The world being created by ridesharing services is one of aggressive corporate expansion political action payments development socio-economic uncertainty and gig economy growth Now comes the real fun theater and drama Anyone interested in payments and commerce already knows that the two main rivals in that space Uber and Lyft were headed toward an initial public offering IPO Fresh information has now painted a more detailed picture of those expected moves Recent Wall Street proposals value Uber at up to 120 billion in an IPO widely expected to take place in early 2019 according to The Wall Street Journal WSJ That report noted such a figure is twice as high as Ubers valuation in a fundraising round two months ago and more than the combined value of General Motors Ford and Fiat Chrysler Such optimism comes as Uber under new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi polishes a brand and company reputation that was tarnished by workplace sexual harassment claims and accusations of stolen trade secrets from Google s parent company As for Lyft it has reportedly given JPMorgan Chase the job of leading the ridesharing providers IPO according to CNBC JPMorgan will not be a part of Ubers IPO after selecting to lead Lyfts offering an unnamed source told the publication It quoted a source who said that Lyfts value could be more than 15 billion The Lyft IPO would also supposedly happen in early 2019 though it would happen before Ubers reports said Ridesharing Revenue Lyft lost 254 million in the third quarter of 2018 compared to 195 million in the same period from a year earlier according to WSJ Q3 revenue meanwhile increased about 88 percent year over year to 563 million Uber has yet to report Q3 financials but the companys Q2 revenue increased 63 percent from the prior year to 28 billion Uber narrowed its loss to 891 million in the second quarter from 11 billion a year ago Nothing of course guarantees those big numbers will translate into reality As PYMNTS recently noted as far as new issues on the public markets go it may not matter that the red ink is building up A recent report found that 83 percent of IPOs through 2018 to date have been with firms that lost money through the year that predated their IPOs That percentage marks the highest tally in 38 years The previous peak was 2000 which showed 81 percent of firms that came to market that year had lost money More Players An important factor in the anticipated ridesharing IPOs is the increasing competition in the expanding space according to several observers and reports Earlier this month for instance Waze Carpool the Google-owned app that connects people with rides said the service was now available nationwide Waze Carpool said it has 110 million monthly active users MAUs globally Users of Waze can join Waze Carpool as a driver rider or both Drivers can drive up to four people or leave their car at home Employees and employers can get other workers to participate in carpools and team up with Waze Carpool to get a month of free rides for everyone at the company Waze said the app will also be available at 50 Amazon fulfillment centers The company is also crafting deals with cities businesses transit agencies and civic organizations Just outside the Uber and Lyft ridesharing ecosystem other companies are experimenting with providing more automotive options beyond traditional ownership rentals or leasing As detailed in a recently PYMNTS research report on subscription commerce some major automakers are using the subscription model to get consumers behind the wheel granting them access mileage insurance and other costs for a monthly fee That includes all types of vehicles both luxury and not-so-glamorous Canvas Fords vehicle subscription service offers subscribers access to a selection of used Ford vehicles for example The two main ways to get into a vehicle today are short-term options like ridesharing or renting by the day or hour and long-term commitments like leases and loans Canvas CEO Ned Ryan told PYMNTS There isnt anything in between We wanted to create a simple and easy way to get into a vehicle somewhere in between those two worlds The impact if any that this might have on the anticipated Uber and Lyft IPOs is unclear However all these developments just add more energy to this new automotive world as two ridesharing giants prepare to go public