DoorDash, Inc. (NASDAQ:DASH) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

Same is true with international, where the entire international portfolio is unit economic profitable for a few quarters now. We do expect to drive further efficiency, whether it’s Dasher cost, a, the regulatory costs, where we absorb the cost that’s going to continue to reduce over the course of the year. Quality has been a key area of focus for us. Credits and refunds are going to get more efficient. Our ads business is growing. If you combine that with the investments we’re making in H1, which will drive not only scale but also leverage, I do expect volume to increase as we go through the rest of the year as well as unit economics to improve as you go through the rest of the year. The combination of both of those is going to have second half EBITDA be higher than the first half.

The reason I’m confident is we’ve done this before. 2023 is exactly the same pattern as well as in ’22. And when I’m looking at the business, whether it’s Q1 or Q2 guide or the rest of the year, I feel very good about both the top line as well as the bottom line. And on the second point on R&D, I mean, look, our goal is not just to drive strong growth in ’24, right, but for many years to come. We’re fortunate that we are operating in large segments where we still find great opportunities to invest. The key investment we’re making is continuing to improve the product. As we improve the product, you’re seeing that impact both retention going up as well as order frequency going up. For us, we are adding headcount this year. We’re going to be thoughtful.

We’re adding engineers to help us improve the product. When I look at the rest of the year, I would expect OpEx levels to be similar to what you’re seeing in Q1. But longer term, our goal is to continue to drive leverage on OpEx as we continue to grow the business.

Douglas Anmuth: Okay. Thank you.

Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today’s call. Thank you all for joining and you may now disconnect your lines.