DoorDash forecasts upbeat quarterly order value as delivery demand stays firm

By Angela Christy M

Feb 18 (Reuters) - Food delivery company DoorDash DASH.O forecast first-quarter marketplace gross order value above Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, buoyed by steady demand and aggressive expansion across grocery, retail and international markets.

Shares of the company jumped nearly 14% after the bell, reversing earlier losses that followed a muted profit outlook.

DoorDash expects marketplace GOV, or the total dollar value of orders placed through its platform, in the range of $31 billion to $31.8 billion in the current quarter, above estimates of $29.61 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The California-based company has benefited from consumers' appetite for convenience, with orders rising 32% during the quarter from a year earlier.

That follows similar trends at Uber UBER.N, which earlier this month recorded a surge in gross bookings for its delivery arm.

"DoorDash’s ability to continue drawing in new customers and encourage existing customers to order more frequently shows that the platform’s convenience proposition is resonating strongly with consumers, even with growing cost-of-living pressures," eMarketer analyst Rachel Wolff said.

DoorDash is undertaking a costly rebuild of its technology system aiming to move its brands including DoorDash, Wolt and Deliveroo onto a single platform. Executives said in November the company plans to invest several hundred million dollars in 2026 on new products and technology.

Those investments weighed on profitability, with the company forecasting first-quarter adjusted EBITDA of $675 million to $775 million, below analysts' average estimate of $798.22 million.

Competition remains intense in the online food‑delivery market, with rivals such as Instacart CART.O and Uber Eats ramping up partnerships and promotions to win market share.

DoorDash's marketplace GOV for the quarter ended December 31 jumped 39% to $29.68 billion from a year ago, surpassing estimates of $27.65 billion. It earned 48 cents per share, missing the estimate of 59 cents.