DoorDash Releases Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Financial Results
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--February 15, 2024--
DoorDash, Inc. (NASDAQ: DASH) today announced its financial results for the quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. In addition to our financial results below, our letter to shareholders is available on the DoorDash investor relations website at
Execution and innovation are distinct skills and our team demonstrated an ability to do both at a high level in 2023. Throughout the year, we invested aggressively to improve our offerings and launched new products and features that expanded our potential in local commerce. We are proud that our innovation and investment helped generate nearly $50 billion in sales for local merchants and over $15 billion in earnings for more than 7 million Dashers in 2023. At the same time, we grew Marketplace GOV by 25%(1) year-over-year (Y/Y) in 2023 to $66.8 billion, with improvements to our unit economics and fixed cost leverage. We are incredibly proud of our team’s progress.
In 2024, our focus will not change. We will invest to build tools that solve problems for consumers, merchants, and Dashers, while expanding the scale, breadth, and profit potential of our business. We look forward to the work.
Fourth Quarter 2023 Key Financial Metrics
-- Total Orders increased 23% Y/Y to 574 million and Marketplace GOV
increased 22% Y/Y to $17.6 billion.
-- Revenue increased 27% Y/Y to $2.3 billion and Net Revenue Margin
increased to 13.1% from 12.6% in Q4 2022.
-- GAAP net loss including redeemable non-controlling interests was $156
million compared to $642 million in Q4 2022, and Adjusted EBITDA
increased to $363 million from $117 million in Q4 2022.
Three Months Ended
--------------------------------------------------------------------
(in millions,
except Dec. 31, Mar. 31, Jun. 30, Sept. 30, Dec. 31,
percentages) 2022 2023 2023 2023 2023
------------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Total Orders 467 512 532 543 574
Total Orders Y/Y
growth 27% 27% 25% 24% 23%
Marketplace GOV $14,446 $15,913 $16,468 $16,751 $17,639
Marketplace GOV
Y/Y growth 29% 29% 26% 24% 22%
Revenue $ 1,818 $ 2,035 $ 2,133 $ 2,164 $ 2,303
Revenue Y/Y
growth 40% 40% 33% 27% 27%
Net Revenue
Margin 12.6% 12.8% 13.0% 12.9% 13.1%
GAAP gross profit $ 762 $ 921 $ 951 $ 962 $ 1,026
GAAP gross profit
as a % of
Marketplace GOV 5.3% 5.8% 5.8% 5.7% 5.8%
Contribution Profit $ 447 $ 533 $ 620 $ 640 $ 689
Contribution
Profit as a % of
Marketplace GOV 3.1% 3.3% 3.8% 3.8% 3.9%
GAAP net loss
including
redeemable
non-controlling
interests $ (642) $ (162) $ (172) $ (75) $ (156)
GAAP net loss
including
redeemable
non-controlling
interests as a %
of Marketplace
GOV (4.4 ) % (1.0 ) % (1.0 ) % (0.4 ) % (0.9 ) %
Adjusted EBITDA $ 117 $ 204 $ 279 $ 344 $ 363
Adjusted EBITDA
as a % of
Marketplace GOV 0.8% 1.3% 1.7% 2.1% 2.1%
Basic shares,
options and RSUs
outstanding as of
period end 452 444 449 450 450
Our Performance
Our business is based on a simple theory: if we build tools that help local merchants thrive in a digital world, we can delight consumers, grow sales for merchants, create incremental earnings opportunities for Dashers, and build a large, meaningful, and profitable business.
Throughout 2023, our team’s focus on steadily improving our products, along with significant investments, helped us improve the experience we offer to consumers, merchants, and Dashers. This helped drive MAUs(2) to an all-time high of over 37 million in December 2023 from over 32 million in December 2022, with a Y/Y increase in average order frequency.(3) DashPass and Wolt+ members also grew to an all-time high of over 18 million at the end of 2023 from over 15 million at the end of 2022. The combination of growing users and higher average engagement drove Q4 2023 Total Orders up 23% Y/Y to 574 million and Q4 2023 Marketplace GOV up 22% Y/Y to $17.6 billion.
In addition to strong growth in Marketplace GOV, improvements to logistics efficiency and quality and a growing contribution from advertising helped drive Q4 2023 revenue up 27% Y/Y to $2.3 billion. Net Revenue Margin was 13.1% in Q4 2023, up 47 basis points Y/Y and 13 basis points quarter-over-quarter (Q/Q).
GAAP cost of revenue, exclusive of depreciation and amortization, was $1.2 billion in Q4 2023, up 21% Y/Y and 6% Q/Q. GAAP cost of revenue, exclusive of depreciation and amortization, increased Y/Y and Q/Q primarily due to an increase in Total Orders and Marketplace GOV. As a percentage of Marketplace GOV, GAAP cost of revenue, exclusive of depreciation and amortization, was 7.0% in Q4 2023, compared to 7.0% in Q4 2022 and 6.9% in Q3 2023. The Q/Q increase in GAAP cost of revenue, exclusive of depreciation and amortization, as a percentage of Marketplace GOV was driven primarily by an increase in costs associated with our first party distribution business.
GAAP sales and marketing expense was $460 million in Q4 2023, up 7% Y/Y and 2% Q/Q. On a Y/Y basis, the increase in GAAP sales and marketing expense was driven primarily by an increase in consumer acquisition costs, partially offset by a decrease in Dasher acquisition costs. On a Q/Q basis, the increase in GAAP sales and marketing expense was driven primarily by an increase in Dasher acquisition costs, partially offset by a decrease in consumer acquisition costs. As a percentage of Marketplace GOV, GAAP sales and marketing expense was 2.6% in Q4 2023, down from 3.0% in Q4 2022 and 2.7% in Q3 2023.
We have continued to manage operating expenses with discipline. In Q4 2023, GAAP research and development expense was $253 million, consistent with $250 million in both Q4 2022 and Q3 2023. As a percentage of Marketplace GOV, GAAP research and development expense was 1.4% in Q4 2023, down from 1.7% in Q4 2022 and 1.5% in Q3 2023.
GAAP general and administrative expense was $320 million in Q4 2023, up 7% from $300 million in Q4 2022 and 11% from $289 million in Q3 2023. The Y/Y increase in GAAP general and administrative expense was driven primarily by an increase in litigation reserves. The Q/Q increase was driven primarily by a sales tax benefit in Q3 2023 that did not repeat in Q4 2023. As a percentage of Marketplace GOV, GAAP general and administrative expense was 1.8% in Q4 2023, down from 2.1% in Q4 2022, but up slightly from 1.7% in Q3 2023.
The combination of efficiency gains and disciplined fixed cost management drove GAAP net loss including redeemable non-controlling interests to $156 million in Q4 2023, compared to GAAP net loss including redeemable non-controlling interests of $642 million in Q4 2022. Q4 2023 and Q4 2022 GAAP net loss including redeemable non-controlling interests included impairments of a strategic investment of $101 million and $312 million, respectively.
Q4 2023 Adjusted EBITDA reached an all-time high of $363 million compared to $117 million for Q4 2022 and $344 million in Q3 2023. Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of Marketplace GOV was 2.1% in Q4 2023, compared to 0.8% in Q4 2022 and 2.1% in Q3 2023.
In Q4 2023 we generated operating cash flow of $485 million and Free Cash Flow of $398 million. In 2023, we generated operating cash flow of $1.7 billion and Free Cash Flow of $1.3 billion.
In 2023, we repurchased a total of 12.0 million shares of our Class A common stock for $750 million ($62.66 per share), which completed the share repurchase authorization we announced in February 2023. In February 2024, our board of directors authorized the repurchase of up to $1.1 billion of our Class A common stock.
______________________
(1) Marketplace GOV grew 22% Y/Y on a pro forma basis in 2023, including
the results from Wolt in both periods.
(2) Based on the number of individual consumer accounts that have completed
an order on our Marketplaces in the past month, measured as of December
31, 2023.
(3) Calculated as the total number of orders placed on our Marketplaces
divided the number of individual consumer accounts that have completed
an order on our Marketplaces in the past month, measured as of December
31, 2023.
Financial Outlook
Period Marketplace GOV Adj. EBITDA ------ ----------------------------- --------------------------- Q1 $18.5 billion - $18.9 billion $320 million - $380 million 2024 $74.0 billion - $78.0 billion $1.5 billion - $1.9 billion
As a reminder, we do not intend to provide new or updated full-year financial outlooks following this release. We intend to continue providing quarterly outlooks for Marketplace GOV and Adjusted EBITDA in our future earnings releases.
In terms of general trends, as we progress through 2024, we currently expect Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of Marketplace GOV to be similar in Q1 and Q2 and then increase from Q2 to Q3, due primarily to increases in Net Revenue Margin and leverage on sales and marketing expenses.