Opinion: Lyft’s giant earnings misstatement proves Wall Street should cut out the jargon

Lyft’s fourth-quarter record and rosy outlook were marred Tuesday by what turned out to be a gigantic error in the company’s press release, a mistake that probably could have been avoided if the company had avoided Wall’s dreaded jargon Street.

Lyft LYFT initially set a target that called for 500 basis points (5%) of adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, or amortization (Ebitda) margin growth. Lyft reported a 1.6% margin on the metric in 2023, so 500 basis points of expected growth would suggest a 6.6%…