DoorDash, an on-demand food delivery firm most recently valued at $12 billion which plans to go public next year, expects to lose $450 million this year—but it is faring better than its main rivals, such as Uber Eats.
The financial picture—including projections that DoorDash’s net revenue will be between $900 million and about $1 billion this year—are likely to be closely scrutinized by public market investors. This year has demonstrated that tech companies going public need to demonstrate a path to profitability to get a good reception from investors. Those that don’t, such as Uber, Lyft and WeWork, have had a tough time. WeWork had to cancel its IPO, whereas Uber and Lyft shares are both trading well below their IPO prices.