• General
  • February 7, 2019
  • 4 minutes read

GrubHub Shares Down 20%, After Reporting Lower-Than-Expected Results

GrubHub founder and CEO Matt Maloney image : GrubHub Shares of online food delivery company GrubHub has tanked up to…

GrubHub founder and CEO Matt Maloney

image : GrubHub

Shares of online food delivery company GrubHub has tanked up to 21% on the NYSE after the company reported lower-than-expected quarterly results. The company forecast adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) between $40 million and $50 million for the first quarter, below the estimates of several analysts, who predicted around $58 million on an average for the quarter.

It predicts EBITDA between $235 and $265 million for the full year, below several analyst expectations hovering around $284 million. GrubHub’s 21% tank sees it now trading at a two-year low. Meanwhile, a decrease in profits doesn’t quite come as a surprise, with increasing competition from services like DoorDash, Postmates and UberEats, battling for greater market share.

image : GrubHub

To keep up with competition, GrubHub has been modifying its strategy by assembling its own network of delivery couriers compared with its traditional model of relying on restaurants’ own couriers. While this is important to secure market share, it requires high investment which may eat into its profits. The company also said it spent $69.9 million on sales and marketing in the fourth quarter, an increase of over 50% from the same period last year.

Its competitors like Postmates, DoorDash and UberEats are very well funded to take on the online delivery market. Postmates raised $100 million in fresh funding early last month while DoorDash closed a $250 million round in August at a $4 billion valuation. Both companies have raised $1.6 billion total funding according to Crunchbase data, with DoorDash having the lion share with nearly $1 billion raised.

DoorDash also partnered with self-driving company Cruise early January for a food and grocery delivery pilot and became available in all 50 U.S. states shortly after.


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