DoorDash, Inc.

DoorDash runs an online marketplace that connects consumers with restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores, and other retailers for on-demand delivery and pickup. Merchants pay commissions, consumers pay delivery and service fees, and advertisers pay for placement on the platform. DoorDash also earns subscription revenue from its DashPass membership program and, internationally, through Wolt. S6S8

Revenue hit $13.7 billion in 2025, up 28% year over year, following 24% growth in 2024. S6 U.S. revenue was $11.5 billion and international revenue was $2.3 billion. S8 That is a business growing fast at meaningful scale.

Profitability arrived in a real way this year. Operating income was $723 million, compared to an operating loss of $38 million in 2024. S6 Net income was $935 million, up from $123 million in 2024. S6S9 GAAP gross margin improved to 48.7%, up from 46.4% in 2024. S6 Adjusted EBITDA reached $2.8 billion, up 46% year over year. S6

Operating cash flow was $2.4 billion, up 14% year over year. Free cash flow was $1.8 billion (roughly flat versus 2024). S6 The company has $4.38 billion in cash and equivalents, plus $1.1 billion in short-term investments and $837 million in long-term investments, for total liquidity of roughly $6.3 billion. S6

The debt picture deserves attention. DoorDash issued $2.75 billion in 0% convertible notes due May 2030. S8 The conversion price is approximately $292 per share, and as of December 31, 2025, the stock traded at $226.48, so the notes are currently out of the money. S8 There is also an $800 million revolving credit facility, fully undrawn, with $61 million in letters of credit outstanding. S5S9

Stock-based compensation was $1.05 billion in 2025, down slightly from $1.099 billion in 2024. S9 That is large relative to revenue but trending in the right direction. The company authorized a $5.0 billion share repurchase program in February 2025, but as of December 31, 2025, zero shares were repurchased under that program. S9 No dividends were paid and none are expected. S5 The weighted-average diluted share count grew from 393 million in 2023 to 430 million in 2024 to 440 million in 2025, meaning buybacks have not yet offset dilution from stock compensation. S6

The company carries $5.52 billion in goodwill, a 137% increase from $2.3 billion at year-end 2024, driven almost entirely by 2025 acquisitions. S8 Accumulated deficit stands at $4.3 billion reflecting years of prior losses. S6

Business segments: DoorDash does not formally break out separate reportable segments, but it operates two primary marketplace platforms: the U.S. DoorDash Marketplace and the international Wolt Marketplace (now also including Deliveroo, acquired in October 2025). U.S. revenue of $11.5 billion remains the dominant business; international revenue of $2.3 billion is smaller but growing rapidly with the Deliveroo addition contributing $347 million in revenue just for the October to December 2025 period. S8

Better, meaningfully so. The shift from a $38 million operating loss in 2024 to $723 million in operating income in 2025 is not a rounding error. S6 Gross margin expanded 230 basis points. S6 Contribution margin expanded from 32.4% to 35.3%. S6 Adjusted EBITDA grew 46% while revenue grew 28%, meaning profitability is growing faster than the top line. S6

Order volumes and marketplace gross order value (GOV) are both accelerating. Total orders grew 23% in 2025 after 20% in 2024. S6 Marketplace GOV grew 27% to $102 billion after 20% growth in 2024. S6 These are not signs of a business slowing down.

The remaining challenge is cash conversion. Free cash flow was $1.8 billion but flat versus 2024 even as operating cash flow rose 14%, because the company deployed $4.2 billion in acquisitions. S6 The goodwill balance nearly doubled in one year, creating integration and impairment risk going forward. International operations are still loss-making (Deliveroo alone lost $49 million in its first partial quarter under DoorDash ownership). S8 And the share count keeps creeping up despite the buyback authorization sitting unused. But the core domestic business is clearly generating strong and expanding profits.

• DoorDash competes directly with Uber Eats, Amazon, Prosus, Delivery Hero, and local delivery incumbents in markets around the world. Management acknowledges these competitors have greater financial resources in some cases. S2
• The company's core competitive advantage is U.S. market share leadership and the scale of its Dasher network, which allows faster, more reliable delivery. Internationally, Wolt was already a leading player in Europe and the Middle East before DoorDash acquired it, and Deliveroo adds significant reach in the UK and other markets. S6S8
• Switching costs are low. Consumers, merchants, and Dashers can and do use multiple platforms simultaneously. Management explicitly acknowledges this risk. S2
• Uber filed a lawsuit in February 2025 alleging anticompetitive practices by DoorDash in California, adding litigation risk on top of competitive pressure. S4

CEO and Chairman Tony Xu holds 55% of total voting power as of December 31, 2025, and that figure could rise to 63% if all co-founder equity awards vest and are exchanged. S5 He also holds an irrevocable proxy over the Class B shares of co-founders Fang and Tang, giving him effective unilateral control of all major shareholder votes. S5 The multi-class structure (Class A at 1 vote, Class B at 20 votes, Class C at 0 votes) ensures this dynamic persists. S5 For investors, this means Xu runs the company; external shareholders have very limited ability to influence governance.

Xu's compensation includes a CEO performance award of 10.4 million RSUs tied to stock price targets. The first two tranches (1.04 million shares total) vested in 2025 after the stock hit targets of $187.60 and $226.80 per share. S9 No CFO transition or board-level leadership changes were flagged in the filing. Leadership appears stable.

• International expansion via acquisition: The $3.7 billion Deliveroo deal (completed October 2025) and continued Wolt integration signal a deliberate push to build a global logistics and local commerce platform, not just a U.S. delivery app. Management is absorbing short-term losses to build international scale. S8S9
• Category expansion beyond restaurants: Grocery, convenience, retail, and advertising are described as early-stage growth opportunities. The SevenRooms acquisition (a restaurant management software company, bought for $1.15 billion) signals ambitions to go deeper into merchant software and services, not just delivery. S8
• AI and technology investment: A 2025 multi-year global technology platform initiative is underway, described as carrying "direct and opportunity costs in the near term." R&D spending rose 23% to $1.4 billion in 2025. S3S6 Management is betting that AI-driven routing, personalization, and merchant tools will widen the operational moat.
• DashPass and advertising monetization: Advertising spend on the platform grew by $278 million in 2025. S6 As the platform matures, management is leaning on ads and subscription revenue as higher-margin revenue streams to improve overall unit economics.

• MEDGoodwill jumped 137% in one year to $5.52 billion, almost entirely from three acquisitions totaling over $4 billion in cash. S8 None of the goodwill from Deliveroo, SevenRooms, or Symbiosys is tax-deductible. S8 If international growth disappoints or integration struggles, impairment charges could be material.
• MED$2.75 billion in 0% convertible notes are due May 2030, with cash settlement required upon conversion. S5S8 At today's stock price ($226.48 versus $292 conversion price), dilution is not imminent, but if the stock rises significantly, the company must pay out at least principal in cash, pressuring liquidity. S8 The company also has $5.3 billion in non-cancelable technology purchase commitments through 2030. S9
• MEDStock-based compensation was $1.05 billion in 2025, roughly 8% of revenue, and $1.9 billion in unrecognized SBC expense remains to be recognized over about 2.3 years. S9 The share count is rising even with a $5 billion buyback authorization that has seen zero dollars deployed. S6S9
• MEDDasher classification risk is material and active. A Finnish court ruled Wolt couriers are employees in May 2025. S3 The EU Platform Work Directive entered force in December 2024. S3 A California payroll tax audit from 2023 remains unresolved with an accrued liability. S9 Reclassification at scale would fundamentally alter the cost structure.
• LOWLitigation reserves increased 64% in one year to $263 million. S8 No single case appears existential, but the direction is worth monitoring.

DoorDash has crossed a meaningful threshold: it is now a profitable, large-scale business generating nearly $1 billion in net income and $2.8 billion in adjusted EBITDA on $13.7 billion in revenue, with both growing fast. S6 The bet an investor needs to make is that management can successfully integrate a wave of expensive international acquisitions (especially Deliveroo) and expand margins globally the way it has in the U.S., while navigating real regulatory risk around gig worker classification. If international execution matches domestic, this is a compounding growth story; if acquisitions drag and regulatory costs rise, the valuation will need to come down to match a slower-growing, more expensive-to-operate business.