DoorDash stock drops with release of Q4 earnings

DoorDash saw its total orders increase by 23% year over year to 574 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, while its gross order value also jumped by 22% to $17.6 billion, the company reported Thursday.

Revenue was also up 27% from the same time last year to $2.3 billion, and its GAAP net loss was down to $156 million, a substantial decline from the $642 million reported in the fourth quarter of 2022. 

Despite the positive returns, DoorDash stock dropped in after-hours trading by about 10%.

“Throughout the year, we invested aggressively to improve our offerings and launched new products and features that expanded our potential in local commerce,” the company said in a press release prior to the earnings call. “We are proud that our innovation and investment helped generate nearly $50 billion in sales for local merchants and over $15 billion in earnings for more than 7 million Dashers in 2023. 

“At the same time, we grew Marketplace GOV by 25% year-over-year (Y/Y) in 2023 to $66.8 billion, with improvements to our unit economics and fixed cost leverage. We are incredibly proud of our team's progress.”

The company said the outlook for 2024 will continue to focus on building tools to solve problems for consumers, merchants, and employees. 

Monthly active users reached an all-time high of 37 million in December 2023, up five million users from the year prior. 

DoorDash CEO Tony Xu said during the earnings call that the non-restaurant delivery side of the business is growing steadily and that more than 20% of customers are using DoorDash in the non-restaurant category for the first time. The company noted in its earnings statement that more than 100,000 new merchants joined the DoorDash marketplace in 2023, and the company now has more than 150,000 non-restaurant merchants. 

“I mean, we're now north of 100,000-plus stores that are outside of restaurants that are on our platform, which, you know, we estimate to be the largest in North America,” he said. “More and more grocery retailers are coming inbound. And then similarly, more and more consumers are shopping for the first time in the grocery category on DoorDash even ahead of restaurants.”

Making grocery a priority has “paid off really well,” he said. 

“I mean, we see it every day in the numbers in terms of growth, retention, as well as improvements in unit economics. But look, it's a long way to go. I mean, we're three years into it, where we went from zero to multibillion which we're excited about, but I think it's just the beginning,” Xu added.