Bird Reports Second Quarter 2023 Financial Results with Improvements in Gross Margin and Operating Expense Spend

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Aug 09, 2023

Bird Global, Inc. ("Bird" or the "Company") (NYSE: BRDS), a leader in environmentally friendly electric transportation, today announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023. The Company also announced the appointment of Michael Washinushi as interim CEO.

"Today, as I step into the interim CEO role, I’m more convinced than ever that the Bird platform is the best solution to support the evolving transit and climate initiatives of all cities," said Washinushi. "In my expanded role, we will continue to focus on our mandates of acting as a trusted partner to the cities, and manage expenses in effort to achieve profitability and sustained positive free cash flow as we deliver great rider experience around the globe.

"Last year we made the conscious decision to exit unprofitable markets, as a result we saw a year over year decline in rides. Nevertheless, we remain focused on our operational execution and becoming a profitable company."

Quarter Ended June 30, 2023 Financial Results

  • Consistent with operating in fewer markets than last year, revenue was $48.3 million compared to $66.8 million in the second quarter of 2022.
  • Consolidated gross margin as a percentage of revenue was 40%, a 75-percentage basis point increase compared to the second quarter of 2022.
  • Gross profit was $19.4 million compared to $(23.2) million in the prior year period.
  • Ride Profit (before depreciation) was $26.6 million, compared to $28.4 million in the second quarter of 2022.
  • Ride Profit (before depreciation) as a percentage of Bird’s core vehicle-sharing business (“Sharing”) revenue was 57%, compared to 47% in the second quarter of 2022.
  • Total operating expenses were $36.1 million, including $5.9 million of non-cash stock-based compensation expense in the second quarter of 2023.
  • Adjusted Operating Expenses of $28.0 million decreased 50% in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the same period last year.
  • Net loss was $(9.3) million in the three months ended June 30, 2023, compared to $(320.3) million in the prior year period.
  • Adjusted EBITDA loss narrowed to $(1.2) million in the three months ended June 30, 2023 compared to $(28.9) million in the prior year period.
  • Cash flow from operations was $(1.8) million compared to $(4.5) million in the prior year period.
  • Free Cash Flow was $(1.8) million in the second quarter of 2023 compared to $(24.2) million in the prior year period.

Bird Global, Inc.

(In million, except percentages or as otherwise noted)

Three Months Ended June 30,

Six Months Ended June 30,

2023

2022

% Change

2023

2022

% Change

Rides (1)

8.8

14.5

(39

)%

14.0

21.8

(36

)%

Average Rides per Deployed Vehicles per Day (1)

1.2x

1.5x

(19

)%

1.0x

1.3x

(19

)%

Average Deployed Vehicles (in thousands) (1)

82.7

109.9

(25

)%

75.2

94.5

(20

)%

Revenue

$

48.3

$

66.8

(28

)%

$

77.9

$

102.1

(24

)%

Gross margin

40

%

(35

)%

75

%

31

%

(22

)%

53

%

Sharing gross margin

40

%

14

%

26

%

31

%

10

%

21

%

Ride Profit margin (before Vehicle Depreciation) (2)

57

%

47

%

10

%

55

%

43

%

12

%

Ride Profit margin (after Vehicle Depreciation) (2)

40

%

16

%

24

%

32

%

12

%

20

%

Total operating expenses

$

36.1

$

317.9

(89

)%

$

76.6

$

418.1

(82

)%

Adjusted Operating Expenses (2)

$

28.0

$

56.0

(50

)%

$

58.5

$

106.0

(45

)%

Net loss

$

(9.3

)

$

(320.3

)

(97

)%

$

(53.6

)

$

(312.6

)

83

%

Adjusted EBITDA (2)

$

(1.2

)

$

(28.9

)

96

%

$

(16.6

)

$

(68.4

)

76

%

Cash flows from operations

$

(1.8

)

$

(4.5

)

60

%

$

(23.5

)

$

(47.1

)

50

%

Free Cash Flow

$

(1.8

)

$

(24.2

)

92

%

$

(26.9

)

$

(130.4

)

79

%

(1)

Rides, Average Rides per Deployed Vehicle per Day, and Average Deployed Vehicles reflect key financial metrics. See “Key Financial Metrics” for additional information.

(2)

Ride Profit, Ride Profit Margin, Adjusted Operating Expenses, Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow are non-GAAP financial measures. See "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" for additional information on non-GAAP financial measures and the appendix to this press release for a reconciliation to the most comparable GAAP measures.

Going Concern

The Company’s ability to fund working capital, make capital expenditures, and service its debt will depend on its ability to generate cash from operating activities, which is subject to its future operating success, and obtain financing on reasonable terms, which is subject to factors beyond its control, including general economic, political, and financial market conditions. The capital markets have in the past experienced, are currently experiencing, and may in the future experience periods of volatility that could impact the availability and cost of equity and debt financing and there can be no assurances that such financing will be available to the Company on satisfactory terms, or at all. As of June 30, 2023, the Company had $6.8 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents which, without additional funding, will not be sufficient to meet the Company’s obligations within the next 12 months. If the Company is unable to raise additional capital and generate cash flows necessary to expand its operations and invest in continued innovation, it may not be able to compete successfully and may need to scale back or discontinue certain or all of its operations in order to reduce costs or seek bankruptcy protection, which would harm its business, financial condition, and results of operations. As such, these factors raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Accordingly, the Company plans to continue to closely monitor its operating forecast, reduce its operating expenses, and pursue additional sources of outside capital. Along with this global footprint realignment, the Company is targeting additional reductions in its operating expenses.

Conference Call Information

A conference call to discuss the Company’s second quarter 2023 financial results and other business updates is scheduled for tomorrow morning, August 10, 2023, at 8:00 am Eastern time. The general public is invited to join the live audio webcast available online at https://ir.bird.co. A recorded replay of the webcast will be available within two hours of the conclusion of the event and can be accessed online at https://ir.bird.co for 90 days.

About Bird

Bird is an electric vehicle company dedicated to bringing affordable, environmentally friendly transportation solutions such as e-scooters and e-bikes to communities across the world. Founded in 2017 by transportation pioneer Travis VanderZanden, Bird’s cleaner, affordable, and on-demand mobility solutions are available in more than 350 cities, primarily across the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia. We take a collaborative, community-first approach to micromobility. Bird partners closely with the cities in which it operates to provide a reliable and affordable transportation option for people who live and work there.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release contains "Ride Profit," "Ride Profit Margin," "Adjusted Operating Expenses," "Adjusted EBITDA," and "Free Cash Flow" which are measures that are not prepared and presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP"). The presentation of this financial information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP.

“Ride Profit” reflects the profit generated from rides in our Sharing business after accounting for direct ride expenses, which primarily consist of payments to Fleet Managers. Other ride costs include payment processing fees, network infrastructure, and city permit fees. We calculate Ride Profit (i) before Vehicle Depreciation to illustrate the cash return and (ii) after Vehicle Depreciation to illustrate the impact of the evolution of our vehicles.

“Ride Profit Margin” is Ride Profit divided by the revenue we generate from our Sharing business. We use Ride Profit Margin for financial and operational decision-making and as a means to evaluate period-to-period comparisons. We believe that Ride Profit and Ride Profit Margin, both exclusive of and inclusive of Vehicle Depreciation, are useful indicators of the economics of our Sharing business, as they exclude indirect unallocated expenses such as research and development, selling and marketing, and general and administrative expenses.

“Adjusted Operating Expenses” is a supplemental measure of operating expenses used to provide investors with additional information about the Company's business performance. We believe Adjusted Operating Expenses is useful in evaluating the operational costs of our business as it excludes impact from items that are non-cash in nature, non-recurring, or not related to our core business operations. We calculate Adjusted Operating Expenses as total operating expenses, adjusted to exclude (i) depreciation and amortization associated with operating expenses, (ii) stock-based compensation expense, (iii) legal settlements and reserves, (iv) impairment of assets, and (v) other non-recurring, non-cash, or non-core items.

“Adjusted EBITDA” is a supplemental measure of operating performance used to inform management decisions for the business. We believe Adjusted EBITDA is useful in evaluating our performance on a relative basis to other comparable businesses as it excludes impact from items that are non-cash in nature, non-recurring, or not related to our core business operations. We calculate Adjusted EBITDA as net profit or loss, adjusted to exclude (i) interest expense (income), net, (ii) provision for (benefit from) income taxes, (iii) depreciation and amortization, (iv) vehicle count adjustments, (v) stock-based compensation expense, (vi) other income (expense), net, (vii) legal settlements and reserves, (viii) impairment of product sales inventory, (ix) impairment of assets, and (x) other non-recurring, non-cash, or non-core items.

“Free Cash Flow” is a non-GAAP financial measure used by our management and board of directors as an important indicator of our liquidity, as it is an additional basis for assessing the amount of cash we generate. Accordingly, we believe that Free Cash Flow provides useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results in the same manner as our management and board of directors. There are limitations related to the use of Free Cash Flow as an analytical tool, including: other companies may calculate Free Cash Flow differently, which reduces its usefulness as a comparative measure; free cash flow does not reflect our future contractual commitments; and Free Cash Flow does not represent the total residual cash flow for a given period. We calculate Free Cash Flow as net cash provided by (used in) operating activities, adjusted to exclude capital expenditures, which consist of purchases of vehicles and property and equipment. There are a number of limitations related to the use of non-GAAP financial measures. In light of these limitations, we provide specific information regarding the GAAP amounts excluded from Ride Profit, Ride Profit Margin, Adjusted Operating Expenses, Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow. For reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures, see the appendix to this press release.

Key Financial Metrics

This press release also contains certain key business metrics which are used to evaluate our business, measure our performance, identify trends affecting our business, formulate business plans, and make strategic decisions. We calculate “Rides” as the total number of paid and unpaid trips completed by customers of our Sharing business. Rides are seasonal to a certain degree. “Deployed Vehicles” reflects the number of vehicles available to riders through our Sharing business. We calculate Deployed Vehicles on a pro-rata basis over a 24-hour period, wherein two vehicles deployed for a combined period of 24 hours equate to one Deployed Vehicle. “Rides per Deployed Vehicle per Day” ("RpD") reflects the rate at which our shared vehicles are utilized by riders. We calculate RpD as the total number of Rides divided by total Deployed Vehicles in our Sharing business each calendar day.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. We based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events. All statements, other than statements of present or historical fact included in this press release, including those regarding our future financial performance and strategy, expected path to profitability, future operations, future operating results and financial condition, ability to achieve our self-sustainability goals, anticipated Adjusted Operating Expenses for full year 2023, anticipated Adjusted EBITDA for full year 2023, ability to achieve positive Free Cash Flow in 2023, our plans to seek additional capital, and objectives of our management are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “believe,” “estimate,” “continue,” “project,” or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Except as otherwise required by applicable law, we disclaim any duty to update any forward-looking statements, all of which are expressly qualified by the statements in this section, to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release. We caution you that these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control. Some of the risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results to materially differ from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements are described in the “Risk Factors” section in our Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, as well as our other filings with Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the time made and the Company does not undertake to update or revise them to reflect future events or circumstances.

Bird Global, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(Unaudited, in thousands, except per share amounts and number of shares)

June 30, 2023

December 31, 2022

Assets

Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents

$

6,806

$

33,469

Restricted cash and cash equivalents—current

4,313

4,978

Accounts receivable, net

790

2,188

Inventory

1,477

1,535

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

11,818

22,615

Total current assets

25,204

64,785

Restricted cash and cash equivalents—non current

625

598

Vehicle deposits

43,979

48,783

Vehicles, net

85,693

100,088

Goodwill

30,083

—

Other assets

9,429

11,402

Total assets

195,013

225,656

Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity

Current liabilities:

Accounts payable

$

21,469

$

20,235

Accrued expenses

28,520

33,413

Deferred revenue

43,161

47,820