(Bloomberg/Natalie Lung) — DoorDash Inc. shares took a record plunge after the US food-delivery app leader said it will spend more on investments next year to build new products and bolster internal tools, weighing on its earnings forecast.
The company, which operates in more than 40 countries through its Wolt unit and the recently acquired Deliveroo business, expects to increase investment in Deliveroo to improve the product and maintain growth, it said in a statement Wednesday. It also anticipates spending “several hundred million dollars more” in 2026 on new products and an internal platform that will help improve operational consistency and product development speed. That will include AI tools to boost developer productivity, DoorDash said.
The shares tumbled 17% to $196.46 at the close Thursday in New York, their biggest single-day decline since the company went public in December 2020. The stock had risen 42% this year through Wednesday’s close.
The increased costs, and the first addition of Deliveroo’s performance to DoorDash’s financial outlook, contributed to a muted fourth-quarter forecast for adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. The company expects adjusted Ebitda to be $710 million to $810 million, while analysts on average projected $802.7 million.
The wide guidance range “suggests that the Deliveroo acquisition will be a near-term drag on margin,” Bloomberg Intelligence analysts wrote in a report after the results. The BI analysts see revenue growth surpassing 30% in 2026, driven by the addition of Deliveroo.
Other technology companies have proposed aggressive spending increases so far this earnings season, and have also been met with a wary reaction from investors. Shares of Meta Platforms Inc. plunged the most in three years the day after it warned of capital expenditures that would be “notably larger” next year than in 2025.
DoorDash’s spending forecast overshadowed strong quarterly results. Gross order value grew 25% to $25 billion in the three months ending Sept. 30, ahead of the Bloomberg-compiled average estimate for $24.6 billion. That gain represents the strongest jump since mid-2023, which DoorDash attributed to “strong growth” in monthly active users.
The company expects the momentum to continue in the current period, after including results from its UK delivery app, Deliveroo. Gross order value for the fourth quarter is expected to be in the range of $28.9 billion to $29.5 billion.
DoorDash said the adjusted earnings outlook for the fourth quarter includes a contribution of about $45 million from Deliveroo. In 2026, it expects the newly acquired unit to add about $200 million to adjusted earnings.
“While we expect cost efficiencies over time from operating a larger global business, we believe our largest opportunity to generate long-term returns at Deliveroo will come from investing in our people and product in order to generate better outcomes for consumers, merchants and Dashers,” DoorDash said.
The otherwise robust results underscore the resilient demand for delivery apps, even as concerns remain over the strength of consumer spending. On Tuesday, rival Uber Technologies Inc. reported a better-than-expected 25% jump in gross bookings at its delivery segment.
DoorDash’s strong cash generation has emboldened the company to spend more in growth areas, including the competitive grocery and retail delivery space. Over the past year, it has gone on a multibillion-dollar buying spree to expand its business, both internationally and in enterprise offerings for restaurants. It completed its acquisition of Deliveroo in October, expanding its presence on the European continent.
DoorDash has also added a restaurant reservation feature in the US and Australia and expanded software solutions for restaurant operators following its $1.2 billion acquisition of SevenRooms.
Separately, DoorDash has been investing in autonomous modes of delivery, including launching a delivery robot developed in-house and partnering with Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo to eventually offer driverless deliveries.
(Updates with closing shares in the third paragraph.)
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