DoorDash Stock Plummets 15% Today—Here’s Why the Market Is Spooked

DoorDash just took a nosedive—and delivery isn’t the only thing running late. Shares cratered 15% in a single session, leaving investors scrambling for explanations. Was it earnings? Competition? Or just another case of Wall Street’s short attention span?

The bleeding numbers: No sugarcoating it—15% is a bloodbath. Even for a sector as volatile as gig-economy stocks, this kind of drop screams 'institutional panic.'

Behind the plunge: While the original data’s silent on specifics, drops this steep usually trace back to one of three culprits: missed revenue targets, regulatory threats, or a CEO caught using Uber Eats. We’re betting on the first one.

Market irony alert: Remember when analysts called food delivery 'recession-proof'? Today’s selloff proves even pandemic darlings aren’t immune to gravity—or to investors who suddenly remember that profitability matters.

Closing thought: If you’re buying this dip, maybe pair it with some antacids. And for god’s sake, don’t check your portfolio while hungry.

Key Takeaways

• DoorDash's quarterly earnings missed analysts' estimates as its cost rose, sending shares tumbling Thursday.
• The delivery firm also gave a weaker-than-expected outlook, expecting its investments in new products and initiatives like delivery robots will squeeze profits.

DoorDash (DASH) shares tumbled Thursday after the food delivery firm missed profit estimates and gave a weak outlook.

The stock was down nearly 15% around $202 in recent trading, making it the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500 Thursday morning. Read Investopedia's full daily markets coverage here.

The company reported third-quarter earnings per share of $0.55, well below what analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha were looking for. Revenue grew 27% year-over-year to $3.45 billion, ahead of forecasts.

The food delivery giant said orders were up 21% to 766 million, and marketplace gross order value increased 25% to $25 billion. However, costs and expenses jumped 23% to $3.19 billion as the company's investments in expanding its reach along with new product and initiatives like delivery robots grew.

DoorDash also said it anticipates spending “several hundred million dollars" more in 2026 than 2025, adding "we wish there was a way to grow a baby into an adult without investment, or to see the baby grow into an adult overnight, but we do not believe this is how life or business works.”

Why This Is Significant

The big drop in DoorDash's stock Thursday WOULD suggest investors have little appetite to stomach the delivery company's rising costs.

DoorDash said it sees current-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) in the range of $710 million to $810 million, below the analyst consensus.

Analysts at Deutsche Bank and Oppenheimer, who reiterated "buy" or equivalent ratings for the stock following the results, voiced confidence it still has room to rise, though they pared back their targets to $298 and $280, respectively, given the dramatic rise in costs.

Even with Thursday's decline, shares of DoorDash have added more than 20% of their value in 2025.

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