Lyft, the popular ride-sharing company, experienced a rollercoaster ride in the stock market after an unforeseen error led to a significant misstatement of its profit margins. On Tuesday, shortly after the closing bell, Lyft's shares skyrocketed by as much as 67% as the company issued a mistakenly optimistic outlook projecting a 500 basis points expansion in margins.

However, the euphoria was short-lived as less than an hour later, Lyft issued a correction, admitting that the initial estimate was way off the mark. The real margin expansion was actually only 50 basis points, which is half a percentage point. The error was described by Erin Brewer, Lyft's CFO, as a "clerical error" during an earnings call.

The embarrassing mistake left industry experts and analysts stunned, with Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives remarking, "For Lyft, this was a Ted Striker Airplane Moment and a debacle mistake that will be spoken about in Street circles for years to come. In decades on the Street, I've never seen anything like it, a black eye moment for Lyft."

Lyft's CEO, David Risher, quickly took responsibility for the error during an appearance on CNBC the following day. He acknowledged that it was a serious mistake, stating, "Look, it was a bad error, and that's on me."

The error was discovered during the earnings call when Wall Street analysts scrutinized Lyft's strong margins. Risher recounted how a Lyft employee's jaw dropped when she realized the mistake. As news of the correction spread, Lyft's shares quickly reversed their course, erasing much of the earlier gains during after-hours trading.

Despite the misstep, Lyft reported impressive earnings that surpassed expectations. The corrected earnings report showed positive results, leading to a 30% increase in Lyft's shares on Wednesday afternoon.

The repercussions of this blunder will likely be discussed for a long time in financial circles, with Lyft's reputation taking a hit. It serves as a reminder of the importance of accurate financial reporting and the potential impact of even the smallest mistakes.