| The particular traditional companies in the graphic are, if anything, the worst possible cases of this. For example, the graphic includes both Delta and American Airlines as well as Jetblue. Airlines are effectively a zero-margin business for some interesting reasons (https://philip.greenspun.com/flying/unions-and-airlines). You might say, so are Uber and Lyft, but airlines have a static business model that hasn't changed for decades, can't fundamentally change because it's regulated within inches of its life even after "deregulation", and Delta and American have no real room for growth. Ford isn't really even comparable. It's a car manufacturer. At least airlines transport people from point A to point B. Likewise for Embraer, which manufactures jets. Royal Caribbean is a cruise line, which puts it more in the "leisure" sector than the "transportation" sector. (Can you expense Uber or Lyft for work? Yes. Can you expense airline tickets? Yes. Can you expense a Royal Caribbean cruise? Not likely.) And that leaves a shipping company and a car rental company, which are at least in the same ballpark as airlines in that they're basically logistics companies (with an optional customer service component), but Uber and Lyft are different from these in that Uber and Lyft don't have to manage the physical capital. Do I still think Uber and Lyft are likely overvalued? Honestly, yes, and that's why I don't buy them. Am I shocked that Lyft is approximately as valuable as Delta Airlines? Not at all. |