Ride-hailing app Lyft Inc. on Thursday offered up a second-quarter forecast for a key demand metric that came in slightly above Wall Street's expectations, and its board approved an increase to its stock buyback plans based on what it characterized as strong demand.

Shares rose more than 18% in premarket trading on Thursday.

The company released its financials as analysts look for details on the impact of the Trump administration's trade war on consumer spending. Lyft's results also arrived a day after its much bigger rival, Uber Technologies Inc., reported first-quarter results that may have caused some investor apprehension.

For the second quarter, Lyft forecast gross bookings - or the total dollar value of transactions on the platform - of around $4.41 billion to $4.57 billion. The midpoint of that forecast was a bit above the $4.48 billion expected by analysts.

Lyft forecast ride growth in the mid-teens-percentage range year over year. The company also said it was increasing its share repurchase program to $750 million.

Lyft reported first-quarter earnings per share of 1 cent, based on generally accepted accounting principles. Wall Street was expecting a 1-cent per-share loss.

Revenue of $1.45 billion was a bit below estimates for $1.47 billion. Gross bookings for the first quarter were $4.16 billion, just above forecasts for $4.15 billion.

By comparison, Uber's stock is still up around 37% over that period. Andrew Rocco, a stock strategist at Zacks, said Uber had "solidified" its position as the ride-share leader, and that its push into businesses like food delivery and freight gave it more ways to bring in sales.

"Lyft, with operations focused primarily on ride-sharing, remains more exposed to market volatility," he said in emailed commentary.

"The looming question for both companies is whether they can successfully adapt to the coming robotaxi revolution - or if they will be cut out of the market."

He noted that toward that end, Uber had partnered with chip-maker Nvidia Corp., Volkswagen and autonomous-driving tech company Momenta. Lyft, meanwhile, has partnered with Mobileye and other companies, with plans to add some autonomous-vehicle rides starting this summer.

Lyft has been trying to do more to attract drivers, who are spending more hours on the platform, and serve commuters. The company believes that around a third of riders use the platform to get to their job. Uber, meanwhile, wants to offer more rides in the suburbs.