NEW YORK, Feb 17, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - US meal delivery platform DoorDash saw a
jump in its share price Wednesday after it published higher-than-expected
earnings and said it expects strong demand in 2022, despite easing pandemic
restrictions.

  In after-hours trading, DoorDash stock was up 27.52 percent.

  The company reported $1.3 billion in fourth quarter revenue, a 34 percent
increase over the prior year.

  However, growth slowed to just 1.9 percent from the third to fourth
quarters.

  While a small player in 2019, DoorDash took advantage of strong demand
during the coronavirus pandemic to take up more than half of the market,
outperforming the two prior heavyweights Uber Eats and GrubHub.

  On a conference call with investors, DoorDash CFO Prabir Adarkar said the
company had gained even more market share in the last quarter.

  "We continue to be the leading acquirer of all customers that come into the
industry for the first time," added DoorDash CEO Tony Xu.

  Like other companies that benefited from pandemic lockdowns, the market is
trying to figure out their potential for growth, now that restrictions are
starting to ease.

  With 25 million monthly active users, DoorDash recorded $42 billion in
orders last year and expects a range of between $48-50 billion for 2022.

  The company is hoping to continue advancing new meal-related delivery
categories, such as alcoholic beverages and groceries. It said that 14
percent of active monthly users ordered something other than a meal through
its platform in December.

  While the company continues to lose money -- it reported a net loss of $155
million in the fourth quarter -- it did beat analyst expectations.

  None of the major meal delivery services have yet to turn a profit,
although Uber Eats is getting close.

  Their stock prices have taken a hit over the past few months as investors
begin to question their ability to reach profitability.