DoorDash drives 27% revenue growth with advertising gains in Q3

DoorDash reported strong financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2025, demonstrating accelerating growth across revenue and marketplace volume as the delivery platform continues expanding its advertising business and acquiring international operations. The company released its financial results on November 5, 2025, showing revenue increased 27% year-over-year to $3.4 billion.

Marketplace gross order value grew 25% year-over-year to $25.0 billion, marking the second consecutive quarter of accelerating growth. Total orders increased 21% to 776 million during the quarter. Net income attributable to common stockholders reached $244 million, up 51% compared to the same period in 2024.

The financial performance reflects sustained momentum in DoorDash's core restaurant delivery business alongside expansion in new retail categories. Revenue growth outpaced marketplace volume growth, driven primarily by advertising revenue contributions and improved operating efficiencies across the platform.

Advertising revenue drives margin expansion

Net revenue margin expanded to 13.8% in the third quarter, up from 13.5% in both the prior year period and the second quarter of 2025. The margin improvement stemmed from three primary factors: increasing contribution from advertising revenue, reduction in credits and refunds as a percentage of marketplace volume, and decreased Dasher costs as a percentage of marketplace volume.

Advertising has emerged as a significant revenue stream for DoorDash's marketplace operations. The company established a multi-year retail media partnership with Criteo in October 2025, positioning DoorDash within the rapidly expanding retail media sector. Through this collaboration, Criteo functions as an extension of DoorDash's U.S. advertising sales team, providing brands and agencies access to DoorDash ad formats including onsite video, display banners, Sponsored Product, and Sponsored Brands.

The advertising infrastructure connects consumer packaged goods brands with convenience and grocery shoppers at the moment of purchase intent. Retail media spending across European markets reached €13.7 billion in 2024 with 21.1% growth, demonstrating sustained demand for delivery marketplace advertising inventory. Industry projections indicate retail media will capture 20% of global advertising revenue by 2030, representing approximately $300 billion in spending.

DoorDash's advertising business benefits from first-party transaction data spanning more than 50 million monthly active users following the Deliveroo acquisition. The platform now partners with more than 1 million merchants across over 40 countries, generating over $100 billion in annualized marketplace volume. This scale provides advertisers access to purchase intent signals across restaurant, grocery, convenience, and retail categories.

Restaurant category sustains accelerating growth

Year-over-year growth in the U.S. restaurant category accelerated during the third quarter, reaching the highest growth rate in more than three years. Unit economics in the restaurant category increased year-over-year and remained consistent with the second quarter of 2025.

Monthly active users in the U.S. marketplace grew substantially, with DoorDash adding nearly twice as many users in the first nine months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. The company exceeded full-year expectations for U.S. DashPass paid member additions through the first nine months of the year.

The sustained growth reflects persistent reinvestment in consumer experience alongside efficient execution. DoorDash has operated the U.S. restaurant category for more than 10 years, applying a consistent approach of solving consumer problems through product improvements funded by operating efficiencies. This methodology continues generating benefits for consumers, merchants, and delivery workers while driving profit growth.

Consumer engagement metrics showed improvements across multiple dimensions. Monthly active user growth contributed most significantly to marketplace volume expansion, with additional contributions from increased average order frequency and higher average order values. Currency rate changes added less than 1% to year-over-year marketplace volume growth.

New verticals improve economics while expanding selection

U.S. new verticals categories, encompassing grocery and retail deliveries beyond restaurants, demonstrated accelerating year-over-year marketplace volume growth in the third quarter. Consumer engagement increased across all measured dimensions: the number of monthly active users ordering from new verticals grew both quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year, while average order frequency and average order values within these categories also expanded.

Unit economics in new verticals categories improved on both year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter bases during the third quarter. These improvements occurred simultaneously with reductions in average consumer transaction fees on both comparative periods. While unit economics remain negative in new verticals, the pace of progress aligns with company expectations.

DoorDash expanded selection during the quarter through key partnerships in grocery and retail categories. The company launched DashMart Fulfillment Services, providing infrastructure designed to enable consistent and higher-quality consumer experiences. The fulfillment service represents DoorDash's strategy of investing in logistics capabilities that support both owned operations and partner merchants.

Product development initiatives announced during the quarter include expansions of DoorDash for Business, Drive, and Online Ordering services. New initiatives launched include Going Out, In-Store rewards, and Creator partnerships. The company introduced tools designed to improve logistics quality and efficiency, including a new mapping platform, SmartScale for capacity management, an Autonomous Delivery Platform, and Dot—a customized autonomous delivery robot capable of navigating roads, sidewalks, and bike lanes.

International markets achieve record unit economics

International marketplace operations reached all-time high unit economics during the third quarter. Operating efficiency improvements enabled this milestone while DoorDash continued investing in product development and consumer acquisition. Monthly active users in international markets showed slightly accelerating year-over-year growth.

Year-over-year growth in total orders decelerated slightly due to slower growth in average order frequency. However, marketplace volume growth remained strong, with DoorDash outgrowing category peers in the majority of countries where third parties report transactional data. The competitive performance demonstrates execution strength across diverse regulatory and competitive environments.

DoorDash closed its acquisition of Deliveroo on October 2, 2025, for an equity value of £2.8 billion, including estimated cash and short-term investments acquired of £690 million. The acquisition expanded DoorDash's international presence significantly, adding operations across additional European and Middle Eastern markets. Combined with existing international operations through Wolt, DoorDash now serves more than 50 million monthly active users globally and more than 30 million consumers through membership programs.

Deliveroo contributed to both complexity and opportunity in DoorDash's financial reporting. The company provided estimated Deliveroo marketplace volume and revenue under GAAP using DoorDash definitions for recent quarters, showing quarterly marketplace volume ranging from $2.5 billion to $2.7 billion. Revenue ranged from $318 million to $354 million across the same periods.

DoorDash expects Deliveroo to contribute approximately $45 million to adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter of 2025 and approximately $200 million in 2026. These expectations align with the acquisition underwriting and include increased investment levels designed to improve experience, extend growth duration, and strengthen long-term free cash flow generation. The outlook incorporates certain accounting treatment differences and definition alignments that will reduce Deliveroo's reported adjusted EBITDA contribution by approximately $32 million to $40 million in 2026 compared to pre-acquisition reporting.

Operating expenses reflect platform investments

Sales and marketing expense increased 19% year-over-year to $576 million in the third quarter, driven primarily by advertising expenses and personnel-related compensation. As a percentage of marketplace volume, sales and marketing expense declined to 2.3% from 2.4% in the prior year period. Quarter-over-quarter, sales and marketing expense decreased 5%, reflecting reduced advertising spending.

Research and development expense increased 23% year-over-year to $355 million, driven primarily by personnel-related compensation expenses. The expense remained consistent at 1.4% of marketplace volume compared to both the prior year period and second quarter. The spending reflects ongoing product development initiatives across multiple categories and geographies.

General and administrative expense increased 27% year-over-year to $400 million, driven by legal, tax, and regulatory expenses alongside transaction-related costs. The quarter-over-quarter increase of 3% stemmed primarily from legal, tax, and regulatory expenses. As a percentage of marketplace volume, general and administrative expense remained consistent at 1.6% across all compared periods.

Adjusted EBITDA reached $754 million, increasing 41% from $533 million in the third quarter of 2024 and 15% from $655 million in the second quarter. Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of marketplace volume expanded to 3.0%, up from 2.7% in both comparative periods.

Technology platform development accelerates investment

DoorDash disclosed plans to invest several hundred million dollars more in new initiatives and platform development in 2026 compared to 2025 levels. This increased investment addresses two primary areas: new product initiatives showing early product-market fit, and development of a new global technology platform for product development and operations.

The global technology platform effort began in 2024, made meaningful progress during 2025, and is expected to accelerate in 2026. The initiative carries both direct and opportunity costs in the near term. As work progresses, DoorDash expects the platform to increase the pace of global product development, enhance developer productivity through AI-native tooling, and improve operational consistency across more than 40 countries.

Chief Financial Officer Ravi Inukonda explained the investment philosophy during the earnings call, stating the company manages projects carefully to milestones, allocating appropriate resources at each development stage. New products referenced include DashMart Fulfillment Services, offering retailers infrastructure for same-hour or same-day delivery with near-perfect accuracy, and Dot, the autonomous delivery vehicle designed to operate on roads, sidewalks, and bike lanes.

Investment levels reflect DoorDash's assessment that product development currently underway exceeds any point in company history. Recent announcements encompass expansions of existing services such as DoorDash for Business, Drive, and Online Ordering, alongside new initiatives including Going Out, In-Store rewards, and Creator partnerships. Multiple tools target logistics quality and efficiency improvements, including a mapping platform, SmartScale, and the Autonomous Delivery Platform.

The company's track record in investing across U.S. restaurants, U.S. new verticals, international markets, commerce platform, and advertising business informs current expansion decisions. DoorDash applies the same milestone-based approach to new initiatives, growing investments as projects demonstrate progress toward business viability.

Fourth quarter guidance reflects Deliveroo integration

DoorDash provided fourth quarter 2025 guidance for marketplace volume of $28.9 billion to $29.5 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $710 million to $810 million. The guidance includes expected impact and contributions from Deliveroo operations.

Full-year 2025 stock-based compensation expense is expected to reach approximately $1.1 billion, assuming stock prices consistent with recent trading levels. Depreciation and amortization expense is projected at approximately $700 million for 2025, excluding amortization of intangible assets acquired in the Deliveroo transaction.

The guidance assumes aggregate consumer demand and key foreign currency rates remain relatively stable at current levels. The outlook anticipates significant ongoing investment in new categories, international markets, new initiatives, and the global technology platform.

DoorDash cautioned that consumer spending could deteriorate relative to expectations, driving results below guidance. Increasing international exposure heightens risks associated with foreign market operations, including geopolitical and currency risks. Changes in the international operating environment could negatively impact results versus current expectations.

Cash generation strengthens across operations

DoorDash generated net cash provided by operating activities of $871 million and free cash flow of $723 million during the third quarter, up from $531 million and $444 million respectively in the prior year period. The improved cash generation reflects profitability improvements and working capital management.

Cash and cash equivalents stood at $3.3 billion at September 30, 2025, down from $4.0 billion at December 31, 2024. Restricted cash increased substantially to $4.1 billion from $190 million, primarily reflecting the Deliveroo acquisition. Total assets reached $18.0 billion, up from $12.8 billion at year-end 2024.

The company issued convertible notes during 2025, with net proceeds of $2.7 billion reflected in the balance sheet. Convertible notes carried associated warrant issuances totaling $341 million in proceeds and convertible note hedge purchases of $680 million, structures designed to limit dilution from potential note conversions.

DoorDash's board authorized a $5.0 billion share repurchase program in February 2025. As of November 4, the company had not repurchased shares under this authorization. The repurchase program provides flexibility for capital allocation decisions based on business priorities and market conditions.

Marketplace structure generates merchant and Dasher income

DoorDash generated nearly $24 billion in combined sales for merchants and earnings for delivery workers during the third quarter. The company expects to generate well over $100 billion in combined merchant sales and Dasher earnings during 2026, reflecting the scale of economic activity flowing through the platform.

This marketplace structure positions DoorDash differently than traditional e-commerce models. Revenue represents take rates on transactions rather than product sales, with gross profit margins reflecting the difference between fees collected from consumers and merchants versus costs paid to delivery workers and for infrastructure operations.

Contribution profit, defined as gross profit less sales and marketing expense with adjustments for stock-based compensation and other non-cash items, reached $1.3 billion during the quarter. Contribution profit as a percentage of marketplace volume expanded to 5.1% from 4.6% in the prior year period, demonstrating improving unit economics across the consolidated business.

The marketplace model connects three constituencies: consumers seeking convenient access to local merchants, merchants seeking customer acquisition and fulfillment capabilities, and independent contractors seeking flexible earning opportunities. DoorDash's financial performance depends on balancing value delivery across these groups while extracting sufficient revenue to fund operations and generate returns for shareholders.

For advertisers, DoorDash's platform offers access to high-intent consumers at the moment of purchase consideration. Retail media networks benefit from transaction data that enables precise attribution measurement, a capability particularly valuable as third-party cookie limitations expand across digital advertising. The integration of advertising revenue improves marketplace unit economics by monetizing attention without increasing consumer prices or reducing merchant margins.

Timeline

• September 30, 2024: DoorDash reports Q3 2024 results with 18% year-over-year order growth, $2.7 billion revenue, and 19% marketplace volume growth
• February 2025: Board authorizes $5.0 billion share repurchase program
• July 28, 2025: Spotify Global Head of Advertising Lee Brown departs to join DoorDash as Chief Revenue Officer
• September 23, 2025: Topsort partners with Skai to provide access to retail media networks including DoorDash across 40 countries
• October 2, 2025: DoorDash closes acquisition of Deliveroo for £2.8 billion equity value
• October 6, 2025: Criteo announces multi-year partnership as extension of DoorDash's U.S. advertising sales team
• October 7, 2025: IAB Europe reports retail media reached €13.7 billion in 2024 with 21.1% growth
• November 5, 2025: DoorDash releases Q3 2025 financial results showing 27% revenue growth to $3.4 billion and 25% marketplace volume growth to $25 billion

Summary

Who: DoorDash, the delivery marketplace platform operating in more than 40 countries with over 50 million monthly active users, over 30 million membership subscribers, and partnerships with more than 1 million merchants. Key executives include Chief Financial Officer Ravi Inukonda, who discussed investment philosophy during the earnings call.

What: DoorDash reported third quarter 2025 financial results showing revenue increased 27% year-over-year to $3.4 billion, marketplace volume grew 25% to $25.0 billion, total orders increased 21% to 776 million, and adjusted EBITDA expanded 41% to $754 million. The company completed acquisition of Deliveroo for £2.8 billion and established retail media partnerships with Criteo and Topsort to expand advertising capabilities.

When: Results cover the quarter ended September 30, 2025, released November 5, 2025. The Deliveroo acquisition closed October 2, 2025. Fourth quarter 2025 guidance projects marketplace volume of $28.9 billion to $29.5 billion. Full-year 2026 plans include several hundred million dollars of additional investment in new initiatives and platform development.

Where: DoorDash operates across more than 40 countries following the Deliveroo acquisition, combining U.S. operations with international presence through Wolt and Deliveroo. The U.S. restaurant category reached the highest year-over-year growth rate in more than three years. International marketplace operations achieved all-time high unit economics during the quarter. The company generates over $100 billion in annualized marketplace volume globally.

Why: The results matter for marketing professionals because DoorDash's expanding advertising business represents a growing share of delivery marketplace monetization, with retail media partnerships positioning the platform within the fastest-growing segment of digital advertising. Net revenue margin expansion to 13.8% stemmed partly from increasing advertising revenue contributions. The company's scale provides advertisers access to first-party transaction data across restaurant, grocery, convenience, and retail categories at the moment of purchase intent, while retail media industry projections indicate the channel will capture 20% of global advertising revenue by 2030.