DoorDash Q2 2026 Earnings: Revenue Rises 36% as GAAP Profit Falls

DoorDash (NASDAQ: DASH) reported Q2 2026 revenue of $4.454 billion, up 36% year over year from $3.284 billion, while GAAP net income attributable to common stockholders fell 30% to $200 million from $285 million. Total orders reached 970 million, and adjusted EBITDA increased 40% to $914 million as cash generation improved substantially.

Core Financial Results

Deliveroo contributed meaningfully to DoorDash’s reported growth. Excluding the acquisition, total orders increased 17%, Marketplace GOV rose 23%, and revenue grew 24%, compared with reported growth rates of 27%, 36%, and 36%, respectively. Currency movements added less than one percentage point to Marketplace GOV growth.

Gross profit and adjusted EBITDA increased faster than revenue, but GAAP net income declined as several operating expense categories rose. Net revenue margin remained unchanged year over year at 13.5%.

Marketplace and Business Performance

Total orders increased 27% to 970 million, primarily because of consumer growth and the Deliveroo acquisition. Marketplace GOV rose 36% to $33.078 billion, supported by higher order volume and an increase in average order value.

Growth in U.S. restaurant Marketplace GOV accelerated slightly from the previous quarter, supported by DashPass membership. DoorDash added more paid U.S. DashPass members during the 12 months through Q2 2026 than it had during the preceding 24 months combined. DashPass members also placed approximately 75% of orders in the company’s U.S. grocery and retail categories during the quarter.

DoorDash said DashPass orders carry a lower gross margin percentage than non-DashPass orders because membership reduces consumer fees. Management accepts that trade-off when higher order frequency, retention, and customer lifetime value create durable gains in total profit dollars.

Internationally, Wolt’s month-three and month-six consumer cohorts increased order rates from a year earlier while improving unit economics. Deliveroo accelerated year-over-year growth in monthly active users and total orders and generated profit above DoorDash’s internal expectations for the quarter.

Merchant services also expanded. New signed venues at SevenRooms grew by more than 100% year over year, while revenue from DoorDash’s digital ordering service increased by more than 40%. The service was used by over 150,000 merchants, and reservations booked through DoorDash marketplaces rose by more than 150% sequentially.

Higher Expenses Weighed on GAAP Profit as Cash Generation Improved

The decline in GAAP net income contrasted with higher gross profit and adjusted EBITDA. Sales and marketing expense rose 35% to $821 million, driven primarily by advertising and personnel costs. Research and development expense increased 52% to $535 million because of higher personnel and third-party software expenses, while general and administrative expense rose 39% to $538 million due mainly to legal, tax, regulatory, and personnel costs.

Together, these three disclosed expense lines increased by approximately 41%, faster than revenue growth. Research and development expense also rose to 1.6% of Marketplace GOV from 1.4% a year earlier, while general and administrative expense remained at 1.6% of GOV.

Cost of revenue increased at a slower 30% rate and declined to 6.4% of Marketplace GOV from 6.7%. That operating leverage contributed to adjusted EBITDA growth and a modest improvement in adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of GOV. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure, however, and should not be treated as equivalent to GAAP net income.

Cash generation moved in the opposite direction from GAAP earnings. Operating cash flow increased to $944 million, and free cash flow more than doubled to $742 million. Year to date through August 5, DoorDash had repurchased 6.8 million Class A shares for $1.049 billion, leaving approximately $3.951 billion under its existing authorization.

Financial Outlook

For Q3 2026, DoorDash expects Marketplace GOV to remain near its Q2 level while adjusted EBITDA increases sequentially. The outlook includes the expected impact and contribution from Deliveroo and assumes relatively stable consumer demand and foreign exchange rates.

DoorDash expects adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of Marketplace GOV to increase sequentially in Q3 and then decline in Q4, following a pattern similar to the second half of 2025. Management attributed the expected Q4 decline primarily to seasonally higher Dasher costs, an annual increase in insurance expenses, and additional investment in the global technology platform and autonomous delivery initiatives.

Management’s Strategic Priorities

DoorDash is consolidating its international operations around a single global technology platform, reorganizing selected operating groups by function rather than brand, and changing capital allocation processes to account more fully for long-term consumer engagement. The company expects the new platform to be fully rolled out in the first half of 2027, after which it anticipates benefits from faster product development and lower redundancy.

Management is also increasing investment in AI-based product features and autonomous delivery. DoorDash expects its Dot ground robots to handle a high-single-digit percentage of orders in its largest test market by year-end. The company has also received Federal Aviation Administration Part 135 air carrier certification, allowing it to expand testing of integrated drone delivery, while continuing to describe Dashers as the backbone of its logistics network.

Recent Insider Transactions

The provided six-month summary shows 511,724 shares purchased across 27 transactions and 356,298 shares sold across 40 transactions, resulting in net purchases of 155,426 shares. Separately, several of the most recent reported individual transactions were sales; these records do not by themselves establish insiders’ views on DoorDash’s outlook.

Risks Investors Should Monitor

• Deliveroo integration: Deliveroo widened the gap between reported and acquisition-excluded growth. Integration and operating execution could affect revenue growth, profitability, and DoorDash’s international performance.
• Investment and expense intensity: Research and development and general and administrative expenses grew faster than revenue in Q2. Continued spending on the global platform, AI, and autonomy is also expected to contribute to a sequential decline in adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of GOV in Q4.
• Consumer demand and international exposure: The outlook assumes stable consumer demand and foreign exchange rates. Weaker spending, currency volatility, or geopolitical developments could pressure Marketplace GOV and earnings.
• Free cash flow timing: The timing of year-end merchant payments is expected to reduce reported 2026 free cash flow by $700 million to $800 million compared with the end of 2025.
• DashPass economics: Membership supports order frequency and retention but carries a lower gross margin percentage than non-DashPass orders. The economics depend on engagement and customer lifetime value remaining durable.

Summary

DoorDash’s Q2 2026 results combined rapid marketplace expansion, substantial Deliveroo contributions, higher adjusted EBITDA, and improved cash generation with lower GAAP net income and faster growth in several operating expenses. The next points to monitor are underlying growth excluding acquisitions, Deliveroo integration, the expected Q4 profitability pattern, and whether investments in membership, merchant services, international technology, AI, and autonomy produce durable economic returns.