DoorDash revenue jumps 36% to $4.45B as R&D costs hit EPS

DoorDash reported Q2 revenue of $4.45 billion, up 36% and beating consensus, but earnings of 46 cents missed estimates on surging R&D costs.

"The core restaurant business performed on all cylinders with accelerated growth and improving economics," Chief Financial Officer Ravi Imakonda said on the earnings call.

Metric	Actual	Consensus	Beat/Miss
Revenue	$4.45B	$4.32B	+3.08%
EPS	$0.46	$0.50	-8%
Adjusted EBITDA	$914M	$842M	+8.5%

Total orders climbed 27% to 970 million, while marketplace gross order value advanced 36% to $33.08 billion. Excluding the Deliveroo acquisition, revenue rose 24% to $4.07 billion and orders grew 17%. Adjusted gross margin expanded to 54.2% from 52.2%, and contribution margin improved to 36.8% from 34.9%.

The earnings miss traced to a 52% jump in GAAP research and development spending to $535 million, plus $98 million in legal, tax and regulatory settlements. GAAP net income fell 30% to $200 million. Adjusted EBITDA rose 39.5% to $914 million, exceeding management's expectations, with free cash flow more than doubling to $742 million.

DoorDash guided third-quarter adjusted EBITDA of $950 million to $1.10 billion, above the $978 million analysts modeled, with marketplace GOV of $33 billion to $34 billion. Management expects margins to improve sequentially in Q3 before softening in Q4 on seasonal Dasher costs, higher insurance expenses and investment in its global technology platform and autonomy initiatives.

The company's autonomous delivery push is central to the spending. Its Dot robot is expanding across markets, and DoorDash recently secured Part 135 air carrier certification from the Federal Aviation Administration for drone testing. U.S. paid DashPass membership added more subscribers in the past 12 months than the prior 24 months combined, while international growth accelerated with Deliveroo.

Shares closed up 1.2% at $207.50 before slipping in after-hours trading. DoorDash repurchased 6.8 million shares for $1.05 billion through Aug. 5, with $3.95 billion remaining under authorization.

The mixed print leaves DoorDash trading on expectations of sustained expansion in restaurant delivery and newer verticals such as grocery and convenience. Investors will watch the Q3 report in early November for whether the promised sequential margin improvement materializes before the flagged fourth-quarter step-down.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.