DoorDash, Inc. DASH

Tony Xu highlighted the vast market opportunity, noting DoorDash is still a "speck of dust" in terms of penetration in U.S. restaurants (single-digit percentage of sales) and even smaller globally. He emphasized that both increasing penetration (geographical expansion, product improvement) and frequency (selection, quality, affordability, customer support) are key growth vectors, especially in newer areas like grocery and retail. The company aims to improve product quality in terms of accuracy, speed, reliability, and affordability across all categories.

Ravi Inukonda reported that the international portfolio is gross profit positive and growing substantially faster than peers, gaining share in nearly every country. User growth and order frequency reached all-time highs, driven by improved selection, quality, and affordability. Wolt+ is scaling nicely, growing faster than DashPass did in its early years, and new verticals/grocery penetration in some international markets exceed U.S. levels. The goal is to continue scaling the business to drive efficiency and gross profit.

Tony Xu reiterated that the company's investment philosophy remains unchanged, focusing on areas with strong product-market fit and clear paths to monetization. Key investment areas include U.S. restaurants, international expansion, non-restaurant verticals, the commerce platform, and advertising. He also mentioned exploring new areas within local commerce, emphasizing the long runway for growth in existing and new ventures. The company seeks to make good investments that lead to increasing ability to reinvest.

Tony Xu discussed the potential of autonomous delivery, distinguishing it from robotaxis due to different problem statements (e.g., first and last 10-feet problem). He noted that while the cost structure is still being figured out, DoorDash has been studying and working on this area for years. Regarding AI agents, he stressed the importance of mastering the physical world logistics first, then leveraging AI and LLMs with DoorDash's vast data for personalization and operational improvements, seeing them as two distinct jobs.

The U.S. new verticals segment is the fastest-growing, gaining share and showing improved unit economics. Consumers are increasingly using new verticals, leading to higher engagement and monthly spend per MAU. For grocery, key learnings include the need for continued product improvement (SKU accuracy, affordability, Dasher matching) and the observation that customers are moving from small top-up orders to larger baskets, with grocers recognizing the incremental value DoorDash brings. The focus is on scale to drive overall free cash flow.

Tony Xu outlined a straightforward strategy for DashPass growth: converting the large fraction of existing annual customers (over 100 million) who are not yet subscribers (tens of millions). This involves continuous product improvement, offering exclusive benefits, and enhancing overall service quality to drive higher frequency, which naturally leads to greater subscriber consideration. He believes no unnatural actions are needed to achieve growth in subscriber programs.

The advertising business had a strong year, focusing on building products for both consumers and advertisers. Tony Xu emphasized balancing high return on ad spend for advertisers with minimal consumer degradation. The roadmap includes increasing ad relevance, diversifying ad units, and integrating with platform partners, while ensuring that a healthy marketplace precedes and underpins the advertising business. The company expects more partnerships in this area.

Dasher supply is described as "really good" and "healthy," despite some weather-related anomalies. Tony Xu noted that Dashers exhibit different preferences for delivery types, and the network's flexibility, with 90% of Dashers working fewer than 10 hours a week, allows for self-selection and adaptation as more categories and tasks are added. The goal is to construct the maximum flexible set of opportunities for Dashers.