What DoorDash (DASH)'s Autonomous Delivery Partnership with Waymo Could Mean for Shareholders

• DoorDash recently announced a partnership with Waymo to launch an autonomous delivery service in Metro Phoenix, beginning with DashMart locations and offering a $10 Waymo ride promotion for DashPass members in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix through the end of 2025.
• This collaboration reflects DoorDash’s push to integrate advanced automation, aiming to reduce costs, increase efficiency, and diversify its multi-modal fulfillment methods.
• We’ll explore how DoorDash’s adoption of autonomous delivery may impact its investment narrative and future operating margins.

Uncover the next big thing with financially sound penny stocks that balance risk and reward.

DoorDash Investment Narrative Recap

For someone considering DoorDash, the key narrative centers on whether the company’s push into automation, new delivery verticals, and international markets will meaningfully expand its addressable market and drive margin improvement, despite the added complexity and costs. The new Waymo partnership is a visible step in automation, but its short-term impact on catalysts like margin expansion and user growth is modest and unlikely to materially shift the biggest near-term risk: cost discipline amid rising operational complexity.

Among the recent announcements, DoorDash’s multi-year partnership with Serve Robotics to expand autonomous robot deliveries nationwide is most relevant. This move, aligned with the Waymo collaboration, underscores the company’s focus on scalable, cost-efficient delivery methods, a core part of the investment thesis. However, efforts to automate do not eliminate the ongoing risk that mounting expenses could still outpace efficiency gains if adoption lags or fulfillment costs stay high.

By contrast, investors should also be aware that automation faces uncertainty in real-world conditions and regulatory acceptance...

Read the full narrative on DoorDash (it's free!)

DoorDash's narrative projects $20.4 billion revenue and $3.2 billion earnings by 2028. This requires 19.6% yearly revenue growth and a $2.4 billion earnings increase from $781 million.

Uncover how DoorDash's forecasts yield a $298.19 fair value, a 13% upside to its current price.

Exploring Other Perspectives

Simply Wall St Community members submitted 11 fair value estimates for DoorDash, spanning from US$189.85 to US$373.79. While opinions on valuation vary considerably, the market’s focus remains on whether automation and efficiency efforts can offset the operational risks from expanded complexity.

Explore 11 other fair value estimates on DoorDash - why the stock might be worth 28% less than the current price!

Build Your Own DoorDash Narrative

Disagree with existing narratives? Create your own in under 3 minutes - extraordinary investment returns rarely come from following the herd.

• Our free DoorDash research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual - the Snowflake - making it easy to evaluate DoorDash's overall financial health at a glance.

Seeking Other Investments?

Our daily scans reveal stocks with breakout potential. Don't miss this chance:

• These 11 companies survived and thrived after COVID and have the right ingredients to survive Trump's tariffs. Discover why before your portfolio feels the trade war pinch.
• We've found 19 US stocks that are forecast to pay a dividend yield of over 6% next year. See the full list for free.
• AI is about to change healthcare. These 33 stocks are working on everything from early diagnostics to drug discovery. The best part - they are all under $10b in market cap - there's still time to get in early.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com