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DoorDash, Inc. (DASH)·Q3 2025 Earnings Summary

Executive Summary

  • Q3 2025 delivered accelerating growth and broad-based strength: Revenue rose 27% Y/Y to $3.446B, Marketplace GOV up 25% Y/Y to $25.0B, and Adjusted EBITDA up 41% Y/Y to $754M .
  • Results beat Wall Street on both revenue and normalized EPS; Q3 revenue of $3.446B vs consensus ~$3.3569B, and normalized EPS of $1.278 vs ~$1.250; GAAP diluted EPS was $0.55* (S&P Global; company-reported GAAP EPS) *.
  • Q4 2025 guidance implies continued momentum: Marketplace GOV $28.9–$29.5B and Adjusted EBITDA $710–$810M; Deliveroo expected to contribute ~$45M to Q4 Adjusted EBITDA and ~$200M in 2026 .
  • Management emphasized a multi-year investment step-up in 2026 (global AI-native tech platform, autonomy, DashMart Fulfillment Services), citing strong core business unit economics and IRR discipline as catalysts for durable growth .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

  • Strong demand and engagement: MAUs, average order frequency, and average order values drove GOV acceleration; Net Revenue Margin rose to 13.8% on higher ads contribution and lower credits and Dasher costs .
  • Profitability expansion: Adjusted EBITDA grew to $754M (3.0% of GOV) and GAAP gross profit rose to $1.689B (6.8% of GOV), showing operating leverage .
  • Strategic platform progress and AI-native roadmap: “We’re building a single global tech stack… make it AI native… ship faster and be more efficient,” positioning for global feature velocity and cost efficiencies .

What Went Wrong

  • GAAP net income declined Q/Q to $244M from $285M due to higher legal/tax/regulatory and transaction-related costs despite healthy Y/Y growth .
  • New verticals unit economics remain negative (though improving Q/Q and Y/Y), highlighting continued investment needs to reach break-even .
  • International orders growth decelerated slightly due to slower average order frequency growth, even as unit economics hit all-time highs .

Financial Results

Core financials (actuals)

MetricQ3 2024Q1 2025Q2 2025Q3 2025
Revenue ($USD Billions)$2.706 $3.032 $3.284 $3.446
Diluted EPS ($USD)$0.38 $0.44 $0.65 $0.55
Net Revenue Margin %13.5% 13.1% 13.5% 13.8%
Gross Margin % (of revenue)47.4% 51.9% 49.0% 49.0%
Adjusted EBITDA ($USD Millions)$533 $590 $655 $754
GAAP Net Income ($USD Millions)$162 $193 $285 $244

KPIs and operating metrics

MetricQ3 2024Q1 2025Q2 2025Q3 2025
Total Orders (Millions)643 732 761 776
Marketplace GOV ($USD Billions)$20.002 $23.076 $24.244 $25.015
Contribution Profit ($USD Millions)$930 $1,020 $1,147 $1,268
Contribution Margin %34.4% 33.6% 34.9% 36.8%
GAAP Gross Profit ($USD Billions)$1.283 $1.478 $1.608 $1.689
Cash from Operations ($USD Millions)—$635 $504 $871
Free Cash Flow ($USD Millions)—$494 $355 $723
Weighted-Average Diluted Shares (Millions)428 436 438 442

Guidance Changes

MetricPeriodPrevious GuidanceCurrent GuidanceChange
Marketplace GOV ($USD Billions)Q4 2025—$28.9 – $29.5 New
Adjusted EBITDA ($USD Millions)Q4 2025—$710 – $810 New
Stock-based Compensation ($USD Billions)FY 2025$1.0 – $1.1 ~$1.1 Maintained (tightened toward high end)
Depreciation & Amortization ($USD Millions)FY 2025$660 – $700 ~$700 (excl. Deliveroo intangible amort.) Raised to high end
Deliveroo Contribution to Adjusted EBITDA ($USD Millions)Q4 2025—~$45 New
Deliveroo Contribution to Adjusted EBITDA ($USD Millions)FY 2026—~$200 New
Deliveroo EBITDA definition alignment impact ($USD Millions)FY 2026—reduces reported Adjusted EBITDA by ~$32–$40 New disclosure

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

TopicPrevious Mentions (Q1 & Q2)Current Period (Q3)Trend
Global AI-native tech platformPlan began in 2024; focus on scaling global product dev and consistency “Single global tech stack… AI native… ship faster and be more efficient; major investments in 2026” Acceleration and 2026 investment step-up
Autonomy & multi-modal fulfillmentEarly autonomy vision, logistics efficiency improving Pragmatic “Autonomous Delivery Platform,” commercialization targeted for 2026; DashMart Fulfillment Services to drive near-perfect accuracy From pilots to commercialization path
New Verticals (retail/grocery)Growing usage; cohort retention improves; order frequency up; unit economics improving Unit economics still negative but improved Q/Q and Y/Y; strong growth across pets, electronics, health/beauty, home improvement Scaling with improving economics
International operationsOrders growth well above US; Wolt+ members more than doubled; unit economics improving Unit economics at all-time highs; Y/Y orders growth slowed slightly on frequency but GOV strong Healthy profitability; mixed order frequency
AdvertisingContribution to Net Revenue Margin uptick “Fastest ads business to $1B annualized revenues”; discipline to balance ROAS with consumer experience Scaling with discipline

Management Commentary

  • “We’re building a single global tech stack… make it AI native… we’ll ship faster and be more efficient and… free up engineering capacity.” — Tony Xu (CEO) .
  • “If the GOV is coming in ahead of expectations… unit economics improving… our philosophy has always been to reinvest back in the business… thinking in terms of IRR.” — Ravi Inukonda (CFO) .
  • “DashMart Fulfillment Services… manage inventory systems end-to-end… near-perfect accuracy… turn every physical retailer into an omnichannel player.” — Tony Xu .
  • “Ads business is growing quite nicely… our goal is to reinvest back in the business at healthy rates.” — Ravi Inukonda .

Q&A Highlights

  • 2026 investment sizing and focus: Several hundred million incremental spend targeted to global tech platform (AI-native), autonomy, and new product areas; CFO expects existing business EBITDA margin up slightly in 2026 excluding Deliveroo .
  • Deliveroo integration and contribution: ~$45M Adjusted EBITDA in Q4’25 and ~$200M in 2026; longer-term cost efficiencies as teams consolidate; EBITDA definition alignment reduces reported 2026 by ~$32–$40M .
  • Autonomy commercialization: 2026 targeted commercialization; multi-modal approach (Dashers, robots, drones, Waymo) to optimize quality/cost/service .
  • DashMart Fulfillment Services: End-to-end fulfillment and inventory control envisioned to materially raise accuracy and support same-hour/day delivery use cases .
  • Advertising scale: Fastest to $1B annualized; disciplined to avoid consumer experience degradation while monetizing .

Estimates Context

  • Q3 2025 beat on revenue and normalized EPS; Q2 2025 beat; Q1 2025 revenue miss but normalized EPS beat. Company-reported GAAP diluted EPS is shown in Financial Results; normalized EPS below reflects S&P Global consensus and actuals.
MetricQ1 2025 (Actual vs Cons.)Q2 2025 (Actual vs Cons.)Q3 2025 (Actual vs Cons.)Q4 2025 (Consensus)
Revenue ($USD Billions)$3.032 vs $3.094 → miss*$3.284 vs $3.164 → beat*$3.446 vs $3.3569 → beat*$3.992*
Normalized EPS ($USD)1.073 vs 0.967 → beat*1.410 vs 1.072 → beat*1.278 vs 1.250 → beat*1.335*

Values retrieved from S&P Global.*

Key Takeaways for Investors

  • Momentum intact: Accelerating GOV/Orders and expanding contribution margins underpin durable growth into Q4’25; guidance implies continued strength .
  • Profitability scaling: Adjusted EBITDA rose to $754M with margin at 3.0% of GOV; gross profit up 32% Y/Y, indicating operating leverage .
  • Investment cycle ahead: 2026 step-up in AI-native global platform, autonomy, and DashMart Fulfillment Services may pressure near-term expenses but should raise feature velocity and efficiency longer term .
  • Deliveroo synergy: Immediate EBITDA contribution, with longer-term accounting alignment and cost efficiencies; watch 2026 EBITDA alignment impact ($32–$40M) on reported figures .
  • Ads as margin lever: Ads contribution boosted Net Revenue Margin; management prioritizes sustainable monetization without harming UX .
  • New verticals path: Still negative unit economics but improving; scaling selection/accuracy should support eventual break-even and free cash flow growth .
  • Trading lens: Near-term catalysts include Q4 guide delivery, autonomy pilots (Waymo) and DashMart fulfillment scaling; monitor legal/regulatory expense variability and FX/geopolitical risks highlighted by management .