Uber vs. Lyft — IPO Boutique comments on the race to be first

Everyone is worried about this Lyft vs. Uber race to hit public markets and I think it is a non-story. Uber had widespread turmoil within their company that the new CEO is working to repair. All the while, the company has massive expectations to live up to based on a private valuation that raced ahead of itself. Uber should be thinking about putting infrastructure in place to grow 5-or-10 times the size of it is right now which is the type of dialogue that new investors would want to hear. The drawback in either of these companies is the massive amount of cash they are burning. At some point, these companies have to turn a profit or have a plan to get there.

With all that being said, the advantage of being “first” is not having the direct comparison to the other. Once Lyft’s financials are out in the public, Uber will be instantly compared to Lyft and valued as such.