A Favorite Lyft Metric Is Messy

As Lyft Inc. pitches itself to potential stock investors this month, it will stress numbers to show the improving financial profile of offering car rides. But one metric that Lyft — and Uber, most likely — will pitch is not as revealing as Lyft backers believe.

The metric is Lyft’s revenue as a share of the total value of car rides and other transactions. The figure, often called a “take rate,” is closely watched for companies that help connect buyers (passengers, in Lyft’s case) and sellers (drivers). Lyft disclosed the take rate last week among the key metrics for potential investors in its initial public offering. It’s meant to show that as Lyft grows, it’s taking a larger slug of money from drivers for each ride and paring financial incentives to keep drivers on the roads.