Published - February 17, 2023 @ 11:44 AM (EET)

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As consumers spend more on deliveries of food and house essentials, DoorDash (NYSE:DASH) reported revenue of $1.82 billion, up 40% year-over-year, during Thursday's fourth-quarter earnings results.

The better-than-expected results sent shares climbing 6% in after-hours trading, a sign that demand for takeout remains strong.

The company said it ended the year with a record 32 million users and that its subscription service DashPass now has more than 15 million users. In addition, total orders on the app grew 27% to 467 million.

Still, the company reported a net loss of $642 million, compared with a loss of $155 million a year earlier and analysts' average estimated loss of $265 million. 

DoorDash attributed the fourth-quarter loss to charges from its acquisition of food delivery company Wolt and stock-based payouts related to the 1,250 jobs cuts last November.

EARNINGS FORECAST

Looking ahead, Doordash expects adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization of $120 million to $170 million in the first quarter, exceeding Wall Street estimates of the $129.7 million midpoint range.

 Elsewhere, the company sees marketplace gross order volume between $15.1 billion and $15.5 billion, beating expectations for $14.6 billion.

Even though inflation is squeezing budgets and the economic outlook has soured, consumers are spending, and the prospects for improving profit at DoorDash may be a bright spot for investors who have pared their earnings outlook for tech companies while revenue growth slows.

Chief Financial Officer Prabir Adarkar said,

"Our results are evidence of our strong execution and proof that customers continue to return to the platform despite the macroeconomic challenges we're seeing with inflation."

Separately, DoorDash said its president and COO, Christopher Payne, will retire from the company and be succeeded by DoorDash CFO Prabir Adarkar, effective 1 March 2023.

PRICE ACTION

Over the past 12 months, DoorDash shares have underperformed in the broader market. Through Wednesday's close, its stock was down about 28% from a year ago, compared with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index, which was down roughly 15%.

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The San Francisco-based company, which currently has a market capitalization of $26.5 billion, said Thursday it would buy back $750 million worth of stock.

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