DoorDash reports November 4, the last quarter Deliveroo keeps growth near 32% before it slides to 21%
DoorDash reports Q3 on November 4, its last quarter before the Deliveroo acquisition stops inflating reported growth; consensus has revenue growth falling from about 32% in Q3 to about 21% in the December quarter. An unspent Q2 beat and a Q3 guidance range that builds the reinvestment back in now sit behind the push into drones, apparel and grocery, while Uber pays cash for the same ground.
Vincent Jiang · 3 min read
A $914 million beat that arrived too late to spend
DoorDash's−5.92% — DoorDash, down 5.92 percent today best number of the year was also its least spendable. Second-quarter adjusted EBITDA hit $914 million, $44 million above the top of guidance, on revenue up 36% to $4.5 billion 12. When a beat lands in a quarter's final weeks, "we just don't have enough time to reinvest back in the business," chief financial officer Ravi Inukonda said on the August 5 call 1.
The surplus waits inside guidance instead. Third-quarter adjusted EBITDA is guided to $950 million to $1.1 billion, and TIKR, an analyst-estimate platform, has consensus near $1.03 billion, just above the $1.025 billion midpoint 1. The record argues against a repeat: in the four prior quarters, adjusted EBITDA landed inside guidance or no more than $5 million above the top 1.
The 36 percent expires in December
Deliveroo, the British delivery service DoorDash bought for $3.9 billion, closed into the group on October 2, 2025 13. December is the first quarter measured against a base that already includes it 1. Excluding Deliveroo, Q2 revenue grew 24% against the 36% reported, and consensus has growth sliding from about 32% in Q3 to about 21% in Q4 1.
Below the EBITDA line, Q2 was weaker. EBIT of $156 million missed the Street by 18.6%, with margin down to 3.50% from 4.96% 1. The stock closed at $196.50 on October 9, down 13.2% in 2026, near 19x forward EV/EBITDA against roughly 28x at the end of 2025 1.
Deliveroo flattered four quarters of DoorDash growth; consensus gives the lift back in Q4
- Revenue growth, year over year
- Estimate
Data
| Revenue growth, year over year | |
|---|---|
| Q3 '25 | 27.3% |
| Q4 '25 | 37.7% |
| Q1 '26 | 33.1% |
| Q2 '26 | 35.6% |
| Q3 '26E (estimate) | 32% |
| Q4 '26E (estimate) | 21% |
Drones, Skims and 156 stores, built in-house
The push has been visible since July. DoorDash Labs won Federal Aviation Administration Part 135 air-carrier certification for its in-house drone fleet on July 29 4. Skims, Kim Kardashian's shapewear brand, put more than 23,000 styles from 17 US stores on the app on September 8, with DoorDash as its first on-demand delivery partner, and Kardashian fronts the new ad spot 56.
Grocery landed this month. On October 13, BIG W, the discount chain of supermarket group Woolworths, listed more than 35,000 products across 156 stores reaching over 80% of Australians, with delivery in as fast as 60 minutes 78.
Uber buys the ground DoorDash is building
Uber−3.22% — Uber, down 3.22 percent today is paying cash for the same ground. On October 6 it agreed to buy ezCater for $2.3 billion, whose software handles large workplace orders across about 140,000 US restaurants, answering the catering delivery service DoorDash said in April it would build itself 9.
Uber's $14.8 billion bid for Delivery Hero, at €41.50 a share, is not expected to close until the second half of 2027 101. DoorDash's leverage runs the other way: asked about grocers that pay it little or nothing, chief executive Tony Xu said DoorDash "might be 100% of the growth that they see," bargaining power rather than a stated plan to reprice 1.
What November 4 settles
Q3, reported after the close on November 4, is the decision point 1. Adjusted EBITDA near the $1.025 billion midpoint, with marketplace order value (the total spent through the app) toward the $34 billion top of guidance, fits the reinvestment story; near the $33 billion floor, DoorDash enters the Deliveroo anniversary quarter with no EBITDA beat and no faster order growth 1.
The bull case needs earnings above consensus. TIKR's $966 target for 2030 concedes its own path fails on consensus earnings, and the Street's mean target is $257.72 1. Through Q3, reported growth still includes Deliveroo; from December, the market prices the organic rate for the first time since the deal closed.
Deepdive
AI-generated from this story and its cited sources. Not investment advice.
