Published: December 7, 2025
DoorDash, Inc. (NASDAQ: DASH) has been one of the standout rebound stories in U.S. growth stocks. After a bruising 2022, the food‑delivery and local commerce platform has surged back: the shares now trade around $225, valuing the company just under $97 billion, and leaving them up about 31.8% year to date, 26.1% over the past year, and an eye‑catching 307.1% over three years. [1]
Following a sharp post‑earnings sell‑off in November and a wave of fresh analyst upgrades, investors are asking a simple question with a complicated answer: is DoorDash stock still a buy for 2026, or has the market already priced in its next phase of growth?
Key takeaways
- Q3 2025 was fundamentally strong. DoorDash delivered 21% order growth, 25% GOV growth and 27% revenue growth year over year, with GAAP net income up 51% and adjusted EBITDA up 41%. Yet an EPS miss versus consensus and a heavier‑than‑expected 2026 investment cycle triggered a sell‑off of roughly 17–30% from the stock’s October peak. [2]
- Wall Street remains broadly bullish. Around 33–45 analysts now cover DASH. Most rate the stock Buy or Strong Buy, with an average 12‑month price target around $280–281, implying roughly 20–25% upside from current levels and a target range running from about $205–220 on the low end to $350–360 at the high end. [3]
- Valuation is controversial. A new December 7 analysis from Simply Wall St estimates DCF‑based fair value around $307 per share, suggesting roughly 25–27% upside, but also notes that DoorDash’s ~112x P/E far exceeds both sector and peer averages, making the stock look expensive on earnings multiples. [4]
DoorDash stock today: price, valuation and recent performance
As of the close on Friday, December 5, 2025, DoorDash shares finished at $225.00, with after‑hours trading nudging them slightly higher to about $225.60. [5]
Statistics from MarketBeat and brokerage platform Public show: [6]
- Market capitalization: ≈$97 billion
- Trailing P/E: about 114x
- Quick and current ratios: ~2.0x
- Debt‑to‑equity: roughly 0.29–0.34x
- 52‑week range: about $155.40–$285.50
Simply Wall St’s performance dashboard puts some numbers behind the stock’s rally: [7]
- Up 13.4% over the last week
- Up 10.1% over the last month
- Up 31.8% year to date
- Up 26.1% over the past 12 months
- Up 307.1% over the past three years
After the early‑November earnings shock, the stock initially dropped hard but has since recovered part of the decline. Zacks and MarketBeat highlight that DASH is up about 12.6% since its Q3 earnings report, as investors refocused on underlying revenue growth and analyst optimism. [8]
Institutions continue to dominate the shareholder base. MarketBeat estimates that about 90.6% of DoorDash stock is owned by institutional investors. A December 7 MarketBeat note reports that hedge fund Cooper Creek Partners cut its stake by 32.2% in Q2, to 119,147 shares valued around $29.4 million, underscoring that some professional investors are taking profits into strength. [9]
Q3 2025 results: strong fundamentals, contentious guidance
DoorDash released its Q3 2025 results on November 5, and on the surface, the numbers were impressive. According to the company’s own earnings release: [10]
- Total Orders: up 21% year over year to 776 million
- Marketplace GOV: up 25% to $25.0 billion
- Revenue: up 27% to roughly $3.45 billion
- GAAP net income: up 51% to $244 million
- Adjusted EBITDA: up 41% to $754 million, with EBITDA margin around 3.0% of GOV
Third‑party recaps from StockStory and Public show Q3 EPS of about $0.55 per share, up from $0.38 a year earlier but below Wall Street’s consensus near $0.68. In other words, DoorDash beat on revenue and operating metrics but missed on GAAP EPS. [11]
Where things really spooked investors was the outlook. Management guided Q4 2025 adjusted EBITDA to around $760 million, notably below prior analyst expectations in the low‑$800‑million range, and laid out an aggressive investment cycle for 2026. Much of that spending will go into: [12]
- A unified global technology platform (DoorDash + Wolt + Deliveroo)
- New product launches, including DashMart‑style fulfillment infrastructure
- Automation and robotics initiatives
- International expansion and integration costs
Barron’s and other outlets report that from an October high near $285.50, DoorDash shares fell roughly 17% immediately after the earnings release and almost 30% at the trough of the November correction, before starting to recover into December. [13]
Despite the market’s reaction, management emphasized that GOV growth has now accelerated for two consecutive quarters, that both GOV and adjusted EBITDA exceeded internal expectations, and that U.S. restaurant GOV growth in Q3 reached its fastest pace in more than three years. [14]
The company also highlighted: [15]
- Strong growth in monthly active users (MAUs) and DashPass memberships
- Accelerating growth in new verticals (grocery, convenience, retail), with improving unit economics despite those segments still running at a loss
- Better operating efficiency in international markets, where unit economics hit a new high
In short: Q3 showed faster growth and rising profitability, but investors were rattled by how much of that profitability management intends to reinvest in 2026.
Deliveroo acquisition and global scale
A major piece of the long‑term story is DoorDash’s scale outside the U.S.
On October 2, 2025, DoorDash closed its acquisition of UK‑based Deliveroo for an equity value of £2.8 billion. In its Q3 release, the company said that including Deliveroo it now: [16]
- Serves more than 50 million MAUs
- Has over 30 million membership customers across DashPass and similar programs
- Partners with over 1 million merchants
- Generates over $100 billion in annualized Marketplace GOV across more than 40 countries
Independent analysis from Gotrade’s research desk estimates that the Deliveroo acquisition adds about $2.7 billion of quarterly GOV and boosts DoorDash’s scale by around 10–11%, making it the largest global delivery platform by order volume. [17]
Management and third‑party analysts expect the combined DoorDash–Wolt–Deliveroo network to eventually unlock significant cost synergies and faster product roll‑outs, but they also acknowledge that integrating platforms, consolidating operations and unifying tech stacks will temporarily pressure margins and require substantial upfront spending. [18]
What Wall Street is saying: upgrades, ratings and targets
Despite the volatility, the sell‑side remains broadly positive on DoorDash.
Aggregators such as StockAnalysis, TickerNerd and MarketBeat count roughly 33–45 active analysts covering DASH. The distribution is heavily skewed toward bullish ratings: [19]
- TickerNerd: 33 Buy, 10 Hold, 0 Sell
- MarketBeat: 1 Strong Buy, 26 Buy, 10 Hold
- Benzinga/StockAnalysis data show no active Sell or Strong Sell calls
Across sources, the average 12‑month price target sits in a tight band around $280:
- StockAnalysis: $280.73 average target, with a $220–$360 range [20]
- TickerNerd: $280.00 median, with a $205–$360 range [21]
- Public.com: about $280.33 average target [22]
- MarketBeat: $275.62 consensus target [23]
From the current $225 price, that implies roughly 20–25% upside on average.
Recent high‑profile upgrades
Several notable calls arrived in November:
- Jefferies upgrade (November 19). Analyst John Colantuoni upgraded DoorDash from Hold to Buy and raised his target from $220 to $260, framing the roughly 17% post‑earnings drop as an opportunity. Coverage in Barron’s, Investing.com and Yahoo notes that Jefferies views the 2026 investment cycle as a way to extend the company’s growth runway, even if it means only modest margin expansion in the near term. [24]
- Wedbush upgrade (mid‑November). Wedbush upgraded DoorDash from Neutral to Outperform with a $260 target, implying roughly 32% upside at the time. The firm’s models call for Q4 2025 EPS of $0.55, full‑year 2025 EPS of $2.20 and 2026 EPS of $4.05, highlighting the potential for robust earnings growth once 2026 investments begin to pay off. [25]
- Other banks. Needham trimmed its target from $300 to $275 but maintained a Buy rating; Mizuho cut from $350 to $320 while keeping an Outperform; Guggenheim reiterated a $280 target; and Goldman Sachs, Susquehanna, Cantor, Barclays, RBC, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, BTIG, Benchmark, UBS, Stifel and JPMorgan all remain broadly constructive with targets clustered between the high‑$230s and low‑$300s. [26]
Zacks’ note titled “Why Is DoorDash (DASH) Up 12.6% Since Last Earnings Report?” underscores how this wave of positive research, combined with resilient revenue growth, has helped the stock claw back part of its November losses. [27]
Street forecasts: revenue, earnings and cash flow through 2026
Consensus models assume that DoorDash remains a high‑growth, high‑margin scaler over the next few years.
StockAnalysis, which aggregates Wall Street estimates, currently projects: [28]
- Revenue rising from $10.72 billion in 2024 to about $14.05 billion in 2025 (+31%) and $18.26 billion in 2026 (+30%).
- EPS jumping from roughly $0.29 in 2024 to $2.29 in 2025 and $3.32 in 2026, implying a massive step‑change in profitability in 2025 followed by ~45% EPS growth into 2026.
On those numbers, StockAnalysis calculates a forward P/E in the high‑60s on 2026 earnings, versus the current trailing multiple above 110x. [29]
Gotrade’s detailed valuation work arrives at similar conclusions via a different route. Its November 21 report estimates 2026 revenue around $17.8 billion and EBITDA around $3.93 billion, implying an EV/2026E EBITDA multiple of roughly 20.6x at a share price near $202. The author notes that this is roughly in line with the valuation of Uber’s delivery business, even though DoorDash is growing faster and, in their view, enjoys better unit economics. [30]
Crucially, both the consensus and the Gotrade scenarios assume that DoorDash can accelerate investment in technology and new products while still expanding margins overall — a delicate balancing act that leaves little room for mis‑execution. [31]
Valuation check: DCF vs earnings multiples
Valuation remains the central fault line in the DASH debate.
On December 7, Simply Wall St published a fresh deep‑dive titled “Is DoorDash Still Attractive at $225 After a 307% Three Year Surge?” The piece runs three different valuation lenses, with mixed results: [32]
- DCF lens (cash flows). Starting from roughly $2.0 billion of trailing free cash flow and projecting to about $6.2 billion by 2029, the site’s two‑stage DCF framework yields an intrinsic value around $307 per share. At a $225 market price, that implies DoorDash might be trading at roughly a 26–27% discount to DCF‑derived fair value.
- P/E lens (earnings). The same analysis estimates DoorDash trades on a P/E of ~112x, compared with about 21x for the broader hospitality sector and roughly 34x for a peer group. Using its proprietary “Fair Ratio” model, Simply Wall St suggests a “fair” P/E closer to 50x for DoorDash’s growth and risk profile, implying the shares trade at more than twice that multiple and look stretched on earnings metrics.
Data from MarketBeat and Public broadly align: both show a trailing P/E around 114x, a market cap near $97 billion, and the same $155.40–$285.50 52‑week range. [33]
That tension — DCF‑style undervaluation vs eye‑watering earnings multiples — explains why analysts and investors can look at the same stock and come away with very different conclusions. Growth‑oriented research (for example from Gotrade and some Wall Street banks) sees a “banner 2026” opportunity; more conservative voices worry that even minor disappointments could trigger another sharp re‑rating. [34]
Strategic growth drivers
1. Expansion beyond restaurants
DoorDash increasingly describes itself as a local commerce and logistics platform, not just a restaurant‑delivery app.
In Q3, management reported that “new verticals” — primarily grocery, convenience and retail — saw accelerated GOV growth, supported by: [35]
- More selection and new merchant partnerships
- Rising order frequency within those categories
- Higher average order values
At the same time, unit economics in new verticals improved on both a year‑over‑year and quarter‑over‑quarter basis, aided by better operational efficiency and the rollout of DashMart Fulfillment Services, which provides dedicated infrastructure to support high‑quality, fast delivery for partners. Although these segments are still loss‑making, management says they are moving steadily toward breakeven. [36]
2. Membership and engagement flywheel
Subscription and ecosystem plays are central to the DoorDash model.
The company noted that in the first nine months of 2025 it added nearly twice as many U.S. DashPass members as it had expected for the full year, with subscription growth driving both order frequency and average order values. [37]
Gotrade’s analysis emphasizes the importance of partnerships such as JPMorgan credit‑card integrations and DoorDash’s collaboration with Lyft, which embed DashPass benefits into other products and help keep GOV resilient, even as younger consumers become more cautious on discretionary spending. [38]
3. Advertising and higher‑margin services
Beyond delivery fees, DoorDash is building an increasingly meaningful advertising business.
Management and earnings recaps highlight that ads — sponsored listings, promotions and other merchant‑side products — are growing faster than order volume and carry materially higher margins, making advertising a key lever for incremental profitability. The company is careful to stress that it wants to maintain a positive consumer experience while scaling ads, but analysts widely view this as one of DoorDash’s most attractive long‑term profit drivers. [39]
4. Global platform and automation
A recurring theme in Q3 commentary is the push toward a unified global tech platform.
According to StockStory’s summary of management’s remarks, most of the planned 2026 step‑up in spending will go into: [40]
- Finalizing a single, AI‑ready platform powering DoorDash, Wolt and Deliveroo
- Accelerating feature roll‑outs and experimentation
- Scaling DashMart Fulfillment Services and other logistics products
- Supporting automation and robotics initiatives
Gotrade, which calls DoorDash a “delivery infrastructure” company rather than a restaurant proxy, argues that the market underestimates how much free cash flow this unified platform could eventually generate. Its base‑case 12–18‑month price target is $250–285, with a bull‑case $310–330, and it labels the recent correction the “best accumulation opportunity since 2023.” [41]
Key risks and recent negative headlines
Despite the upbeat growth story, several risk factors continue to overhang the stock.
1. Rich valuation and execution risk
Even bullish analyses acknowledge that DoorDash’s current valuation leaves a narrow margin of safety. If GOV or revenue growth slows more than expected, if integration of Deliveroo and Wolt proves more complex, or if the 2026 spending ramp fails to translate into durable gains in market share and profitability, the lofty DCF and earnings projections supporting the bull case could be revised down quickly. [42]
2. Competitive intensity
Food and local commerce delivery remains fiercely competitive.
In late November, Amazon began testing an “ultra‑fast” 30‑minute grocery delivery service in parts of Seattle and Philadelphia. The pilot, which leverages smaller, dense urban warehouses and charges modest fees for Prime members, sent shares of Instacart’s parent Maplebear down more than 2% and nudged DoorDash lower on the day, highlighting investors’ sensitivity to new moves from deep‑pocketed rivals. [43]
Uber, Instacart and numerous regional and local platforms continue to battle DoorDash for merchants, consumers and couriers, often using promotions and discounts that can compress margins industry‑wide.
3. Regulatory, legal and reputational issues
DoorDash operates in the cross‑hairs of multiple regulatory and legal debates:
- Gig‑worker rules affect how Dashers are classified and compensated.
- Fee caps and tip rules at the city and state level can pressure economics.
- Legal settlements and security incidents add noise and potential costs.
MarketBeat’s news summary for DASH highlights a $16.75 million tip‑related settlement in New York, local legal cases involving drivers, and reports that hacked accounts have led to losses for some restaurants using the platform. These issues appear manageable at DoorDash’s scale but serve as reminders that legal and reputational risk is an ongoing cost of doing business. [44]
4. Macro sensitivity
DoorDash’s own outlook language stresses that its guidance assumes relatively stable consumer spending and FX rates. Management cautions that a deterioration in any major geography could push results below expectations. [45]
In a weaker macro environment, consumers may consolidate orders, trade down to cheaper restaurants, or reduce discretionary delivery altogether, pressuring GOV and order frequency.
Is DoorDash (DASH) stock a buy for 2026?
Recent pieces from The Motley Fool, Zacks, Simply Wall St, StockStory, Gotrade and others all circle around the same question: after a 307% three‑year rally and a violent 2025 correction, is DoorDash still a buy‑the‑dip opportunity, or a high‑beta name priced for perfection? [46]
A balanced framing looks like this:
- For growth‑oriented investors. DoorDash offers a rare combination of accelerating GOV, expanding margins, rapidly growing free cash flow, and global scale via Wolt and Deliveroo. Consensus forecasts call for 30%+ revenue growth and strong EPS expansion into 2026, while most analysts see 20–30% upside over the next 12–24 months from current levels if management executes on its investment plan. [47]
- For valuation‑sensitive investors. The stock’s triple‑digit P/E, reliance on sustained high growth, exposure to regulatory and competitive shocks, and integration risk make the margin of safety thin. From this perspective, DoorDash may be attractive only on deeper pullbacks or as a smaller, high‑risk satellite position rather than a core holding. [48]
References
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