DoorDash Accelerated Revenue Growth as Margins Rebounded
Adjusted EBITDA rose 40% to $914 million as profitability improved from the prior quarter.
DoorDash (DASH), the local-commerce platform, accelerated revenue growth in the second quarter while reversing a two-quarter contraction in key profitability measures.
The expansion reflected the addition of Deliveroo as well as steady underlying demand. Excluding Deliveroo, revenue grew 24%, compared with 36% on a reported basis, while underlying growth improved from 21% in the first quarter.
Revenue rose 36% from a year earlier to $4.45 billion, accelerating from 33% growth in the first quarter. Total Orders increased 27% to 970 million, while Marketplace GOV advanced 36% to $33.1 billion as higher order volume and average order value outweighed a currency contribution of less than one percentage point.
Profitability recovered alongside the growth. Net revenue margin increased to 13.5% from 12.8% in the first quarter, and Contribution Profit rose to $1.64 billion as its share of GOV expanded to 5.0% from 4.4%. Free cash flow more than doubled from a year earlier to $742 million.
U.S. restaurant GOV growth accelerated slightly, while international growth held near its first-quarter pace and U.S. grocery and retail posted stronger unit economics. DashPass members generated about 75% of U.S. grocery and retail orders, a mix that carried a lower gross-margin percentage than orders from nonmembers.
Merchant services became a larger contributor as SevenRooms signed more than twice as many new venues as a year earlier and digital-ordering revenue increased more than 40% across over 150,000 merchants. DoorDash also expanded its autonomy investments, targeting a high-single-digit share of orders for its Dot robots in its largest test market by year-end.
For the third quarter, DoorDash expects Marketplace GOV of $33.0 billion to $34.0 billion and Adjusted EBITDA of $950 million to $1.10 billion. The company expects EBITDA margin to rise sequentially before declining in the fourth quarter because of seasonal Dasher costs, insurance expense and increased investment in technology and autonomy.
Merchant-payment timing is expected to reduce reported 2026 free cash flow by $700 million to $800 million. The company had repurchased 6.8 million shares for $1.05 billion through Aug. 5, leaving about $3.95 billion under its authorization as investment spending increased.