DoorDash Inc.’s revenue tripled in the first quarter, showing sustained demand for food-delivery services even as coronavirus vaccinations picked up and the nation moved toward reopening.
The San Francisco-based company reported revenue of $1.08 billion for the three months through March, up from $362 million in the same quarter a year earlier, beating Wall Street’s forecast. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected revenue of $994 million.
“The negative impact that we were expecting in consumer behavior was smaller than we were anticipating,” Chief Financial Officer Prabir Adarkar said in an interview Thursday. The company’s better-than-expected revenue helped drive shares up nearly 8% in after-hours trading.
While DoorDash slightly narrowed its loss to $110 million from a loss of $129 million in the same quarter last year, the figure missed analysts’ projections of a $63 million loss. Mr. Adarkar said the company was focused on investing in growth and capitalizing on the shift in consumer behavior in the near term.
The Covid-19 pandemic served as an unexpected boon for DoorDash. The company gobbled up more than half of the U.S. food-delivery market in January, up from just over one-third a year ago, according to market research firm Edison Trends. Analysts say the company leapfrogged its rivals thanks to a strong footprint in the suburbs, a wider selection of restaurants and greater operational efficiency in delivering the food itself.
