00:54.280 --> 0:00:56.600
<v Speaker 3>So there's so much opportunity. It really is better to

0:00:56.640 --> 0:00:58.040
<v Speaker 3>be in the back of the car having someone else

0:00:58.120 --> 0:00:59.840
<v Speaker 3>drive you, and we want to do it in places

0:00:59.880 --> 0:01:03.040
<v Speaker 3>like Indianapolis and others where you know, the opportunities even

0:01:03.080 --> 0:01:04.720
<v Speaker 3>bigger cash.

0:01:04.959 --> 0:01:07.440
<v Speaker 2>When last year on which was just a few weeks ago,

0:01:07.840 --> 0:01:09.880
<v Speaker 2>we were talking about M and A in Europe, and

0:01:09.920 --> 0:01:13.160
<v Speaker 2>with respect it was a modest deal. The buy back

0:01:13.280 --> 0:01:17.880
<v Speaker 2>is clearly well received by your investors. Yeah, but that

0:01:17.880 --> 0:01:20.600
<v Speaker 2>would indicate that you have some ability to do M

0:01:20.640 --> 0:01:23.399
<v Speaker 2>and A going forward, you know, do you see that

0:01:23.440 --> 0:01:26.480
<v Speaker 2>in your capital plans? And if you did buy something,

0:01:26.480 --> 0:01:27.200
<v Speaker 2>what would it be.

0:01:27.959 --> 0:01:30.920
<v Speaker 3>So, so, first, thanks for acknowledging it's true.

0:01:30.959 --> 0:01:32.679
<v Speaker 1>I mean, this is a business that is now.

0:01:32.560 --> 0:01:35.080
<v Speaker 3>Generating nearly a billion of dollars of cash in the

0:01:35.200 --> 0:01:36.000
<v Speaker 3>trailing twelve months.

0:01:36.040 --> 0:01:37.319
<v Speaker 1>So that's a wonderful place to be.

0:01:38.160 --> 0:01:41.360
<v Speaker 3>Again, huge thanks to the incredible team that has been

0:01:41.360 --> 0:01:43.720
<v Speaker 3>working so dang hard to make this business not only

0:01:43.720 --> 0:01:45.759
<v Speaker 3>great for customers, but great for shareholders as well.

0:01:46.400 --> 0:01:48.480
<v Speaker 1>So now the question is, right, what are other opportunities?

0:01:48.520 --> 0:01:50.960
<v Speaker 3>I would say our near term focus is making the

0:01:51.000 --> 0:01:53.000
<v Speaker 3>cash that we've got, you know, putting it to work.

0:01:53.280 --> 0:01:55.320
<v Speaker 3>As you say, we just acquired free now, which will

0:01:55.320 --> 0:01:56.880
<v Speaker 3>allow us to expand internationally.

0:01:57.520 --> 0:01:58.240
<v Speaker 1>You know, nothing more.

0:01:58.160 --> 0:02:00.960
<v Speaker 3>Obviously to announce right now, aside from the the buyback,

0:02:01.040 --> 0:02:03.120
<v Speaker 3>of course, but it's created me in a strong position.

0:02:03.120 --> 0:02:05.279
<v Speaker 3>We've got a strong bound sheet and a strong income statement.

0:02:05.320 --> 0:02:06.800
<v Speaker 3>So it feels that's a good place to be.

0:02:06.960 --> 0:02:08.600
<v Speaker 4>And it's a strong position that you managed to fend

0:02:08.680 --> 0:02:12.920
<v Speaker 4>off Engine Capital David in terms of they were a

0:02:12.919 --> 0:02:16.560
<v Speaker 4>pushy investor wanting changes potentially at a board level, but they've

0:02:16.560 --> 0:02:18.880
<v Speaker 4>withdrawn that because of what you've given to the investor

0:02:18.919 --> 0:02:20.520
<v Speaker 4>base in terms of buybacks, David.

0:02:20.560 --> 0:02:21.520
<v Speaker 1>Is that a cyber relief?

0:02:23.360 --> 0:02:25.919
<v Speaker 3>I mean, you know, we talk to investors all the time.

0:02:27.560 --> 0:02:29.840
<v Speaker 3>I would say maybe not so much the cyber relief

0:02:29.880 --> 0:02:32.600
<v Speaker 3>as much as just it absolutely allows us to continue

0:02:32.600 --> 0:02:34.600
<v Speaker 3>to focus on our writers and our drivers.

0:02:34.600 --> 0:02:35.519
<v Speaker 1>That's sort of the big thing.

0:02:36.120 --> 0:02:38.280
<v Speaker 3>But it's great that investors are responding so well to

0:02:38.360 --> 0:02:39.239
<v Speaker 3>what it is that we're doing.

0:02:39.280 --> 0:02:40.840
<v Speaker 1>Again, share buy back is great.

0:02:41.880 --> 0:02:44.720
<v Speaker 3>You know, profitable growth, you know, quarter after quarter, that's great.

0:02:44.919 --> 0:02:47.119
<v Speaker 3>And this is what I've always said, it's customer obsession

0:02:47.120 --> 0:02:49.520
<v Speaker 3>that drives profitable growth and we're sort of seeing that

0:02:50.080 --> 0:02:51.000
<v Speaker 3>play out now, and.

0:02:50.960 --> 0:02:54.720
<v Speaker 4>That customer possession drives innovation, drives autonomous vehicles. I know

0:02:54.720 --> 0:02:57.360
<v Speaker 4>you're looking at Atlanta, You've got a partnership there. How

0:02:57.440 --> 0:03:00.800
<v Speaker 4>much are you going to see driverless vehiclesmatically you're going

0:03:00.800 --> 0:03:02.800
<v Speaker 4>to have safety drivers in the car. What is that

0:03:02.840 --> 0:03:04.000
<v Speaker 4>going to look like as a pilot?

0:03:05.080 --> 0:03:07.200
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, so this is a pilot that we're doing with

0:03:07.200 --> 0:03:07.920
<v Speaker 3>main mobility.

0:03:08.040 --> 0:03:08.800
<v Speaker 1>First, let's set back.

0:03:08.840 --> 0:03:11.200
<v Speaker 3>Autonomous vehicles are going to come, right they're here in

0:03:11.200 --> 0:03:13.960
<v Speaker 3>San Francisco, you see them everywhere. They're obviously in La

0:03:14.040 --> 0:03:15.800
<v Speaker 3>and Austin and other places as well.

0:03:16.080 --> 0:03:18.480
<v Speaker 1>They'll come. It'll be many, many years before they're a

0:03:18.480 --> 0:03:18.919
<v Speaker 1>big deal.

0:03:18.960 --> 0:03:21.360
<v Speaker 3>But as they come, it's such a great opportunity for

0:03:21.440 --> 0:03:23.200
<v Speaker 3>ride share and for a lyft because it allows us

0:03:23.200 --> 0:03:25.240
<v Speaker 3>to provide better service.

0:03:25.320 --> 0:03:26.519
<v Speaker 1>Using different technologies.

0:03:26.760 --> 0:03:28.679
<v Speaker 3>As you say, we'll be starting in Lantam in a

0:03:28.720 --> 0:03:31.600
<v Speaker 3>couple of months middle of the summer. We will start

0:03:31.680 --> 0:03:33.800
<v Speaker 3>with a sort of a confidence driver, someone else in

0:03:33.840 --> 0:03:35.600
<v Speaker 3>the car to kind of help make sure that people

0:03:35.600 --> 0:03:37.760
<v Speaker 3>feel comfortable with what's going on there. It'll be a

0:03:37.760 --> 0:03:40.280
<v Speaker 3>fairly small scale pilot, but this is something it'll grow

0:03:40.320 --> 0:03:42.840
<v Speaker 3>into Texas next year with a partnership with mobil I

0:03:43.240 --> 0:03:45.320
<v Speaker 3>and others, and then we'll just keep building and building

0:03:45.320 --> 0:03:48.040
<v Speaker 3>and building to the point where drivers are driving millions

0:03:48.040 --> 0:03:50.360
<v Speaker 3>of people and autonomous vehicles are driving millions of people

0:03:50.400 --> 0:03:50.800
<v Speaker 3>as well.

0:03:50.960 --> 0:03:53.520
<v Speaker 2>David, you're a technology CEO, and as such you must

0:03:53.600 --> 0:03:57.600
<v Speaker 2>field questions on economics and the state of trade and travel.

0:03:59.120 --> 0:04:00.080
<v Speaker 1>It's our favorite thing to.

0:04:00.160 --> 0:04:04.560
<v Speaker 2>Du Uber reflected on the idea of cross border travel

0:04:04.600 --> 0:04:07.680
<v Speaker 2>Canada into the US, the inbound travel into the US

0:04:07.720 --> 0:04:11.400
<v Speaker 2>being soft business travel. People arrive at airports, are they

0:04:11.480 --> 0:04:13.160
<v Speaker 2>or are they not doing ride share? What are you

0:04:13.280 --> 0:04:16.400
<v Speaker 2>seeing through the consumer about the state of this economy.

0:04:16.760 --> 0:04:18.000
<v Speaker 1>I don't see. We're seeing strength.

0:04:18.080 --> 0:04:19.400
<v Speaker 3>And I know a lot of people are trying to

0:04:19.400 --> 0:04:21.720
<v Speaker 3>look ranular where why So.

0:04:21.720 --> 0:04:23.000
<v Speaker 1>I'll give you a couple of examples.

0:04:23.279 --> 0:04:26.120
<v Speaker 3>Let's actually go back literally to earlier this week Sincle Demya, right,

0:04:26.200 --> 0:04:28.599
<v Speaker 3>that's not a holiday, that's necessarily a huge thing. But

0:04:28.680 --> 0:04:30.360
<v Speaker 3>at the same time we saw one of our biggest

0:04:30.360 --> 0:04:32.599
<v Speaker 3>sink of demayos. Ever, it's a very very strong day.

0:04:32.680 --> 0:04:34.520
<v Speaker 3>Let's go back to the end of March. Last week

0:04:34.520 --> 0:04:36.520
<v Speaker 3>in March was actually our strongest week ever in terms

0:04:36.520 --> 0:04:39.000
<v Speaker 3>of ride volume. I think what we're seeing here is

0:04:39.520 --> 0:04:43.479
<v Speaker 3>ridehare has become a very sort of base staple part

0:04:43.480 --> 0:04:46.760
<v Speaker 3>of so many people's lives that I don't really expect

0:04:46.760 --> 0:04:49.320
<v Speaker 3>a sort of consumer sentiment fluctuates around to see that

0:04:49.440 --> 0:04:51.679
<v Speaker 3>much difference. I'll talk about airports for just a second,

0:04:51.680 --> 0:04:54.839
<v Speaker 3>because you asked airports basically quarter to quarter are flat.

0:04:55.440 --> 0:04:55.920
<v Speaker 1>It is true.

0:04:55.960 --> 0:04:58.760
<v Speaker 3>Consumer Excuse me, the commute is going up faster. So

0:04:58.920 --> 0:05:00.760
<v Speaker 3>if you look at it that way, consumers growing a

0:05:00.800 --> 0:05:01.440
<v Speaker 3>little bit faster.

0:05:01.680 --> 0:05:03.120
<v Speaker 1>Ecte me commute. I keep saying that.

0:05:03.279 --> 0:05:06.120
<v Speaker 3>But you know, again, even when you look at airports, gosh,

0:05:06.160 --> 0:05:07.880
<v Speaker 3>it's only one in five people who use right here

0:05:07.920 --> 0:05:09.679
<v Speaker 3>to get to airports in the first place. That means

0:05:09.720 --> 0:05:11.680
<v Speaker 3>eighty percent is still out there for sort of the

0:05:11.960 --> 0:05:14.160
<v Speaker 3>you know, the picking. So I think our big focus

0:05:14.240 --> 0:05:16.479
<v Speaker 3>is trying to expand the market. I don't think that

0:05:16.520 --> 0:05:18.000
<v Speaker 3>the macro stuff is a big deal right.

0:05:17.880 --> 0:05:18.320
<v Speaker 1>Now for us.

0:05:18.760 --> 0:05:21.640
<v Speaker 4>You're growing in Canada, David. And it's interesting. I've asked

0:05:21.640 --> 0:05:24.360
<v Speaker 4>this time and time again a start of ibm asked

0:05:24.400 --> 0:05:26.920
<v Speaker 4>a voubask of a view. Is there any impact from

0:05:26.960 --> 0:05:29.760
<v Speaker 4>being an American brand going into a country such as

0:05:29.760 --> 0:05:32.440
<v Speaker 4>Canada right now? Because we are hearing of pushback thirty

0:05:32.480 --> 0:05:34.120
<v Speaker 4>seconds you know, it's.

0:05:33.960 --> 0:05:36.200
<v Speaker 1>So interesting, No is the real answer.

0:05:36.240 --> 0:05:39.880
<v Speaker 3>In fact, we've just got authorization to open in Quebec,

0:05:40.240 --> 0:05:42.200
<v Speaker 3>in the province of Quebec, which which we might have

0:05:42.279 --> 0:05:44.320
<v Speaker 3>wondered whether it was going to happen given everything going on.

0:05:44.440 --> 0:05:47.080
<v Speaker 3>So no, we've actually seen acceptance. Actually, Toronto's a big

0:05:47.120 --> 0:05:48.480
<v Speaker 3>city for us, going super.

0:05:48.240 --> 0:05:50.800
<v Speaker 4>Well, David Richard, so great to catch up with you

0:05:51.000 --> 0:05:52.920
<v Speaker 4>about some of the numbers. We appreciate it lift to

0:05:52.920 --> 0:05:53.840
<v Speaker 4>see it is a pleasure