Nikhil Devnani

Nikhil Devnani of Bernstein inquired about the composition of the strong order growth, seeking to understand the breakdown between grocery and restaurants. He also asked if the guided Q3 moderation in order growth is due solely to lapping the Uber Eats partnership or if grocery growth is also moderating.

Answer

CFO Emily Reuter emphasized that Instacart views its business as a single ecosystem where restaurants create a flywheel effect, driving more frequent grocery orders. While acknowledging that restaurants and lower basket minimums have been significant drivers of order acceleration, she clarified that the anticipated Q3 moderation is primarily due to lapping the first full quarter of the restaurant contribution. Reuter affirmed that underlying business dynamics, including MAU growth and customer retention, remain strong across the platform.

Nikhil Devnani questioned Instacart's long-term advertising strategy for smaller, 'long-tail' brands and followed up on whether the small basket orders are proving to be incremental to the business.

Answer

CEO Fidji Simo detailed the strategy for smaller brands, which includes enhanced self-serve tools, AI-driven insights, and discovery-focused ad formats like sponsored recipes and Universal Campaigns. On the follow-up, she confirmed that small basket orders are 'strongly' incremental, driving higher GTV, order frequency, and Instacart+ adoption without cannibalizing larger baskets, particularly in dense urban areas.

Nikhil Devnani asked about the unit economics of incremental orders from the reduced free delivery threshold for Instacart+ members and whether Instacart sees an opportunity to become a global enterprise solutions provider, citing the Coles Australia partnership.

Answer

CEO Fidji Simo stated that the lower minimum basket is increasing order frequency and total GTV with favorable economics due to order batching and scale. Regarding global enterprise solutions, she confirmed the potential and interest from international retailers but stressed that the primary focus remains on the large U.S. market for now.

Nikhil Devnani questioned the durability of the low double-digit GTV growth into 2025 and asked about the rationale for leaning into marketing spend during the quarter.

Answer

CEO Fidji Simo expressed confidence in sustainable growth, driven by reinvesting operational efficiencies into key initiatives like affordability, marketing, and new ventures such as restaurants and Caper. CFO Emily Maher specified that the Q3 marketing increase was an opportunistic investment tied to events like the Olympics, reflecting a flexible strategy to allocate capital between paid marketing, incentives, and pricing to achieve the highest returns.

Nikhil Devnani followed up on the strong mobility results, asking if the upside primarily stemmed from moderated insurance pressure or other network improvements like driver supply and product uptake, and how these factors might contribute into 2026. He also asked Dara Khosrowshahi about the scale and quality of real-world data Uber can contribute to AV development.

Answer

CFO Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah attributed mobility growth to trips-led expansion, a record audience of nearly 150 million users, and strong frequency, driven by both core and new product portfolios (e.g., Moto, Wait & Save, Shared Ride). He noted strong international growth in LATAM, APAC, and European summer travel in Q3. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi stated that Uber is actively collecting rideshare-specific real-world data, leveraging its network for pickups/drop-offs in common areas like stadiums and airports. He emphasized the NVIDIA partnership for scaling operations, building a robust sensor stack, and working with fleet partners and IC drivers to collect high-definition data, which is crucial for training AV models.

Nikhil Devnani inquired about the primary drivers of strong mobility results, specifically the relative contribution from insurance pressure moderation versus network improvements, driver supply, and product uptake. He also asked about the scale and quality of real-world data Uber can contribute to autonomous vehicle (AV) companies.

Answer

CFO Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah attributed strong mobility growth to trips-led expansion, a record audience of 150 million users, and increased frequency, driven by both core and new products. He noted international growth and European summer travel contributed to Q3 trips. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi detailed Uber's advantage in collecting rideshare-specific real-world data, leveraging its network, and outlined plans to scale operations with robust sensor stacks and partnerships with NVIDIA and fleet partners to accelerate AV market entry.

Nikhil Devnani asked about the expected trajectory of Mobility gross bookings deceleration and questioned if the user frequency opportunity in less dense markets is comparable to that of core urban cities.

Answer

CFO Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah advised not to expect a deceleration, as strong trip growth led by new users should continue, with pricing and mix being the main variables. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi added that new products like taxi and shared rides extend the growth runway. He conceded that mobility frequency will likely be lower in less dense areas but expects this to be offset by higher pricing and margins from products like Uber Reserve.

Nikhil Devnani of Bernstein asked about the FX impact on the Q1 EBITDA guidance and challenged whether the push for affordability would become a headwind to Mobility margins, questioning the return on lower-cost rides.

Answer

CFO Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah clarified that while FX is a top-line headwind, the company manages its operations to absorb the profit impact and deliver steady margin improvement. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi asserted that most past price increases were pass-throughs for insurance costs and expressed high confidence in meeting the company's three-year growth targets by balancing premium products with lower-cost options to drive both top and bottom-line growth.

Nikhil Devnani asked for clarification on Uber's 'partner versus buy' framework, what makes an acquisition the preferred path, and how platform diversification fits into current priorities.

Answer

CFO Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah reiterated that the top priority is organic investment, followed by returning capital to shareholders via buybacks, with a very high bar for M&A. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi explained that Uber partners when it cannot add unique value or when a partner has a singular focus, like in AV. Uber pursues adjacencies where it can leverage its expertise in real-time logistics, pricing, and matching. He emphasized a preference for building organically first before considering acquisitions.

Nikhil Devnani inquired about eBay's margins, noting that strong growth isn't fully translating into margin upside, and asked for details on incremental investments, distinguishing between pull-forward fixed costs and persistent variable expenses.

Answer

CFO Peggy Alford explained the balance between driving long-term growth and flowing upside to the bottom line. She detailed incremental investments in product development for strategic initiatives like eBay Live, shipping solutions, and the vehicles business, while also noting marketing efficiencies and fluctuations in transaction losses.

Nikhil Devnani inquired about why strong growth isn't translating into margin upside, the nature of incremental investments, and the ramp in product development expenses.

Answer

CFO Peggy Alford explained that eBay is balancing long-term growth with bottom-line upside, noting 9% operating profit growth in Q3. She specified investments in product development for strategic initiatives like eBay Live, shipping solutions (CBT roadmap), and the vehicles business, which are expected to benefit growth next year and beyond. She also mentioned marketing efficiencies, lower G&A, and increased transaction losses from the UK managed shipping program and fraud.

Nikhil Devnani of Bernstein asked about the durability of the strong double-digit growth in the trading cards category and whether consistent GMV growth would lead to natural operating leverage and margin expansion.

Answer

President & CEO Jamie Iannone explained that trading card growth is not linear and depends on release cycles, but platform improvements support long-term potential. CFO Peggy Alford added that the company focuses on balancing top-line growth and bottom-line margins, noting that GMV growth is the key driver of operating leverage and healthy margins, with a goal of maximizing operating income dollars.

Nikhil Devnani from Bernstein Research asked about the potential impact of tariffs on advertising revenue from China-based merchants and the overall durability of the ad business.

Answer

CEO Jamie Iannone stated that there has been no material impact on advertising revenue to date. He emphasized the strong and distributed demand for ad products, with over 3.7 million sellers adopting them and 1.1 billion listings being promoted. Iannone expressed confidence in the ongoing opportunity, citing broad-based strength across various ad products like Promoted Listings General and promoted offsite ads.

Nikhil Devnani asked if the 'healthier trends' observed in Germany were purely top-line or if profitability had also improved. He also inquired about any quantifiable improvements in GMV conversion rates resulting from recent marketplace enhancements.

Answer

CEO Jamie Iannone confirmed that the improvements in Germany are related to both top-line growth and profitability, noting that the business has been successfully remonetized through ads and cross-border trade. Regarding conversion, he did not provide a specific metric but reiterated his belief that 'GMV follows CSAT,' pointing to the 20-point CSAT increase in Germany and in focus categories as the leading indicator of improved business health and growth.

Nikhil Devnani of Bernstein asked for a follow-up on the OpenAI theme, specifically addressing longer-term investor concerns about buyer retention, direct traffic, and the impact on core profit pools like on-site ads, seeking Etsy's risk-reward evaluation of such partnerships.

Answer

CEO Josh Silverman expressed confidence in Etsy's unique value proposition and brand importance, believing agentic commerce will highlight Etsy's offerings and complement app usage. He emphasized Etsy's early adopter position allows them to shape the experience and economics. President and Chief Growth Officer Kruti Patel Goyal added that showing up where consumers discover creates a virtuous cycle for the brand.

Nikhil Devnani followed up on the OpenAI theme, expressing investor concerns about longer-term buyer retention, direct traffic, and core profit pools for businesses like Etsy with on-site ads. He asked how Etsy evaluated the risk-reward of this partnership.

Answer

CEO Josh Silverman asserted that Etsy's unique value proposition and strong brand instill confidence in buyers, making the Etsy brand prominent in agentic experiences. He believes customer behavior changes slowly, and both app usage and agentic shopping will be complementary. President and Chief Growth Officer Kruti Patel Goyal added that showing up where consumers discover, including through agentic channels, creates a virtuous cycle that reinforces the Etsy brand.

Nikhil Devnani asked if the decline in active buyers was related to the simultaneous decline in active sellers, questioning if marketplace cleanup efforts were negatively impacting network effects.

Answer

CEO Josh Silverman clarified the decline in active sellers was an intended result of a new shop setup fee, which has improved the quality and success rate of remaining sellers. He attributed the active buyer decline to macroeconomic pressures on discretionary spending, not a failure of the marketplace, noting buyer count remains near its pandemic-era peak. CFO Lanny Baker added that habitual buyer GMS remains stable at around 42% of total GMS.

Nikhil Devnani from Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., LLC questioned Etsy's optimal long-term margin level, asking if the company would consider trading margin for growth, citing the successful investment in Depop as a potential model.

Answer

CEO Josh Silverman stated the goal is to grow market cap, balancing profitability and growth. He emphasized a data-driven approach, wanting to see ROI from current foundational investments before leaning more into hiring. He also highlighted Depop's strong performance (over 30% GMS growth) as validation of the portfolio strategy.

Nikhil Devnani questioned the surprising strength and durability of new U.S. customer cohorts and asked about the outlook for net revenue margin expansion in the second half of the year.

Answer

CEO & Chair Tony Xu expressed he was not surprised by the new customer growth, citing the vast market of daily consumption occasions and continuous product improvements. He emphasized that DoorDash is still a small percentage of total occasions. CFO Ravi Inukonda added that growth is driven by both larger new and existing cohorts and rising order frequency. On margins, he confirmed the Q2 take rate increase was expected due to seasonal Dasher costs, quality improvements, and ads mix, and projected that the second-half take rate would be higher than the first half.

Nikhil Devnani questioned how the acquisitions of Deliveroo and 7 Rooms might alter DoorDash's long-term EBITDA algorithm and earnings power for 2025 and 2026, considering the potential for increased investment.

Answer

CFO Ravi Inukonda stated that the company's core philosophy of growing the business while increasing profit dollars remains unchanged. He emphasized that DoorDash will continue to invest behind strength to improve unit economics, drive scale, and maximize long-term profit dollar growth, applying the same formula to the new acquisitions.

Nikhil Devani asked about U.S. new verticals, focusing on the level of repeat customer behavior and the long-term outlook for profitability per order compared to the core restaurant business.

Answer

CFO Ravi Inukonda responded that customers are showing strong repeat engagement, ordering across categories and increasing their monthly spend. On profitability, he reiterated the focus is on scaling the business and growing absolute profit dollars, noting that unit economics in new verticals improved in 2024 and the category is expected to be a significant long-term profit driver.

Nikhil Devnani inquired about DoorDash's international business, asking if cohort contribution margins are maturing similarly to the U.S. and about the extent of fixed cost leverage achievable across multiple countries.

Answer

CEO Tony Xu confirmed that international markets are showing similar positive top-line and bottom-line progress as the U.S. did, driven by a strong product focus on retention and frequency. He also noted that fixed cost leverage is being realized through shared technology and know-how. CFO Ravi Inukonda added that the international business is gross profit positive, gaining share, and that while scale drives leverage, the company is still in an early investment phase for product development.

Nikhil Devnani inquired about Lyft's investment plans for Europe post-FreeNow and whether Lyft could become part of other large subscription bundles beyond the DoorDash partnership.

Answer

CEO David Risher and CFO Erin Brewer reiterated that FreeNow is a growth-focused acquisition that will not require significant capital investment, focusing instead on bringing the large offline taxi market online. On subscriptions, Risher expressed strong interest, stating that Lyft is a natural fit for broader consumer ecosystems. He noted any partnership must be economically beneficial for all parties and provide real value to customers.

Nikhil Devnani from Bernstein asked for more detail on Lyft's Q1 pricing decisions, specifically on the trade-off between retaining market share and protecting margins, and how driver supply flexibility influences this strategy.

Answer

CEO David Risher emphasized that Lyft is a scale business and that growing rides is a primary goal as it improves the entire ecosystem. He framed the strategy not as a share retention trade-off but as capitalizing on the best service platform they've ever had. CFO Erin Brewer added that the business is run for the long term, maintaining marketplace balance is key, and the Q1 guidance still reflects approximately 40% year-over-year growth in adjusted EBITDA margin, demonstrating a continued focus on profitability.