SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, which statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or our future financial or operating performance. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “could,” “would,” “intend,” “target,” “project,” “contemplate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions that concern our expectations, strategy, plans or intentions. Forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K include, but are not limited to, statements about:
•our future financial performance, including our expectations regarding our revenue, cost of revenue, operating expenses, Total Orders, Marketplace GOV, Contribution Profit (Loss), Contribution Margin, Adjusted Gross Profit, Adjusted Gross Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA Margin, our ability to determine reserves, and our ability to maintain and increase long-term future profitability;
•our ability to successfully execute our business and growth strategy;
•the sufficiency of our cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities to meet our liquidity needs;
•the demand for our platform or for local logistics platforms in general;
•our ability to attract and retain merchants, consumers and Dashers;
•our ability to effectively manage costs related to Dashers;
•our ability to develop new offerings, services and features, and bring them to market in a timely manner and make enhancements to our platform;
•our ability to compete with existing and new competitors in existing and new markets and offerings;
•our expectations regarding outstanding litigation and legal and regulatory matters;
•our expectations regarding the effects of existing and developing laws and regulations, including with respect to independent contractor classification, pricing and commissions, taxation and privacy and data protection;
•our ability to manage and insure auto-related and operations-related risk associated with our business;
•our expectations regarding new and evolving markets;
•our ability to develop and protect our brand;
•our ability to maintain the security and availability of our platform;
•our expectations and management of future growth;
•our expectations concerning relationships with third parties;
•our ability to maintain, protect and enhance our intellectual property;
•our ability to integrate companies and assets that we acquire;
•the increased expenses associated with being a public company; and
•the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, or a similar public health threat, on global capital and financial markets, general economic conditions in the United States, and our business and operations.
We caution you that the foregoing list may not contain all of the forward-looking statements made in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. We have based the forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K primarily on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects. The outcome of the events described in these forward-looking statements is subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors, including those described in the section titled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time and it is not possible for us to predict all risks and uncertainties that could have an impact on the forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We cannot assure you that the results, events, and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur, and actual results, events, or circumstances could differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.
Neither we nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any of these forward-looking statements. Moreover, the forward-looking statements made in this Annual Report on Form 10-K relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law. We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, joint ventures or investments we may make.
In addition, statements that “we believe” and similar statements reflect our beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and while we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements.
OUR BUSINESS
We founded DoorDash to be a merchant-first business. Our mission is to grow and empower local economies.
Technology has changed consumer behavior and driven a wave of demand for convenience. Consumers’ expectations of ease and immediacy with every purchase has been a boon for some companies but damaging for many others. We enable local brick-and-mortar businesses—which are fundamental to the vitality of local economies and communities—to address consumers’ expectations of ease and immediacy and thrive in an increasingly convenience-driven economy. Our local logistics platform connects over 450,000 merchants1, over 20 million consumers2, and over 1 million Dashers3 in the United States, Canada, and Australia every month.
We built our products to serve the needs of these three key constituencies. We do this primarily through the DoorDash Marketplace, or our Marketplace, which offers a broad array of services that enable merchants to solve mission-critical challenges such as customer acquisition, delivery, insights and analytics, merchandising, payment processing, and customer support. Our Marketplace enables merchants to establish an online presence and expand their reach. It generates significant demand for merchants by connecting them with millions of consumers. Merchants can fulfill this demand through delivery, facilitated by our local logistics platform, or in-person pickup by consumers.
In addition to our Marketplace, which accounts for the vast majority of our business today, we offer merchants a variety of products, which we refer to as merchant services, to facilitate sales that merchants have originated through their own channels. DoorDash Drive, or Drive, our white-label logistics service, enables merchants that have generated consumer demand through their own channels to fulfill this demand using our local logistics platform. DoorDash Storefront, or Storefront, enables merchants to create their own branded online ordering experience, providing them with a turnkey solution to offer consumers on-demand access to e-commerce without investing in in-house engineering or logistics capabilities.
THE DOORDASH PLATFORM
Our local logistics platform connects merchants, consumers, and Dashers. We built our local logistics platform to serve the needs of these three key constituencies and to become more intelligent and efficient with every order. As we have grown, the scale of our local logistics platform has become one of our major competitive advantages and delivers substantial benefits to everyone we serve. We connect:
•Merchants: Over 450,000 merchants run and grow their businesses using our technology platform. Our products are designed to meet the individual needs of merchants, regardless of their scale, business model, or location. Our Marketplace includes business enablement and demand fulfillment services that enable merchants to solve mission-critical challenges such as customer acquisition, delivery, insights and analytics, merchandising, payment processing, and customer support. We help our merchants thrive in an increasingly convenience-driven economy while enabling them to focus on their craft.
•Consumers: Over 20 million consumers discover, engage with, and purchase goods from merchants on our local logistics platform. For consumers, we offer the ability to order from the best of their communities with the click of a button and to have their orders reliably delivered or waiting at the store for pickup. We enable convenience for consumers throughout their entire day, from breakfast pickup on-the-go to catered lunch at work to grocery or dinner delivery straight to their doorsteps. We believe that the convenient access we provide to an unmatched
1 Based on the number of individual stores, including Drive stores, that have completed an order through our platform in the past month, measured as of December 31, 2020.
2 Based on the number of individual consumer accounts that have completed an order on our Marketplace in the past month, measured as of December 31, 2020.
3 Based on the number of Dasher accounts that have delivered an order through our platform in the past month, measured as of December 31, 2020.
combination of selection, experience, and value for consumers helps drive consumer engagement and category-leading spend retention.4
•Dashers: Over 1 million Dashers use our local logistics platform to find opportunities to earn. For Dashers, we provide opportunities for those looking for a fast and flexible way to earn and to achieve their goals. We also provide earnings transparency so that Dashers can make informed decisions about the deliveries they choose to make. Dashers set their own schedules and we work to ensure that the time they spend making deliveries is well rewarded. We do not require Dashers to deliver by car as they also have the option to deliver by bike or scooter, enabling a broad range of people to deliver on our platform.
Our local logistics platform benefits from three powerful virtuous cycles:
•Local Network Effects: Our ability to attract more merchants, including local favorites and national brands, creates more selection in our Marketplace, driving more consumer engagement, and in turn, more sales for merchants on our platform. Our strong national merchant footprint enables us to launch new markets and quickly establish a critical mass of merchants and Dashers, driving strong consumer adoption.
•Economies of Scale: As more consumers join our local logistics platform and their engagement increases, our entire platform benefits from higher order volume, which means more revenue for local businesses and more opportunities for Dashers to work and increase their earnings. This, in turn, attracts Dashers to our local logistics platform, which allows for faster and more efficient fulfillment of orders for consumers.
•Increasing Brand Affinity: Both our local network effects and economies of scale lead to more merchants, consumers, and Dashers that utilize our local logistics platform. As we scale, we continue to invest in improving our offerings for merchants, selection, experience, and value for consumers, and earnings opportunities for Dashers. By improving the benefits of our local logistics platform for each of our three constituencies, our network continues to grow and we benefit from increased brand awareness and positive brand affinity. With increased brand affinity, we expect that we will enjoy lower acquisition costs for all three constituencies in the long term.