10-Q – 2025-08-06 – dash-20250630.htm

Limitations on Effectiveness of Controls and Procedures
Our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, do not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures or our internal control over financial reporting will prevent all errors and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Further, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, have been detected. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty, and that breakdowns can occur because of a simple error or mistake. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people or by management override of the controls. The design of any system of controls is also based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions; over time, controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or the degree of compliance with policies or procedures may deteriorate. Due to inherent limitations in a cost-effective control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.
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Part II – OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1. Legal Proceedings
We are currently involved in, and may in the future be involved in, legal proceedings, claims, regulatory inquiries, audits, and governmental investigations (collectively, “Legal Proceedings”) in the ordinary course of business, including suits by merchants, consumers, Dashers, or other third parties (individually or as class actions).
The outcomes of our Legal Proceedings are inherently unpredictable and subject to significant uncertainties. When we determine that we have meritorious defenses to any claims asserted, we defend ourselves vigorously; however, we also consider settlement of disputes when, in management’s judgment, it is in the best interests of both DoorDash and its shareholders to do so. For some matters for which a material loss is reasonably possible, an estimate of the amount of loss or range of losses is not possible nor are we able to estimate the loss or range of losses that could potentially result from the application of nonmonetary remedies. Until the final resolution of Legal Proceedings, there may be an exposure to a material loss in excess of the amount recorded or non-monetary damages.
Except as set forth below, we are not, and have not been within the past 12 months, party to any material administrative, legal, or arbitration proceeding that may have or have had a significant effect on the financial position or profitability of DoorDash, and we are not aware of any such proceedings being pending or threatened.
Independent contractor classification matters
We have in the past been, are currently, and may in the future be subject to claims, lawsuits, arbitration proceedings, administrative actions, government investigations, and other legal and regulatory proceedings at the federal, state, and municipal levels challenging the classification of Dashers on our platform as independent contractors, and claims that, by the alleged misclassification, we have violated various labor and other laws that would apply to delivery employees. Laws and regulations that govern the status and classification of independent contractors are subject to change and divergent interpretations by various authorities, which can create uncertainty and unpredictability for us.
We are currently involved in putative class actions, representative actions, such as those brought under California Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) and individual claims both in court as well as arbitration and other matters challenging the classification of Dashers on our platform as independent contractors. Various other Dashers have challenged or threatened to challenge, and may challenge in the future, their classification on our platform, as an independent contractor under U.S. federal and state and international law, seeking monetary, injunctive, or other relief. We are currently involved in a number of such actions filed by individual Dashers, with many additional claims threatened, including those brought in, or compelled pursuant to our independent contractor agreement to, individual arbitration. In addition, in June 2020, the San Francisco District Attorney filed an action in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, alleging that we misclassified California Dashers as independent contractors as opposed to employees in violation of the California Labor Code and the California Unfair Competition Law, among other allegations. This action is seeking both restitutionary damages and a permanent injunction that would bar us from continuing to classify California Dashers as independent contractors. It is a reasonable possibility that a loss may be incurred; however, the possible range of losses is not estimable given the status of the case.
We believe that we have meritorious defenses and intend to dispute the allegations of wrongdoing and defend ourselves vigorously in these matters. Legal Proceedings related to these matters can have an adverse impact on us because of defense and settlement costs individually and in the aggregate, diversion of management resources, and other factors.
Consumer protection and other actions
We have in the past been, are currently, and may in the future be involved in other Legal Proceedings in the ordinary course of business, including class action lawsuits and actions brought by government authorities, alleging violations of consumer protection laws, competition laws, data protection laws, civil rights laws, and other laws. In addition, we have been subject to Legal Proceedings related to representations regarding tips paid to Dashers and our former DoorDash Dasher pay model. We dispute any allegations of wrongdoing and intend to continue to defend ourselves vigorously in these matters.
Intellectual property matters
We have in the past been, are currently, and may in the future be involved in Legal Proceedings related to alleged infringement of patents and other intellectual property and, in the ordinary course of business, we receive correspondence
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from other purported holders of patents and other intellectual property offering to license such property or asserting infringement of such property. We dispute any allegation of wrongdoing and intend to defend ourselves vigorously in these matters.
Regulatory and administrative investigations, audits, demands, and inquiries
We have in the past been, are currently, and may in the future be the subject of regulatory and administrative investigations, audits, demands, and inquiries conducted by federal, state, or local governmental agencies concerning our business practices, the classification and compensation of Dashers, DoorDash Dasher pay models and pay practices, compliance with consumer protection laws, privacy, cybersecurity, tax issues, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation insurance, and other matters. For example, we are currently under audit by the Employment Development Department of the State of California (the "CA EDD") for payroll tax liabilities. In January 2023, the CA EDD issued a negative assessment in connection with such audit. We believe that we have meritorious defenses to the CA EDD’s assessment, and intend to vigorously appeal this assessment. However, the ultimate resolution of the audit is uncertain and, accordingly, we have recorded an accrual for this matter within accrued expenses and other current liabilities on the condensed consolidated balance sheets as of June 30, 2025. We are currently the subject of government investigations, audits, demands, and inquiries in other jurisdictions as well, and we may in the future settle, or record accruals with respect to, such matters. Further, the results of investigations, audits, demands, and inquiries and related governmental action are inherently unpredictable and, as such, there is always the risk of an investigation, audit, demand, or inquiry having a material impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations, particularly in the event that an investigation, audit, or inquiry results in a lawsuit or unfavorable regulatory enforcement or other action. Regardless of the outcome, these matters can have an adverse impact on us in light of the costs associated with cooperating with, or defending against, such matters, and the diversion of management resources, and other factors.
Personal injury matters
We have in the past been, are currently, and may in the future be involved in Legal Proceedings where various parties may claim that we are liable for damages related to accidents or other incidents involving Dashers who have been active on our platform. We are currently named as a defendant in a number of matters related to accidents or other incidents involving Dashers that utilize our platform. In many of these matters, we believe we have meritorious defenses, dispute the allegations of wrongdoing, and intend to defend ourselves vigorously. There is no pending or threatened legal proceeding that has arisen from these accidents or incidents that individually, in our opinion, is likely to have a material impact on our business, financial condition, or results of operations; however, results of litigation and claims are inherently unpredictable and legal proceedings related to such accidents or incidents, in the aggregate, could have a material impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Regardless of the outcome, these matters can have an adverse impact on us because of defense and settlement costs individually and in the aggregate, the diversion of management resources, and other factors.
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Item 1A. Risk Factors
Investing in our Class A common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below, together with all of the other information in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes, before making a decision to invest in our Class A common stock. Our business, financial condition, results of operations, or prospects could also be harmed by risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently do not believe are material. If any of the risks actually occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects could be adversely affected. In that event, the market price of our Class A common stock could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
Risk Factors Summary
Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including those outside of our control, that could cause our actual results to be harmed. These risks include the following:
• We have a limited operating history in an evolving industry, which makes it difficult to evaluate our future prospects and may increase the risk that we will not be successful;
• We have a history of net losses, we anticipate increasing expenses in the future, and we may not be able to consistently maintain or increase profitability in the future;
• Our business may not continue to grow on pace with historical rates;
• We face intense competition and if we are unable to compete effectively, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected;
• If we fail to retain our existing merchants and consumers or acquire new merchants and consumers in a cost-effective manner, our revenue, revenue growth, and margins may decrease and our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected;
• If we fail to cost-effectively attract and retain Dashers or to increase the use of our platform by existing Dashers, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected;
• We rely on merchants on our platform for many aspects of our business, and to the extent they fail to adequately maintain their service levels or materially increase the prices they charge consumers on our platform, our business could be adversely affected;
• We expect a number of factors to cause our results of operations to fluctuate on a quarterly and annual basis, which may make it difficult to predict our future performance;
• Systems failures and resulting interruptions in the availability of our websites, mobile applications, technology infrastructure, or platform could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations;
• If we are unable to make acquisitions and investments, or successfully integrate acquisitions into our business, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected;
• Our international operations and any future international expansion will subject us to additional costs and risks and our plans may not be successful;
• The impact of adverse economic conditions and other trends, including the resulting effects on consumer spending and merchant operations, may adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations;
• If Dashers that utilize our platform are reclassified as employees under U.S. federal or state law, or the laws of other jurisdictions in which we operate, it could have an adverse effect that is material to our business, financial condition, and results of operations;
• We are subject to various claims, lawsuits, investigations, and proceedings, and face potential liability, expenses, and harm to our business as a result;
• Our business is subject to a variety of laws and regulations globally, including those related to worker classification, Dasher pay and conditions of work, merchant pricing and commissions, and consumer fees and taxes, many of which are unsettled and still developing, and any of which could subject us to legal claims, increased costs, operational burdens, or otherwise adversely affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations;
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• The multi-class structure of our common stock and the voting agreement and irrevocable proxy (the "Voting Agreement"), between Tony Xu, Andy Fang, and Stanley Tang (our "Co-Founders"), has the effect of concentrating voting power with Tony Xu, our co-founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chair of our board of directors, which will limit your ability to influence the outcome of matters submitted to our stockholders for approval; and
• The trading price of our Class A common stock may be volatile, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Related to Our Business and Operations
We have a limited operating history in an evolving industry, which makes it difficult to evaluate our future prospects and may increase the risk that we will not be successful.
We launched operations in 2013 and we have since frequently expanded our platform features and services, expanded into new categories, changed our pricing methodologies, and entered new geographies. This limited operating history and our evolving business make it difficult to evaluate our future prospects and the risks and challenges we may encounter. These risks and challenges include our ability to:
• accurately forecast our revenue and plan our operating expenses;
• increase the number of and retain existing merchants, consumers, and Dashers using our platform;
• successfully compete with current and future competitors;
• successfully expand our business in existing markets and categories and enter new markets and categories;
• successfully integrate acquired technologies and businesses into our own;
• anticipate and respond to macroeconomic changes and changes in the jurisdictions in which we operate, including with respect to inflation and other fluctuations in prices such as gasoline and food costs;
• maintain and enhance the value of our reputation and brand;
• adapt to rapidly evolving trends in the ways merchants and consumers interact with technology;
• avoid interruptions or disruptions in our service;
• develop and maintain a scalable, high-performance technology infrastructure that can efficiently and reliably handle increased usage, as well as the deployment and integration of new features, services, and technologies;
• hire, integrate, motivate, and retain talented technology, sales, customer service, and other personnel;
• effectively manage rapid growth in our personnel and operations;
• effectively adapt to and manage the regulatory environment and new laws related to our business; and
• effectively manage our costs related to Dashers.
If we fail to address the risks and difficulties that we face, including those associated with the challenges listed above as well as those described elsewhere in this “Risk Factors” section, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected. Further, because we have relatively limited historical financial data and operate in a rapidly evolving market, any predictions about our future results of operations may not be as accurate as they would be if we had a longer operating history or operated in a more predictable market. If our assumptions regarding these risks and uncertainties, which we use to plan and operate our business, are incorrect or change, or if we do not address these risks successfully, our results of operations could differ materially from our expectations and our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.
We have a history of net losses, we anticipate increasing expenses in the future, and we may not be able to consistently maintain or increase profitability in the future.
While we achieved net income in the three and six months ended June 30, 2025 and in the year ended December 31, 2024, we incurred net losses in each preceding year since our founding. We incurred a net loss of $180 million in the six months ended June 30, 2024, and as of June 30, 2025, we had an accumulated deficit of $4.8 billion. We expect our costs will increase over time and we expect to invest significant additional funds towards growing our business. To the extent that we are unable to earn sufficient revenue to offset such costs, we may incur losses in certain future periods. We have expended and expect to continue to expend substantial financial and other resources on developing our platform, including expanding our platform offerings, developing or acquiring new platform features and services, acquiring and
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integrating technologies and businesses, expanding into new markets and categories, and increasing our sales and marketing efforts. These efforts may be more costly than we expect and may not result in sufficient increased revenue or growth in our business to offset such costs. Any failure to increase our revenue sufficiently to keep pace with our investments and other expenses could prevent us from achieving, maintaining, or increasing profitability on a consistent basis, which could also negatively impact our cash flow. If we are unable to successfully address these risks and challenges as we encounter them, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.
In addition, the stock-based compensation expense related to our restricted stock units ("RSUs") and other outstanding equity awards will result in increased expenses in future periods. As of June 30, 2025, we had $2.2 billion of unrecognized stock-based compensation expense related to RSUs and other outstanding equity awards.
Our business may not continue to grow on pace with historical rates.
Our past revenue growth rate, growth in demand for our offerings, and financial performance may not be indicative of our future performance. You should not rely on our revenue or key business metrics for any previous quarterly or annual periods as any indication of our revenue, revenue growth, key business metrics, or key business metrics growth in future periods.
In particular, our revenue growth rate has fluctuated in prior periods, and it may continue to fluctuate over the short term and decline in the long term as the size of our business grows and as we achieve greater market adoption. We may also experience a declining revenue growth rate as a result of slowing demand for our platform, insufficient growth in the number of merchants, consumers, and Dashers that utilize our platform, increasing competition, a decrease in the growth of our overall market, our failure to capitalize on growth opportunities, or increasing regulatory costs. We also expect to continue to make investments in the development and expansion of our business, including through acquisitions, which may not result in sufficient revenue or growth to offset the cost of such investments. If our growth rate declines, investors’ perceptions of our business and the trading price of our Class A common stock could be adversely affected.
We face intense competition and if we are unable to compete effectively, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.
The markets in which we operate are intensely competitive and characterized by shifting user preferences, fragmentation, and frequent introductions of new services and offerings. In particular, local food delivery logistics, the largest category of our business today, is fragmented and intensely competitive. Globally, we compete with other local on-demand delivery companies, such as Uber Eats, Just Eat Takeaway, Delivery Hero, and other local incumbents. We also compete with merchants that have their own online ordering platforms, online ordering systems, merchants that own and operate their own delivery fleets, grocers and grocery delivery services, convenience stores and convenience store delivery services, and companies that provide merchant delivery services. In addition, we compete with traditional offline ordering channels, such as take-out offerings, telephone, and paper menus that merchants distribute to consumers. As we continue to expand to additional verticals, we may compete or come in closer competition with additional businesses with substantial resources, users, and brand power, including large e-commerce companies, large retailers, large grocery store chains and other large delivery service providers.
Our current and future competitors may enjoy competitive advantages such as greater name recognition, longer operating histories, market-specific knowledge, established relationships with local merchants and suppliers, larger existing user bases, more successful marketing capabilities, established geographic footprints and infrastructure, and substantially greater financial, technical, and other resources than we have. For example, with grocery delivery, we compete with established grocery chains that have strong bargaining power, established relationships with suppliers, and their own delivery fleets. Greater financial resources and product development capabilities may allow these competitors to respond more quickly and efficiently to new or emerging technologies and changes in merchant, consumer, and Dasher preferences that may render our platform less attractive or obsolete. If certain merchants choose to partner with our competitors in a specific geographic market, if merchants choose to engage exclusively with our competitors, or if merchants decide to not partner with us at all, we may lack a sufficient variety and supply of merchant options or lack access to the most popular merchants, such that our offering would become less appealing to consumers. Our competitors have in the past, and may in the future, also make acquisitions or establish cooperative or other strategic relationships among themselves or with others, including by integrating their services or membership products with the offerings of another company that provides expanded distribution. Our competitors could also introduce new offerings with competitive price and performance characteristics or undertake more aggressive marketing campaigns than ours. Such efforts may lead us to lose consumers or access to new consumers or require us to increase our marketing or promotional expenses or otherwise increase investment in our service in order to maintain our position with existing and new consumers.
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Many of our competitors are well capitalized and may offer discounted services, lower merchant commission rates and consumer fees, greater incentives for merchants joining their platforms and independent contractors who provide delivery services, consumer discounts and promotions, innovative platforms and offerings, and alternative pay models, any of which may be more attractive than those that we offer. Such competitive pressures have led us, and may lead us in the future, to change our commission rates and fees or change our incentives, discounts, and promotions to remain competitive. Such efforts have negatively affected, and will likely continue to negatively affect, our financial performance, and there is no guarantee that such efforts will be successful. Further, the markets in which we compete have attracted significant investments from a wide range of funding sources, and we anticipate that many of our competitors will continue to be highly capitalized. These investments, along with the other competitive advantages discussed above, may allow our competitors to continue to lower their prices and fees, or increase the incentives, discounts, and promotions they offer, and compete more effectively against us. Local on-demand delivery services for food and the other areas in which we compete are nascent, and we cannot guarantee that they will stabilize at a competitive equilibrium that will allow us to maintain or increase profitability. Further, merchants could determine that it is in their best interests to develop their own platforms to offer online pickup and delivery rather than use our platform.
It is relatively easy to switch between offerings in our industry. Consumers have a propensity to shift based on cost, quality, and selection and could use more than one local commerce platform; independent contractors who provide delivery services could use multiple platforms concurrently as they attempt to maximize earnings; and merchants could prefer to use the local commerce platform that offers the lowest commission rates and adopt more than one platform to maximize their volume of orders. As we and our competitors introduce new offerings and as existing offerings evolve, we expect to become subject to additional competition. Our competitors may adopt certain of our platform features or may adopt innovations that merchants, consumers, or Dashers value more highly than ours, which would make our platform less attractive and more difficult to differentiate.
As a result of the reasons described above, we may not be able to compete successfully. If we lose existing merchants, consumers, or Dashers that utilize our platform, fail to attract new merchants, consumers, or Dashers, or are forced to reduce our commission rate or make pricing or other concessions as a result of increased competition, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.
If we fail to retain our existing merchants and consumers or acquire new merchants and consumers in a cost-effective manner, our revenue, revenue growth, and margins may decrease and our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.
We believe that growth of our business and revenue is dependent on our ability to cost-effectively grow our platform by retaining our existing merchants and consumers and adding new merchants and consumers, including in new markets. The increase in merchants attracts more consumers to our platform and the increase in consumers attracts more merchants. This network takes time to build and may grow slower than we expect or slower than it has grown in the past. If we fail to retain either our existing merchants, especially our most popular merchants and our national brand partners, or consumers, the value of our network would be diminished. We expect to continue to incur substantial expenses to acquire additional merchants and consumers. In expanding our operations into new markets to acquire additional merchants and consumers, we may be placed into unfamiliar competitive environments, and we may invest significant resources with the possibility that the return on such investments will not be achieved in the expected timeframe or at all. We cannot assure you that the revenue from the merchants and consumers we acquire will ultimately exceed the cost of acquisition.
In addition, if merchants on our platform were to cease operations, temporarily or permanently, or face financial distress or other business disruption, or if our relationships with merchants on our platform deteriorate, we may not be able to provide consumers with sufficient merchant selection. This risk is particularly pronounced with restaurants, as each year a significant percentage of restaurants go out of business, and in markets where we have fewer merchants. Similarly, if we are unsuccessful in attracting and retaining popular merchants, if merchants enter into exclusive arrangements with our competitors, if we fail to negotiate satisfactory terms with merchants, or if we ineffectively manage our relationships with merchants, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected. Our agreements with partner merchants generally remain in effect until terminated by partner merchants or us. Partner merchants may generally terminate their agreements with us by providing us at least 7 or 30 days advance notice and such agreements do not generally provide for any exclusivity. In the event that our partner merchants terminate their agreements with us, the merchant selection available on our local commerce platform could be adversely affected. Changes to our business and to our relationships with some of our constituencies may also impact our ability to attract and retain other constituencies. For example, the increased growth of our membership products, DashPass and Wolt+, and how compelling these offerings are to consumers, depends in part on our ability to sign up eligible merchants to our membership products. Additionally, many of our consumers initially access our platform to take advantage of certain promotions, such as discounts and other reduced fees. We strive to demonstrate the value of our platform and offerings to
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such consumers, thereby encouraging them to access our platform regularly or become a paid user of our membership products, through prompts and notifications and time-limited trials of our membership product and other offerings. However, these consumers may never convert to a paid membership of our membership products or access our platform after they take advantage of our promotions. If we are not able to expand our consumer base, convert our consumers to regular paying consumers, or increase the spending of our current consumer base on our platform, demand for our full-price or paid services, including DashPass and Wolt+, and our revenue may grow slower than expected or decline.
If we fail to cost-effectively attract and retain Dashers or to increase the use of our platform by existing Dashers, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.
Our continued growth depends in part on our ability to cost-effectively attract and retain Dashers who satisfy our screening criteria and procedures, and to increase the use of our platform by existing Dashers. Dashers have the ability to decline offers or stop using our platform entirely at any time and we do not have any exclusivity arrangements with Dashers. In addition, we may modify our logistics models from time to time and Dashers may or may not find such modifications useful or favorable. If we do not continue to provide Dashers with accessibility to and flexibility on our platform and compelling opportunities to earn income, we may fail to attract new Dashers, retain existing Dashers, or increase their use of our platform, or we may experience complaints, negative publicity, or work stoppages that could adversely affect our users and our business. Relatedly, if merchants and/or consumers choose to use competing offerings, we may lack sufficient opportunities for Dashers to earn, which may reduce the perceived utility of our platform and impact our ability to attract and retain Dashers. To attract and retain Dashers, we regularly invest in removing friction from the dashing process, offer monetary incentives and perquisites, including access to programs that provide cashback rewards on certain purchases, and provide opportunities to quickly access Dasher earnings. We also frequently test Dasher incentives with subsets of existing Dashers and potential Dashers; however, these incentives could fail to attract and retain Dashers or fail to increase the use of our platform by existing Dashers or could have unintended adverse consequences, including negative press, adverse reactions from existing and potential Dashers, and harm to our brand and reputation. Changes in certain laws and regulations, including immigration and labor and employment laws, or laws that require us to make changes to our platform that decrease the accessibility, including removing access to our platform, or flexibility provided to Dashers in certain jurisdictions, may result in a decrease in the pool of Dashers, which may result in increased competition for Dashers or higher costs of recruitment and engagement. Other factors outside of our control may also reduce the number of Dashers that utilize our platform or the use of our platform by Dashers. If we fail to attract Dashers, retain existing Dashers on favorable terms, or maintain or increase the use of our platform by existing Dashers, we may not be able to meet the demands of merchants and consumers and our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.
We rely on merchants on our platform for many aspects of our business, and to the extent they fail to adequately maintain their service levels or materially increase the prices they charge consumers on our platform, our business could be adversely affected.
We rely on merchants on our platform to provide quality goods to our consumers at expected price points. If these merchants experience difficulty servicing consumer demand, producing quality goods, meeting our requirements and standards, or price their goods on our platform at unreasonable rates, our reputation and brand could be damaged. An increase in merchant operating costs, whether due to inflation or otherwise, could cause merchants on our platform to raise prices, renegotiate commission rates, or cease operations, which could in turn adversely affect our revenue, operational costs, and efficiency. Further, some items on our platform are listed at higher prices relative to their in-store prices. This practice can negatively affect consumer perception of our platform and could result in a decline in consumers or order volume, or both, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We expect a number of factors to cause our results of operations to fluctuate on a quarterly and annual basis, which may make it difficult to predict our future performance.
Our results of operations have historically varied from period to period, and we expect that our results of operations will continue to vary significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year because of a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control. As a result, comparing our results of operations on a period-to-period basis may not be meaningful. In addition to other risk factors described elsewhere in this “Risk Factors” section, factors that may contribute to the variability of our quarterly and annual results include:
• our ability to attract and retain merchants, consumers, and Dashers that utilize our platform in a cost-effective manner;
• our ability to accurately forecast revenue and appropriately plan expenses;
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• the effects of increased competition on our business;
• our ability to successfully expand in existing markets and successfully enter new markets;
• the impact of acquired technologies and businesses and our ability to successfully integrate such acquired technologies and businesses;
• changes in consumer behavior with respect to on-demand delivery;
• increases in marketing, sales, and other operating expenses that we may incur to grow and acquire new merchants, consumers, and Dashers;
• the mix among various aspects of our business, including our Marketplaces and Commerce Platform, our U.S. and non-U.S. operations, our restaurant and non-restaurant categories, and contributions to our overall business by new products and services, such as our membership products, DashPass and Wolt+, and our advertising products;
• the impact of worldwide economic conditions, including the resulting effect on consumer spending on on-demand delivery in any particular region or worldwide;
• the impact of weather and seasonality of our business, including the effect of academic calendars on college campuses and seasonal patterns in restaurant dining;
• our ability to maintain an adequate rate of growth and effectively manage that growth;
• our ability to maintain and increase traffic to our platform;
• the effects of changes in search engine placement and prominence;
• our ability to keep pace with technology changes in our industry;
• the success of our sales and marketing efforts;
• the effects of negative publicity on our business, reputation, or brand;
• our ability to protect, maintain, and enforce our intellectual property;
• costs associated with defending claims, including intellectual property infringement claims, and related judgments or settlements;
• changes in governmental or other regulations affecting our business, including regulations regarding the classification of Dashers that utilize our platform, regulations governing the rates that we pay Dashers that utilize our platform and other conditions of their work, and regulations impacting the commission rates we charge to merchants;
• interruptions in service and any related impact on our business, reputation, or brand;
• the effects of natural or human-made catastrophic events;
• the effects of outbreaks of contagious disease and the response of governments and private industry;
• the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting;
• the impact of payment processor costs and procedures;
• changes in the online payment transfer rate; and
• changes in our tax rates or exposure to additional tax liabilities.
The variability and unpredictability of our results of operations could result in our failure to meet our expectations or those of analysts that cover us or investors with respect to revenue or other results of operations for a particular period. If we fail to meet or exceed such expectations, the market price of our Class A common stock could fall substantially, and we could face costly lawsuits, including securities class action suits.
Systems failures and resulting interruptions in the availability of our websites, mobile applications, technology infrastructure, or platform could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
It is critical to our success that merchants, consumers, and Dashers be able to access our platform at all times. Our systems, or those of third parties upon which we rely, may experience service interruptions or degradation or other performance problems because of hardware and software defects or malfunctions, distributed denial-of-service and other cybersecurity attacks, infrastructure changes, human error, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, fires, other natural disasters,
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power losses, disruptions in telecommunications services, fraud, military or political conflicts, terrorist attacks, computer viruses, ransomware, malware, or other events. Our systems also may be subject to break-ins, sabotage, theft, and intentional acts of vandalism, including by our own employees. It may become increasingly difficult and expensive to maintain and improve the performance of our systems and the availability of our platform, especially during peak usage times, as our operations grow and the usage of our platform increases. Some of our systems are not fully redundant and our disaster recovery planning may not be sufficient for all eventualities. Our business interruption insurance may not be sufficient to cover all of our losses that may result from interruptions in our service as a result of systems failures and similar events.
We have experienced and will likely continue to experience system failures and other events or conditions that interrupt the availability or reduce or affect the speed or functionality of our platform. These events have resulted in losses in revenue in the past and in the future could result in significant losses of revenue and may harm our brand and reputation. Moreover, we have in the past voluntarily provided credits to consumers on our platform to compensate them for the inconvenience caused by a system failure or similar event, including for orders that are delivered late or orders that are cancelled by us or the merchant, and may voluntarily provide similar credits in the future. In addition, affected users could seek monetary recourse from us for their losses and such claims, even if unsuccessful, would likely be time-consuming and costly for us to address. Further, we may not be able to identify the cause or causes of these performance problems within an acceptable period of time. A prolonged interruption in the availability or reduction in the availability, speed, or other functionality of our platform could adversely affect our business and reputation and could result in the loss of users.
If we are unable to make acquisitions and investments, or successfully integrate acquisitions into our business, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.
As part of our business strategy, we will continue to consider a wide array of strategic transactions, including acquisitions of, and investments in, businesses, technologies, intellectual property, services, and other assets and arrangements that complement our business. We have previously acquired and invested in, and continue to evaluate, targets that operate in relatively nascent markets and there is no assurance that such acquired businesses, or any investment or strategic transaction that we enter into, will be successfully integrated into our business, generate revenue, or achieve any expected benefits on a timely basis or at all.
Acquisitions and similar strategic transactions involve numerous risks, any of which could harm our business and negatively affect our financial condition and results of operations, including:
• intense competition for suitable acquisition and strategic transaction targets, which could increase prices and adversely affect our ability to consummate deals on favorable or acceptable terms;
• transaction-related lawsuits or claims;
• difficulties associated with managing a larger, more complex, combined company;
• difficulties integrating and realizing the anticipated benefits of new business models, lines of business, and adjacent technologies from acquisitions into our operations;
• difficulties integrating the technologies and operations, including compensation structures, existing contracts, and personnel of an acquired business;
• difficulties retaining, integrating, and motivating key employees or business partners of an acquired business, and difficulties retaining or motivating our existing key employees or business partners after an acquisition;
• difficulties retaining merchants, consumers, and Dashers, as applicable, of an acquired business;
• challenges integrating internal controls, procedures, and policies and accounting, finance, and forecasting practices of acquired businesses with our own, especially in the context of international businesses;
• challenges relating to the structure of an investment, such as governance, accountability, operations, expense sharing, and decision-making conflicts that may arise in the context of a joint venture or other majority ownership investments;
• challenges with integrating the brand identity of an acquired company with our own;
• difficulties in operating a geographically dispersed organization, including as a result of different time zones, languages, and cultural, political, and business practices;
• currency, regulatory, and compliance risks associated with non-U.S. jurisdictions and entry into new markets;
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• diversion of financial and management resources from existing operations or alternative acquisition or investment opportunities;
• failure to realize the anticipated benefits or synergies of a transaction;
• failure to identify and/or sufficiently mitigate against the problems, liabilities, or other shortcomings or challenges of an investment or acquired business, technology, or asset, including issues related to intellectual property, regulatory compliance practices, litigation, security vulnerabilities, trust and safety practices, brand management, revenue recognition or other accounting practices, or employee or user issues;
• the enactment of new laws or regulations that are adverse to an investment or acquired business, or impede our ability to achieve the expected benefits of such investments;
• regulatory challenges from antitrust or other regulatory authorities that may block, delay, or impose conditions (such as divestitures, ownership, or operational restrictions or other structural or behavioral remedies) on the completion of transactions or the integration of acquired businesses;
• an acquired business or investment in new technologies, products, or services cannibalizing a portion of our existing business;
• additional stock-based compensation issued or assumed in connection with an acquisition or strategic transaction, which may in turn impact our stock price and results of operations;
• as a result of an acquisition, third parties we work with or the acquired business works with may delay or defer certain business decisions, seek to terminate, change, or renegotiate their relationships with us or the acquired business, or consider working with a competitor instead; and
• adverse market reaction to an acquisition, particularly if we are unable to achieve any expected benefits in our results of operations, or if the anticipated benefits are not realized as rapidly or to the extent anticipated or if the transaction costs are greater than expected.
We have made and may continue to make strategic investments as part of our business strategy. Strategic investments inherently involve less control by us over the business operations of the investee, thereby potentially increasing the financial, legal, operational, regulatory, or compliance risks associated with the joint venture or strategic investment. In addition, we may be dependent on partners, controlling shareholders, management, or other persons or entities who control them and who may have business interests, strategies, or goals that are inconsistent or competitive with ours. Business decisions or other actions or omissions of the partners, controlling shareholders, management, or other persons or entities who control them may adversely affect the value of our investment, result in litigation or regulatory action against us, and may otherwise damage our reputation and brand. Our ability to sell or transfer, or realize value from our investments may be limited by applicable securities laws and regulations. Entry into certain transactions with non-U.S. entities now or in the future may be subject to government regulations, including review related to foreign direct investment by U.S. or non-U.S. government entities. If a transaction with a non-U.S. entity is subject to regulatory review, such regulatory review might limit our ability to enter into the desired strategic alliance and thus our ability to carry out our long-term business strategy. We can provide no assurance that our strategic investments will generate returns for our business, or that we will not lose our initial investment in whole or in part. For example, during the quarter ended December 31, 2023, we recorded an impairment of $101 million associated with non-marketable equity securities that we acquired in connection with strategic investments.
If we fail to address the foregoing risks or other problems encountered in connection with past or future acquisitions of, and investments in, businesses, technologies, services, intellectual property, and other assets, arrangements, and investments, or if we fail to successfully integrate or otherwise realize the benefits of such acquisitions or investments, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.
Our international operations and any future international expansion will subject us to additional costs and risks and our plans may not be successful.
We have significant international operations, and we expect to continue to make significant investments in non-U.S. countries as part of our growth strategy. We currently operate in over 30 countries across the globe and we recently announced the pending acquisition of Deliveroo, which, if completed, will expand our operations to additional countries. Our operations outside of the United States require significant operating expenses and management attention in order to oversee operations over broad geographic areas with varying regulations, cultural norms, and customs, in addition to placing strain on our finance, analytics, compliance, legal, engineering, and operations teams. Our international
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operations and our plans for investment in non-U.S. jurisdictions subject us to a number of risks and we may not be successful in our international operations for a variety of reasons, including:
• difficulties in recruiting and retaining talented and capable employees in non-U.S. countries and maintaining our company culture across all of our offices;
• increased difficulty achieving profitability, operating leverage and scale as a result of continued expansion across jurisdictions rather than concentrated growth in fewer jurisdictions;
• an inability to attract and retain merchants, consumers, and Dashers or an inability to reach agreements with and retain third party service providers;
• competition from local incumbents that better understand the local area and culture, may market and operate more effectively, and may enjoy greater local affinity or awareness;
• differing demand dynamics and difficulty accurately predicting consumer preferences and purchasing habits, which may make our platform less successful;
• difficulty localizing, or an inability to localize, services for merchants, consumers, and Dashers in non-U.S. jurisdictions;
• difficulty complying with varying laws, regulatory standards or other requirements from applicable authorities across jurisdictions, including with respect to labor and employment, data privacy, data protection, tax, export control and sanctions, public health, payment processing, transactions, and local regulatory restrictions;
• increased financial accounting and reporting requirements and complexities, including with respect to revenue recognition and similar accounting principles;
• difficulties with communication and information sharing as a result of communication barriers, cultural norms and customs, and differing legal, compliance, trust and safety, accounting, and financial standards, especially as it relates to compliance with laws, internal controls and processes, and financial reporting;
• adverse tax consequences, including the complexities of foreign value added and digital services tax laws, and restrictions on the repatriation of earnings;
• unique and varying terms and conditions and cultural norms in contract negotiations across jurisdictions;
• varying payment cycles and difficulties in enforcing contracts and collecting accounts receivable;
• obtaining any required government approvals, licenses, or other authorizations;
• varying levels of Internet and mobile technology adoption and infrastructure;
• foreign currency exchange restrictions or costs;
• operating in jurisdictions that do not protect intellectual property rights in the same manner or to the same extent as the United States;
• public health concerns or emergencies, which have occurred, and which may occur, in various parts of the world in which we operate or may operate in the future; and
• limitations and differences in available instruments to invest our funds, including the risk profile associated with such investments, and limitations on our ability to repatriate funds.
Challenges with operating and growing our business internationally increase the risk that any potential future expansion efforts that we may undertake may not be successful. If we invest substantial time and resources to expand our operations internationally and are unable to manage these risks effectively, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected. In addition, international expansion may subject our business to broader economic, political, and other international risks, including economic volatility, security risks, and geopolitical conflicts, and may increase our risks in complying with various laws and standards, including with respect to anti-corruption, anti-bribery, export controls, and trade and economic sanctions, such as U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions and similar European Union ("EU") sanctions. For example, the operations of our wholly-owned subsidiary, Wolt Oy ("Wolt"), or Wolt's subsidiaries in jurisdictions that are in close proximity to Russia increase the difficulty in complying with trade and economic sanction regimes related to business with Russia.
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Our pricing methodologies are impacted by a number of factors, and we may not ultimately be successful in attracting and retaining merchants, consumers, and Dashers.
Demand for our platform is highly sensitive to a range of factors, including the price of the goods delivered, the amount of compensation and gratuities required to attract and retain Dashers, incentives paid to Dashers, and the fees and commissions we charge merchants and consumers. Many factors, including operating costs, legal and regulatory requirements, constraints, or changes, and our current and future competitors’ pricing and marketing strategies, could significantly affect our pricing strategies. For example, some jurisdictions in which we operate have established minimum earnings standards for certain delivery workers, including Dashers, and other types of regulation, and we expect other such measures may be enacted in the future. These minimum earnings standards and similar regulations have caused, and may in the future cause, us to increase the fees we charge to consumers.
Certain of our competitors offer, or may in the future offer, lower-priced or a broader range of offerings. Similarly, certain competitors may use marketing strategies that enable them to attract and retain new merchants, consumers, and Dashers at a lower cost than us. There is no assurance that we will not be forced, through competition, regulation, or otherwise, to reduce the price of delivery for consumers, increase the incentives we pay to Dashers that utilize our platform, further reduce the fees and commissions we charge merchants, or increase our marketing and other expenses to attract and retain merchants, consumers, and Dashers in response to competitive pressures. We have launched, and may in the future launch, new pricing strategies and initiatives, including Dasher or consumer loyalty programs, such as our membership products like DashPass and Wolt+, or modify existing pricing methodologies or the way in which fees, taxes, or similar items are presented on our platform, any of which may not ultimately be successful in attracting and retaining merchants, consumers, or Dashers and which may result in lower commissions or fees, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Further, our consumers’ price sensitivity may vary by geographic location, and as we expand, our business model and pricing methodologies may not be competitive in these locations. As a result, our continued international expansion may require us to change our operations and pricing strategies to adjust to different cultural norms, including with respect to consumer pricing and gratuities.
Our assessments about optimal pricing strategy may not be accurate and may not enable us to compete in the categories and regions in which we operate effectively. There may also be errors or defects in the technology we use to set our prices, which could result in underpricing or overpricing our services. In addition, as the products and services on our platform change, we may need to revise our pricing methodologies. Any such pricing assumptions, technological errors or defects in pricing, or changes to our pricing methodology could adversely affect demand for our platform, our brand and reputation, and results of operations.
We face certain risks associated with our pay models for Dashers.
Our pay models for Dashers have previously led, and may continue to lead, to negative publicity, lawsuits, arbitration demands, and government inquiries. For example, under a former pay model for Dashers in the United States, we would increase the amount paid to Dashers on a delivery in cases when a consumer left little or no tip. Although this additional pay was intended to help Dashers by making every delivery economically worthwhile, it also had the effect of causing some people to be under the misimpression that not all tips were being received by Dashers. Government authorities have brought claims against us related to a former Dasher pay model and government authorities may bring similar claims in the future against our pay models.
We have also launched, and may in the future launch, changes to the rates and fee structures for Dashers that utilize our platform, which may not ultimately be successful in attracting and retaining Dashers and may result in negative publicity or damage to our reputation. Changes to our pay models have resulted in, and in the future may result in, negative publicity related to perceptions of its complexity, inconsistency in earnings for Dashers, and lack of flexibility in the ways consumers can leave tips, any of which may negatively impact our ability to attract and retain merchants, consumers, and Dashers. For example, we increased the amount we paid to Dashers per order when we changed our pay model in September 2019, but this also caused less consistency in earnings across deliveries in some cases. In addition, in June 2023, we announced an option for Dashers in most cities to earn a guaranteed hourly rate while delivering. We change our Dasher pay models from time to time based on a variety of factors, including as a result of legal and regulatory changes and expansion into new categories and geographies. In particular, new or amended laws and regulations have required, and could in the future require, us to make changes to our Dasher pay models, or make other changes to our platform, that decrease the flexibility provided to Dashers in certain jurisdictions, which may also impact our ability to cost-effectively attract or retain Dashers. Our current Dasher pay models, any changes made in response to new laws and regulations, and any future changes to our pay models or our ability to cost-effectively attract and retain Dashers, could result in an increase to the fees we charge to consumers, which in turn could affect our ability to attract and retain consumers, and could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
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Further, while we maintain that Dashers that utilize our platform remain independent contractors, there is a risk that Dashers may be reclassified as employees under U.S. federal or state law or the laws of other jurisdictions in which we operate. As discussed further elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, we have been involved in and continue to be involved in numerous legal proceedings related to Dasher classification in the United States. A reclassification of Dashers as employees could require us to revise our pricing methodologies and Dasher pay models to account for such a change to Dasher classification, and to make other internal adjustments to account for any transition of a subset of Dashers to employment positions, which could have an adverse effect that is material to our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
If we fail to manage our growth effectively, our brand, business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.
Since 2013, we have experienced rapid growth in our employee headcount, the number of users on our platform, our geographic reach, and our operations, and we expect to continue to experience growth in the future. This growth has placed, and may continue to place, substantial demands on management and our operational and financial infrastructure.
We will need to continue to improve our operational and financial infrastructure, including the development of appropriate controls, in order to manage our business effectively and accurately report our results of operations. Similarly, our failure to implement and maintain effective cybersecurity systems and measures with respect to our platform as we grow could result in, among other things, breaches, security incidents, theft or fraud, service disruptions, loss of user confidence in our platform, legal claims, regulatory investigations, and damage to our reputation or brand, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We have made, and intend to continue to make, substantial investments in our technology, customer service, and sales and marketing infrastructure. Our ability to manage our growth effectively and to integrate new employees, technologies, services, and acquisitions into our existing business will require us to continue to expand our operational and financial infrastructure and to continue to effectively integrate, develop, and motivate a large number of new employees, while maintaining the beneficial aspects of our culture. Continued growth could challenge our ability to develop and improve our operational, financial, and management controls, enhance our reporting systems and procedures, recruit, train, and retain highly skilled personnel, and maintain user satisfaction. Additionally, if we do not manage the growth of our business and operations effectively, the quality of our platform and the efficiency of our operations could suffer, which could adversely affect our reputation and brand, business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Growth of our business will depend on a strong reputation and brand, and any failure to maintain, protect, and enhance our brand could hurt our ability to retain or expand our base of merchants, consumers, and Dashers and our ability to increase their level of engagement.
We believe that building a strong reputation and brand and continuing to increase the strength of the local network effects among the merchants, consumers, and Dashers that use our platform are critical to our ability to attract and retain all three constituencies and increase their engagement with our platform. Similarly, maintaining and enhancing the Wolt reputation and brand will be particularly important for our continued growth in Europe and Asia. Successfully maintaining, protecting, and enhancing our reputation and brand and increasing the local network effects of our platform will depend on the success of our marketing efforts, our ability to provide consistent, high-quality services and support, and our ability to successfully secure, maintain, and defend our rights to use the “DoorDash” and "Wolt" marks, our logos, and other trademarks important to our brand, as well as a number of other factors, many of which are outside our control. Our users have a wide variety of options for delivery of goods, including other local commerce platforms and services, and consumer preferences may also change. To expand our user base, we must appeal to new users who may have historically used other methods of delivering goods or other local commerce platforms.
Our reputation, brand, and ability to build trust with merchants, consumers, and Dashers may be adversely affected by complaints and negative publicity about us, our platform, merchants, and Dashers that utilize our platform or our competitors’ platforms, even if factually incorrect or based on isolated incidents. The effect of negative publicity could be exacerbated to the extent dissatisfaction with, or complaints concerning, us are disseminated via social media platforms. Any such expressions of dissatisfaction or complaints, even if ultimately concluded to be unfounded or successfully resolved without direct adverse financial effects, could still harm our brand, reputation, and local network effects. Negative perception of our platform or company may result from:
• complaints or negative publicity about us, our business model, our platform, services or items provided through our platform, including highly regulated products, Dashers, merchants, consumers, or our policies and guidelines, including Dasher pay;
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• missing or incorrect items, inaccurate orders, or cancelled orders;
• illegal, negligent, reckless, or otherwise inappropriate behavior by users or third parties;
• food tampering or inappropriate or unsanitary food preparation, handling, or delivery;
• traffic accidents caused by, or involving, Dashers or employee couriers or death or serious injury involving a Dasher or employee courier or any party associated with us;
• a pandemic or an outbreak of disease, in which constituencies of our network become infected;
• a failure to provide Dashers with a sufficient number of offers or otherwise pay Dashers competitively;
• a failure to offer consumers competitive pricing and delivery times;
• a failure to provide a range of delivery options sought by consumers;
• a failure to provide environmentally friendly delivery and packaging options;
• actual or perceived disruptions to or defects in our platform or similar incidents, such as privacy or security breaches or other security incidents, site outages, payment disruptions, or other incidents that impact the reliability of our services;
• litigation over, or investigations by regulators into, our platform or operations;
• changes to our policies that users or others perceive as overly restrictive, unclear, or inconsistent with our values or mission;
• a failure to comply with legal, tax, privacy, and regulatory requirements, including violations of food information and alcohol delivery age verification regulations;
• changes to our practices with respect to collection and use of merchant, consumer, and Dasher data;
• a failure to enforce our policies in a manner that users perceive as effective, fair, and transparent;
• a failure to operate our business in a way that is consistent with our values and mission;
• inadequate or unsatisfactory user support experiences;
• illegal or otherwise inappropriate behavior by our management team or other employees or contractors;
• negative responses by merchants, consumers, or Dashers to new services on our platform;
• a failure to register and prevent misappropriation of our trademarks;
• perception of our treatment of employees, merchants, consumers, and Dashers and our response to employee, merchant, consumer, and Dasher sentiment related to political or social causes or actions of management;
• perception of any key brands, influencers, or other third parties that we have partnered with or may partner with in the future;
• our operations in regions that are or become subject to geopolitical instability, conflict, or economic sanctions, and any negative consequences of such operations to us, our merchants, consumers, or Dashers; or
• any of the foregoing with respect to our competitors, to the extent such resulting negative perception affects the public’s perception of us or our industry as a whole.
For example, we have previously received negative media coverage related to the manner in which Dashers were compensated, in particular with respect to gratuities, concerns related to food tampering and general food safety and quality, and concerns regarding the safety of Dashers, consumers, and merchants using our platform, which has adversely affected our reputation and brand from time to time. If we do not successfully develop, protect, and enhance our reputation and brand and increase the local network effects of our platform, our business may not grow, and we may not be able to compete effectively.
We have been subject to cybersecurity incidents in the past and anticipate being the target of future attacks. Any actual or perceived cybersecurity incident or security or privacy breach could interrupt our operations, subject us to claims, litigation, regulatory investigations and liability, and adversely affect our reputation, brand, business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Our business involves the collection, storage, transmission, and other processing of personal data and other sensitive and proprietary data of our merchants, consumers, and Dashers. Additionally, we maintain sensitive and proprietary data
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relating to our business, including our own proprietary data and personal data relating to our employees. Cybersecurity incidents are increasing in severity and sophistication and can originate with external actors or with our employees and contractors, whether acting maliciously or by inadvertently providing access to an external party or having their credentials compromised by an external party. Further, over the past several years, there has been and continues to be a heightened risk of cybersecurity incidents sponsored by state actors or state-affiliated actors. In addition to other vectors, cybersecurity incidents can originate on our vendors’ systems, which can be leveraged to access our websites, platforms, and data, including personal data. We and our vendors have previously experienced these types of breaches and other incidents. For example, in August 2022, we reported an incident affecting one of our vendors that resulted in unauthorized access to personal data of certain consumers and Dashers. We have undertaken steps to enhance our cybersecurity and governance program, which include adding security layers around data, improving access controls, hiring additional personnel with cybersecurity experience, and using outside expertise to identify and repel threats. We cannot assure you that all potential causes of these incidents have been identified and remediated or will not lead to recurrence or other incidents.
Because techniques used to obtain unauthorized access to or to sabotage or exfiltrate data from information systems change frequently and may not be known until launched against us or our vendors, we and our vendors may be unable to anticipate or prevent these attacks, react in a timely manner, or implement adequate detective or preventive measures, and we and our vendors may face delays in our response to or remediation of breaches and other incidents. Unauthorized parties have in the past gained access, and may in the future gain access, to systems used in our business through various means. In addition, there have been, and may in the future be additional, attempts to fraudulently induce our employees, merchants, consumers, Dashers, vendors, or others into disclosing user names, passwords, payment card information, or other sensitive information resulting in user account takeovers or the fraudulent transfer of funds to bad actors. With the prevalence of remote work, we may also be exposed to increased risks of breaches or incidents via these or other methods.
Although we have taken measures to monitor and protect our systems and the data in our possession, these measures have not fully protected our systems in the past and cannot guarantee security in the future. Our IT and infrastructure may be vulnerable to viruses, phishing and other forms of social engineering, denial-of-service, credential stuffing, ransomware and other malware, insecure third-party libraries, application or network vulnerabilities, reliance on third-party vendors for patches, unauthorized configurations, employee error and malfeasance, and other sources of disruption or unauthorized access, and, as a result, unauthorized parties may be able to access our systems and data, including personal data and other sensitive and proprietary data, through our systems. Although we have policies and technical controls restricting the access to and sharing of the data we store, as well as requiring encryption of data where appropriate, these policies and controls may not be effective in all cases. Any actual or perceived breach or incident could interrupt our operations, harm our reputation, brand, and competitive position, result in our platform being unavailable, loss or improper access to, or unavailability of, data, fraudulent transfer of funds, regulatory investigations, proceedings, and significant legal, regulatory, and financial exposure. Any such actual or perceived breaches or incidents or any perception that our security measures are inadequate could lead to loss of merchant, consumer, or Dasher confidence in, or decreased use of, our platform, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Further, any cybersecurity attacks or actual or perceived breaches or other incidents directed at, or suffered by, our competitors could reduce confidence in our industry as a whole and, as a result, reduce confidence in us.
Any actual or perceived breach or other security incident impacting any entities with which we share or disclose data (including, for example, our vendors) could have similar effects. Our ability to monitor our vendors’ security measures and respond to any incidents impacting them is limited. There have been and may continue to be significant supply chain attacks, and we cannot guarantee that our or our vendors’ systems have not been breached or that they do not contain exploitable defects, bugs, or vulnerabilities that could result in an incident, breach, or other disruption to, our or our vendors’ systems.
Additionally, defending against claims or litigation based on any breach or incident, regardless of their merit, could be costly and divert management’s attention. While we maintain cybersecurity insurance that may help provide coverage for these types of incidents and resulting claims, we cannot be certain that our insurance coverage will be adequate for liabilities incurred relating to any breach or incident, that insurance will continue to be available to us on commercially reasonable terms or at all, or that any insurer will not deny coverage as to any future claim. The successful assertion of any claim against us that exceeds available insurance coverage, or changes in our insurance policies, including premium increases or the imposition of large deductible or co-insurance requirements, could have an adverse effect on our reputation, brand, business, financial condition, and results of operations.
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If the on-demand local commerce category does not continue to grow, or grows slower than we expect, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.
The on-demand local commerce category has grown rapidly since we launched our platform in 2013, but it is uncertain to what extent the market for local commerce platforms will continue to grow. The markets for certain services we facilitate, in particular convenience, grocery, advertising, and certain other categories, are in earlier stages of development than our restaurant category, and it is uncertain whether demand for these services will continue to grow and achieve stable, widespread market acceptance. In addition, through both organic and inorganic growth, we have entered geographies where the development of the on-demand local commerce category is in different stages of market acceptance. Our success will depend to a substantial extent on the willingness of people to widely adopt on-demand local commerce platforms. If merchants and consumers do not embrace the transition to on-demand local commerce platforms as we expect, including as a result of concerns regarding safety, affordability, or for other reasons, whether as a result of incidents on our platform or on our competitors’ platforms or otherwise, or instead adopt alternative solutions that may arise, then the market for our platform may not further develop or may develop slower than we expect, either of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We are committed to the long-term success of our business, including by expanding our platform and enhancing the consumer experience, which may not maximize short-term financial results and may yield results that conflict with the market’s expectations, which could result in our stock price being adversely affected.
We are committed to the long-term success of our business, including by expanding our platform and enhancing the consumer experience, which we believe will ultimately drive long-term shareholder value. However, expanding our platform and continually enhancing the consumer experience requires steady and significant investments, which may not necessarily maximize short-term financial results. We frequently make business decisions that may negatively impact our short-term financial results when we believe that the decisions are consistent with our goals to improve the consumer experience, which we believe will improve our financial results over the long term. These decisions may not be consistent with the short-term expectations of our stockholders and may not produce the long-term benefits that we expect, in which case our growth, business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.
Illegal, improper, or otherwise inappropriate activity of merchants, consumers, Dashers, or other third party service providers, whether or not occurring while using our platform, could expose us to liability and adversely affect our business, brand, financial condition, and results of operations.
Illegal, improper, or otherwise inappropriate activities by merchants, consumers, Dashers, or other third party service providers, including the activities of former consumers and Dashers or individuals who are impersonating consumers, merchants, Dashers, or other third party service providers, have occurred, and in the future may occur, which could adversely affect our brand, business, financial condition, and results of operations. These activities include food tampering, inappropriate or unsanitary food preparation, handling, or delivery, dangerous or unlawful vehicular operation, assault, battery, theft, unauthorized use of credit and debit cards or bank accounts, registering consumer, merchant, or Dasher accounts with us using stolen personal information or altered identification documents, additional forms of identity theft, and other misconduct. Such activities have resulted in, and may in the future result in, physical injury, loss of life, property and financial damage for consumers, merchants, Dashers, and other third parties, business disruption, reputational and brand damage, or other significant liabilities for us.
We have in the past incurred, and may in the future incur, losses from various types of fraud, including use of stolen or fraudulent credit card, debit card, or bank account information, fraud with respect to background checks, fraud by employees or agents relating to payments or credits on our platform, exploitation of system bugs or vulnerabilities to circumvent payment requirements, account takeovers of merchant, consumer, or Dasher accounts by bad actors, other unauthorized uses of another person's identity, and use of fraudulent identification documents. For example, bad actors have created consumer, merchant, and Dasher accounts using stolen personal identifying information for illicit purposes. Among other things, this has caused Form 1099s in the United States, and the equivalent in other countries with similar reporting obligations, to be incorrectly sent to individuals who are not performing services as Dashers. In addition, under current credit card practices, we may be liable for orders facilitated on our platform with fraudulent credit card data, even if the associated financial institution approved the credit card transaction.
While we have implemented various measures intended to anticipate, identify, and address the risk of these types of illegal, improper, or otherwise inappropriate activities of merchants, consumers, Dashers, and other third party service providers, these measures may not adequately address or prevent all such activity from occurring or scale efficiently with our business and such conduct could expose us to liability, including through litigation or regulatory action, or adversely affect our brand or reputation. At the same time, if the measures we have taken to guard against these illegal, improper, or
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otherwise inappropriate activities, such as our requirement that all Dashers undergo a background check where permitted by applicable law, are too restrictive and inadvertently prevent Dashers and consumers otherwise in good standing from using our platform, or if we are unable to implement and communicate these measures fairly and transparently or are perceived to have failed to do so, or if our competitors do not adopt similar measures, the growth of Dashers and consumers on our platform and their use of our platform could be adversely affected. Any negative publicity related to incidents involving illegal, improper, or otherwise inappropriate activities, or the measures we adopt to mitigate the risk of such incidents, whether such incidents occurred on our platform or on our competitors’ platforms, could adversely affect our reputation and brand or public perception of our industry as a whole, which could negatively affect demand for platforms like ours, and potentially lead to increased regulatory or litigation exposure.
Our platform facilitates deliveries to consumers from non-partner merchants, and we face certain risks associated with these deliveries.
We aim to have a broad selection of merchants on our platform, which sometimes includes facilitating deliveries to consumers from non-partner merchants. Facilitating deliveries from non-partner merchants is generally less operationally efficient than doing so with partner merchants, as our platform is not integrated with non-partner merchants’ systems. As a result, we generally experience higher operational expenses for each order and a higher likelihood of errors. The occurrence of any errors, delays with orders, or other problems associated with facilitating deliveries with non-partner merchants could create a negative perception of our platform and cause damage to our reputation and brand.
Some non-partner merchants may not want to be included on our platform and may request to be removed. There is a risk that non-partner merchants will bring legal claims against us relating to their inclusion on our platform. In addition, measures have been enacted in many U.S. jurisdictions that prohibit, among other things, on-demand local commerce platforms like ours from facilitating deliveries from restaurants without the restaurants’ prior consent. We have adopted internal policies pursuant to which we do not add new non-partner restaurants for delivery on our platform in the United States. However, we may continue to add non-partner merchants in categories other than restaurants. We may also continue to revise and update our internal policies related to non-partner restaurants and other merchants. To the extent we are required or we choose to remove non-partner merchants for any reason, this may adversely affect our ability to provide a broad selection of merchants on our platform, attract and retain consumers and could directly and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
If we do not continue to innovate and further develop our platform, our platform developments do not perform, we do not successfully manage our platform strategy, or we are not able to keep pace with technological developments, we may not remain competitive and our business and results of operations could suffer.
Our success depends in part on our ability to continue to innovate and further develop our platform. To remain competitive, we must continuously enhance and improve the functionality and features of our platform, including our websites and mobile applications, our technology infrastructure, and the suite of merchant services that we offer through our platform. To compete effectively, we must also provide a convenient, efficient, and reliable merchant and consumer experience on our platform, and we may be unable to effectively address merchant and consumer needs or identify emerging consumer trends.
In addition, any new products or services that we develop may not be introduced in a timely or cost-effective manner, may contain errors or defects, or may not achieve the broad market acceptance necessary to generate sufficient revenue. Merchants, consumers, and Dashers may delay adoption and use of new products and services to permit them to make a more thorough evaluation of those products and services and to compare them against potentially competitive products in the market. Further, we may make changes to our platform and platform strategy that merchants, consumers, or Dashers do not find useful and we may discontinue certain products, services, or features that our merchants, consumers, or Dashers have otherwise enjoyed. To the extent that discontinued products, services, or features remain subject to a current contract with the applicable third party, we may incur costs with respect to our determination to discontinue those products, services, or features. Failure to effectively manage our platform and platform strategy could lead to merchant, consumer, or Dasher dissatisfaction and contractual liabilities, which could adversely affect our business and operating results. If existing and new merchants and consumers do not perceive the delivery services provided by Dashers that utilize our platform to be reliable, safe, and affordable, or if we fail to offer new and relevant services and features on our platform, we may not be able to attract or retain merchants, consumers, or Dashers or to increase their use of our platform, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Further, if competitors introduce new features, offerings, or technologies, or if new industry standards and practices or consumer trends emerge, our existing technology, services, websites, and mobile applications may become less popular or obsolete. For example, companies operating in different industries are developing and have begun implementing
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autonomous technologies, and we believe that they may use these technologies to compete with us in the delivery or logistics industries. Our competitors may develop and commercialize autonomous and drone delivery technologies at scale before we or our partners do. In the event that our competitors bring autonomous or drone delivery to market before we do, or their technology is, or is perceived to be, superior to our or our partners’ technology, they may be able to leverage such technology to compete more effectively with us, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Our future success could depend in large part on our ability to invest in, develop, and respond to technological advances and emerging industry standards and practices in a cost-effective and timely manner.
We have scaled our business rapidly and significant new platform features and services have in the past resulted in, and in the future may continue to result in, operational challenges affecting our business. Developing and launching enhancements to, and new services on, our platform, including our underlying technology infrastructure, may involve significant technical risks, the time and attention of our personnel, including management and key employees, and meaningful upfront capital investments that may not generate return on investment. We may use new technologies ineffectively, or we may fail to adapt to emerging industry standards. If we face material delays in introducing new or enhanced platform features and services or updated technology infrastructure, or if our recently introduced offerings do not perform in accordance with our expectations, the merchants, consumers, and Dashers that utilize our platform may forgo the use of our services in favor of those of our competitors.
We face certain risks in connection with our self-operated convenience, grocery, and other retail businesses.
We face certain risks in connection with our self-operated convenience, grocery, and other retail businesses, including DashMart and Wolt Market. To build and expand our self-operated businesses, we have made substantial investments, including in establishing and managing a reliable supply chain for in-store products, establishing supply-related contractual partnerships, leasing premises, hiring personnel, and rolling out relevant technologies and processes. We plan to continue to invest in such businesses in the future. The maintenance and expansion of our self-operated businesses requires significant investments, and there is no assurance that we will realize any of the anticipated benefits. In locations where we operate DashMart and Wolt Market, we may not be able to generate a sufficient number of orders to cover our fixed costs and make such services viable and we may incur significant costs before we can determine the viability of these DashMart and Wolt Market locations. Our self-operated retail locations also expose us to different regulatory requirements and risks than our Marketplaces and Commerce Platform, in particular with respect to food safety, permit and license requirements, and zoning restrictions, and certain other business risks, including inventory shrinkage and the impact of changing economic policy on the cost of goods resold by DashMart and Wolt Market. Our expansion into convenience, grocery, and other retail categories, may also result in the diversion of management’s attention from other business opportunities as well as the diversion of resources from support functions, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Our marketing efforts to help grow our business may not be effective.
Promoting awareness of our platform is important to our ability to grow our business, and attracting merchants, consumers, and Dashers can be costly. We believe that much of the growth in the number of merchants, consumers, and Dashers that utilize our platform is attributable to our paid marketing initiatives. Our marketing efforts currently include referrals, affiliate programs, free or discount trials, partnerships, display advertising, television, billboards, radio, video, direct mail, social media, email, podcasts, hiring and classified advertisement websites, mobile “push” communications, search engine optimization, and keyword search campaigns. Our marketing initiatives may become increasingly expensive and we may not generate a meaningful return on these initiatives. Even if we increase revenue as a result of our paid marketing efforts, it may not offset the additional marketing expenses we incur. If our marketing efforts to help grow our business are not successful or cost-effective, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.
If we fail to maintain or improve the cost-effectiveness of our local commerce platform, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.
Our ability to provide a cost-effective local commerce platform depends on a number of factors, including Dasher efficiency and Dasher pay. Dasher efficiency relies on the technology that powers our platform and while we continue to make significant investments to improve the efficiency and sophistication of our technology, including enhancements to demand prediction, forecasting food preparation times at merchants, and optimizing our routing and batching algorithms, there is no guarantee that such efforts will be successful and produce the gains in efficiency to our platform that we expect. Dasher pay is a major component of the cost of our business and subject to a number of risks, including changes to our Dasher pay models and changes in macroeconomic conditions. The cost-effectiveness of our platform would also be adversely affected if our operational and technological improvements do not reduce the number of defective orders and
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accordingly our cost of revenue and refunds and credits. If we are unable to maintain or improve the cost-effectiveness of our platform, including with respect to Dasher efficiency, Dasher pay, and defective orders, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.
Any failure to offer high-quality support may harm our relationships with merchants, consumers, and Dashers and could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Our ability to attract and retain merchants, consumers, and Dashers is dependent in part on our ability to provide high-quality support. Merchants, consumers, and Dashers depend on our support organization to resolve any issues relating to our platform. We rely on third parties to provide some support services and our ability to provide effective support is partially dependent on our ability to attract and retain third-party customer support providers who are qualified to support users of our platform and well versed in our platform. As we continue to grow our business and improve our offerings, we will face challenges related to providing high-quality support services at scale. Additionally, as we continue to grow our international business and the number of users not based in the U.S. on our platform, our support organization will face additional challenges, including those associated with delivering support in languages other than English and in ways consistent with the customs and dominant technologies used in the various geographies in which we operate. Any failure to maintain high-quality support, or a perception that we do not maintain high-quality support, could harm our reputation and adversely affect our ability to scale our platform and business, our financial condition, and results of operations.
We experience significant seasonal fluctuations in our financial results, which could cause our Class A common stock price to fluctuate.
Our business is highly dependent on consumer spending habits and Dasher behavior patterns, each of which have a significant impact on our growth and expenses. We experience changes in consumer activity over the course of the calendar year, although our rapid growth in historical periods has made, and may continue to make, seasonal fluctuations difficult to detect. For example, consumer activity may be impacted by weather. Colder or more inclement weather may increase consumer demand, while warmer or sunny weather may decrease consumer demand. In contrast, the number of available Dashers may decrease during periods of cold or inclement weather when we need more Dashers available to fulfill orders driven by increased consumer demand. In such instances, we typically rely on incentive pay to attract sufficient Dashers to maintain the quality of our platform, which increases our costs. Further, severe weather can cause businesses, including restaurants, to close, making it impossible to fulfill deliveries. We also benefit from increased order volume in our campus markets when school is in session, and we experience a decrease in order volume when school is not in session and during summer breaks and other vacation periods, causing adverse effects to our business during impacted periods. Seasonality will likely cause fluctuations in our financial results on a quarterly basis. In addition, other seasonal trends may develop and the existing seasonal trends that we experience may become more pronounced and contribute to greater fluctuations in our results of operations as we continue to scale and our growth slows. As such, we may not accurately forecast our results of operations and we may not be able to adjust our spending quickly enough if our revenue is less than expected, causing our results of operations to fail to meet our expectations or the expectations of investors.
The impact of adverse economic conditions and other trends, including the resulting effects on consumer spending and merchant operations, may adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Any factor that impacts consumer spending broadly, including changes to economic conditions in regions where we do business, may also impact consumer spending on our platform. Some of these factors include unemployment, inflation, consumer debt, fluctuations in transportation costs, increased food costs, declines in asset prices, mortgage markets, taxation, energy prices, changes in interest rates and credit availability, and consumer confidence in the current and future political and economic environment. Economic conditions in certain regions may also be affected or exacerbated by natural disasters and threats to public health. Additionally, volatility in the global financial markets, or in specific segments of those markets, may contribute to banks and financial institutions with whom we have banking or payment processing relationships entering receivership or becoming insolvent in the future, and we may be unable to access or may lose some or all of our existing cash and cash equivalents to the extent those funds are not insured or otherwise protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or other insurance programs. Such volatility may also adversely impact any funds held temporarily at our third-party payment processors.
In addition, merchants on our platform may be negatively impacted by supply chain issues, labor shortages, inflation, or other macroeconomic factors, including changing economic policy. Labor shortages and supply chain issues at merchants could negatively impact their ability to fulfill orders, which could negatively impact volume on our Marketplaces and in our Commerce Platform. Inflationary pressures and changing economic policy could drive merchant prices higher, which could
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negatively impact consumer demand and drive lower order volume on our Marketplaces and in our Commerce Platform. Small businesses that do not have substantial resources, like many of the merchants on our platform, tend to be more adversely affected by poor economic conditions than large businesses. If merchants on our platform, including our small business merchants, cease operations, temporarily or permanently, or face financial distress or other business disruption, we may not be able to provide consumers with sufficient merchant selection, and they may be less likely to use our platform.
As our business has grown, we have increasingly become subject to risks arising from adverse global economic and political conditions, including changing economic policy and the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine. These have had, and may continue to have, an adverse impact on macroeconomic conditions in their respective regions and have given rise to volatility and instability in a manner that adversely affects our business and merchants, consumers, and Dashers on our platform in those regions.
We are subject to risks related to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates.
We are subject to foreign currency exchange risk as a result of our operations in non-U.S. countries. When conducting business in non-U.S. countries, including through Wolt and our other subsidiaries and affiliates, such business is typically denominated in the local currency of the respective country, which exposes us to the risk of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. Our primary foreign currency exposure is currently to the Euro, the Canadian dollar, the Israeli shekel, and the Australian dollar. Additionally, because our financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars, local functional currencies will be converted into U.S. dollars at the applicable exchange rates for inclusion in our financial statements, thereby increasing our foreign exchange translation risk.
The purchase price of the proposed acquisition of Deliveroo is denominated in GBP. To hedge the risk of appreciation in GBP, we entered into the Deal-Contingent Forward, which is discussed in Note 14 - "Derivative" included in Part I, Item 1, "Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements" of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. The fair value of the Deal-Contingent Forward at each reporting date will depend on various assumptions as well as changes in the GBP/U.S. dollar exchange rate, which "may be volatile and could be subject to fluctuations that are beyond our control. We expect to record fair value gains or losses, which may be significant, through the condensed consolidated statement of operations until the closing of the Deliveroo Transaction.
We depend on our highly skilled employees to grow and operate our business, and if we are unable to hire, retain, manage, and motivate our employees, or if our new employees do not perform as we anticipate, we may not be able to grow effectively and our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.
Our future success will depend in part on the continued service of our founders, senior management team, key technical employees, and other highly skilled employees, including Tony Xu, our co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, and on our ability to continue to identify, hire, develop, motivate, and retain talented employees. We may not be able to retain the services of any of our employees or other members of senior management in the future. Also, all of our U.S.-based employees, including our senior management team and Mr. Xu, work for us on an at-will basis, and there is no assurance that any such employee will remain with us. Our competitors may be successful in recruiting and hiring members of our management team or other key employees, and it may be difficult for us to find suitable replacements on a timely basis, on competitive terms, or at all. If we are unable to attract and retain the necessary employees, particularly in critical areas of our business, we may not achieve our strategic goals. In addition, there may be changes in our senior management team that may be disruptive to our business. If our senior management team fails to work together effectively and to execute its plans and strategies, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.
We face intense competition for highly skilled employees, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area where we have a substantial presence and need for highly skilled employees. To attract and retain top talent, we have had to offer, and we believe we will need to continue to offer, competitive compensation and benefits packages. Job candidates and existing employees often consider the value of the equity awards they receive in connection with their employment. The trading price of our Class A common stock may be volatile and could be subject to fluctuations in response to various factors and may not appreciate. If the perceived value of our equity awards declines for this or other reasons, it may adversely affect our ability to attract and retain highly qualified employees. Certain of our employees have received, and may in the future receive, significant proceeds from sales of our equity, which may reduce their motivation to continue to work for us. We may need to invest significant amounts of cash and equity to attract and retain new employees and expend significant time and resources to identify, recruit, train, and integrate such employees, and we may never realize returns on these investments. If we are unable to effectively manage our hiring needs or successfully integrate new hires, our efficiency,
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ability to meet forecasts, and employee morale, productivity, and engagement could suffer, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Our company culture has contributed to our success and if we cannot maintain and evolve our culture as we grow, our business could be adversely affected.
We believe that our company culture, which promotes authenticity, empathy, support for others, and bias for action, has been critical to our success. We face a number of challenges that may affect our ability to sustain our corporate culture, including:
• failure to identify, attract, reward, and retain people in leadership positions in our organization who share and further our culture, values, and mission;
• the increasing size and geographic diversity of our workforce;
• an increasing share of our workforce working remotely, on hybrid schedules, and spending less time collaborating in offices;
• the integration of new personnel and businesses from acquisitions;
• competitive pressures to move in directions that may divert us from our mission, vision, and values;
• the continued challenges of a rapidly evolving industry;
• the increasing need to develop expertise in new areas of business that affect us; and
• negative perception of our treatment of employees, merchants, consumers, and Dashers or our response to employee sentiment related to political or social causes or actions of management.
If we are not able to maintain and evolve our culture, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.
If we fail to maintain an effective system of disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting, our ability to produce timely and accurate financial statements or comply with applicable regulations could be impaired.
As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), and the rules and regulations of the applicable listing standards of the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC ("Nasdaq"). We expect that the requirements of these rules and regulations will continue to increase our legal, accounting, and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming, and costly, and place significant strain on our personnel, systems, and resources.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. We are continuing to develop and refine our disclosure controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we will file with the SEC is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules and forms and that information required to be disclosed in reports under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our principal executive and financial officers. We are also continuing to improve our internal control over financial reporting, which includes hiring additional accounting and financial personnel to implement such processes and controls.
In order to maintain and improve the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, we have expended, and anticipate that we will continue to expend, significant resources, including accounting-related costs and significant management oversight. If any of these new or improved controls and systems, or the existing systems and third-party software applications that we rely on for financial reporting, do not perform as expected, we may experience further deficiencies in our controls and we may not be able to meet our financial reporting obligations. We also need to implement, integrate, and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting at companies we acquire, and any failure to do so could impact our ability to meet our financial reporting obligations.
Our current controls and any new controls that we develop may become inadequate because of changes in conditions in our business. Further, weaknesses in our disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting may be discovered in the future. Any failure to develop or maintain effective controls or any difficulties encountered in their implementation or improvement could harm our results of operations or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations and may result in a restatement of our financial statements for prior periods. Any failure to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting also could adversely affect the results of periodic management
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evaluations and annual independent registered public accounting firm attestation reports regarding the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting that we are required to include in our periodic reports that will be filed with the SEC. Ineffective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial and other information, which would likely have a negative effect on the trading price of our Class A common stock. In addition, if we are unable to continue to meet these requirements, we may not be able to remain listed on Nasdaq.
Additionally, our independent registered public accounting firm is required to formally attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Our independent registered public accounting firm may issue a report that is adverse in the event it is not satisfied with the level at which our internal control over financial reporting is documented, designed, or operating. Any failure to maintain effective disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations and could cause a decline in the price of our Class A common stock.
We may not timely and effectively scale and adapt our existing technology and network infrastructure to ensure that our platform is accessible, which would adversely affect our business, reputation, financial condition, and results of operations.
We expect to continue to make significant investments to maintain and improve the availability of our platform and to enable rapid releases of new features and services. However, it may become increasingly difficult to maintain and improve the availability of our platform, especially during peak usage times and as our platform becomes more complex and our user traffic increases. If our platform is unavailable when merchants, consumers, and Dashers attempt to access it or it does not load as quickly as they expect or it experiences capacity constraints due to an excessive number of users accessing our platform simultaneously, users may seek other offerings, and may not return to our platform as often in the future, or at all. This could adversely affect our ability to attract merchants, consumers, and Dashers and decrease the frequency with which they use our platform. To the extent that we do not effectively address capacity constraints, upgrade our systems as needed, or continually develop our technology and network architecture to accommodate actual and anticipated changes in technology, our business, reputation, financial condition, and results of operations would be adversely affected.
We use artificial intelligence in our business, and challenges with properly managing its use could result in competitive harm, legal liability, and brand or reputational harm, and adversely affect our results of operations.
We incorporate artificial intelligence (“AI”) solutions into our platform, offerings, services, and features, and in support of internal business operations, and these applications may become important in our operations over time. The procurement of third-party AI tools and the development of our own have required and are expected to continue requiring significant investment, and if, for the reasons described below and other reasons, we are unable to realize the benefits of this investment, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected. Our competitors or other third parties may incorporate AI into their products more quickly or more successfully than us, or otherwise leverage AI in a manner that adversely impacts our business, which could impair our ability to compete effectively and adversely affect our results of operations. Additionally, if the content, analyses, or recommendations that AI applications assist in producing are or are alleged to be deficient, inaccurate, inappropriate, or biased, or if the use of AI results in, or is alleged to have resulted in, the infringement of the intellectual property of third parties or violations of other rights of third parties, we may be subject to legal claims or liability and our business, financial condition, and results of operations may be adversely affected. The use of AI applications may result in data leakage or unauthorized exposure of data, including confidential business information, the personal data of end users, or other sensitive information. Such leakage or unauthorized exposure of data related to the use of AI applications could result in legal claims or liability or otherwise adversely affect our reputation and results of operations. AI also presents emerging ethical and regulatory issues and if our use of AI becomes controversial, we may experience brand or reputational harm, competitive harm, or legal liability. The rapid evolution of AI, including the development of government regulation of AI and automated decision-making technology more generally, may require significant resources to develop, test, and maintain our platform, offerings, services, and features to help us implement AI and automated decision-making technology more generally in a manner that complies with applicable laws and regulations and ethically in order to minimize unintended, harmful impact.
Defects, errors, or vulnerabilities in our applications, backend systems, or other technology systems and those of third-party technology providers could harm our reputation and brand and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
The software underlying our platform is highly complex and has contained in the past, and may contain in the future, undetected errors or vulnerabilities, some of which may only be discovered after the code has been released. Our practice
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is to effect frequent releases of software updates, sometimes multiple times per day. The third-party software that we incorporate into our platform may also be subject to errors or vulnerabilities. Any errors or vulnerabilities discovered in our code or from third-party software after release could result in negative publicity and a loss of users, revenue, and availability of our platform, as well as other performance issues. Such vulnerabilities could also be exploited by malicious actors and result in exposure of data of users on our platform, or otherwise result in a security breach or other security incident. We may need to expend significant financial and development resources to analyze, correct, eliminate, or work around errors or defects or to address and eliminate vulnerabilities. Any failure to timely and effectively resolve any such errors, defects, or vulnerabilities could adversely affect our business, reputation, brand, financial condition, and results of operations.
We have implemented “sell-to-cover” in which shares of our Class A common stock are sold into the market on behalf of RSU holders upon vesting or settlement of RSUs to cover tax withholding liabilities and such sales will result in dilution to our stockholders.
We have implemented “sell-to-cover” with respect to RSUs we issue to employees and service providers, pursuant to which shares with a market value equivalent to the tax withholding obligation are sold on behalf of the holder of the RSUs upon vesting and settlement to cover the tax withholding liability and the cash proceeds from such sales are remitted by us to the taxing authorities. Some holders may instead elect to pay cash directly to us to cover such withholding obligations, but in a significant majority of cases, shares are sold on behalf of each holder upon the vesting and settlement of the RSUs. While such sales do not result in the expenditure of additional cash by us to satisfy the tax withholding obligations for RSUs, such sales cause dilution to our stockholders and, to the extent a large number of shares are sold in connection with any vesting event, such sales volume may cause our stock price to fluctuate.
We track certain operational metrics with internal systems and tools and do not independently verify such metrics. Certain of our operational metrics are subject to inherent challenges in measurement, and any real or perceived inaccuracies in such metrics may adversely affect our business and reputation.
We track certain operational metrics, including our merchant, consumer, and Dasher counts, key business and non-GAAP metrics, such as Total Orders, Marketplace GOV, Contribution Profit, Contribution Margin, Adjusted Gross Profit, Adjusted Gross Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, and Free Cash Flow, and certain other metrics required by regulatory and administrative bodies, such as the monthly active recipients of our services in the EU (as required by Article 24(2) of the Digital Services Act), with internal systems and tools that are not independently verified by any third party and those operational metrics may differ from estimates or similar metrics published by third parties due to differences in sources, methodologies, or the assumptions on which we rely. Our internal systems and tools have a number of limitations, and our methodologies for tracking these metrics may change over time, which could result in unexpected changes to our metrics, including the metrics we publicly disclose. In addition, while we track these metrics during the quarter, system limitations and the auditing process may result in the metrics that we publicly disclose differing materially from the estimated amounts that were tracked during that same period. If the internal systems and tools we use to track these metrics undercount or overcount performance or contain algorithmic or other technical errors, the data we report may not be accurate. While these numbers are based on what we believe to be reasonable estimates of our metrics for the applicable period of measurement, there are inherent challenges in measuring how our platform is used across large populations. For example, the accuracy of our operating metrics could be impacted by fraudulent users of our platform, and further, we believe that there are consumers who have multiple accounts, even though this is prohibited in our terms of service and we implement measures to detect and prevent this behavior. Consumer usage of multiple accounts may cause us to overstate the number of consumers on our platform. In addition, limitations or errors with respect to how we measure data or with respect to the data that we measure may affect our understanding of certain details of our business, which could affect our long-term strategies. If our operating metrics are not accurate representations of our business, if investors do not perceive our operating metrics to be accurate, or if we discover material inaccuracies with respect to these figures, investors may lose confidence in our operating metrics and business and we expect that we could be subject to legal claims, including securities class action lawsuits, and our business, reputation, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.
Our actual losses may exceed our insurance reserves, which could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
We establish insurance reserves for claims incurred but not yet paid and claims incurred but not yet reported and any loss adjustment expenses, and we periodically evaluate and, as necessary, adjust our actuarial assumptions and insurance reserves as our experience develops or new information is learned. We employ various predictive modeling and actuarial techniques and make numerous assumptions based on limited historical experience and industry statistics to estimate our insurance reserves. Estimating the number and severity of claims, as well as related judgment or settlement amounts, is
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inherently difficult, subjective, and speculative. Additionally, actuarial projections make no provision for the extraordinary future emergence of losses or types of losses not sufficiently represented in the historical data or which are not yet quantifiable. A number of external factors can affect the actual losses incurred for any given claim, including but not limited to the length of time the claim remains open, the limits and coverage of auto insurance carried by Dashers or otherwise generally offered with respect to personal auto insurance, fluctuations in healthcare costs, legislative and regulatory developments, judicial developments and unexpected events such as natural or human-made catastrophic disasters or negative publicity. Such factors can impact the reserves for claims incurred but not yet paid as well as the actuarial assumptions used to estimate the reserves for claims incurred but not yet reported and any loss adjustment expenses for current and historical periods. For any of the foregoing reasons, our actual losses for claims and related expenses may deviate, individually or in the aggregate, from the insurance reserves reflected in our financial statements. If we determine that our estimated insurance reserves are inadequate, we may be required to increase such reserves at the time of the determination, which could result in an increase to our net loss in the period in which the shortfall is determined and negatively impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Our business could be adversely impacted by changes in the Internet and mobile device accessibility of users.
Our business depends on users’ access to our platform via a mobile device or personal computer and the Internet. Internet access and access to a mobile device or personal computer are frequently provided by companies with significant market power that could take actions that degrade, disrupt, or increase the cost of consumers’ ability to access our platform. In addition, the Internet infrastructure that we and users of our platform rely on in any particular geographic area may be unable to support the demands placed upon it and could interfere with the speed and availability of our platform. Any such failure in Internet or mobile device or computer accessibility, even for a short period of time, could adversely affect our results of operations.
Risks Related to our Legal and Regulatory Environment
If Dashers that utilize our platform are reclassified as employees under U.S. federal or state law, or the laws of other jurisdictions in which we operate, it could have an adverse effect that is material to our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We are subject to claims, lawsuits, arbitration proceedings, administrative actions, government investigations, and other legal and regulatory proceedings at the U.S. federal, state, and municipal levels, as well as in non-U.S. jurisdictions, challenging the classification of Dashers that utilize our platform as independent contractors. Laws and regulations that govern the status and classification of independent contractors vary by jurisdiction and are subject to changes and divergent interpretations by various authorities, which can create uncertainty and unpredictability for us, as well as the Dashers, merchants, and consumers that use our platform.
While we maintain that Dashers that utilize our platform are properly classified as independent contractors, Dashers may be reclassified as employees due to changes in the law or its interpretation. Depending on the jurisdiction and the extent of our operations in each such jurisdiction, a reclassification of Dashers as employees could have an adverse effect that is material to our business, financial condition, and results of operations, including as a result of:
• monetary exposure arising from, or relating to, failure to withhold and remit taxes, unpaid wages and wage and hour laws and requirements (such as those pertaining to failure to pay minimum wage and overtime, or to provide required breaks and wage statements), expense reimbursement, statutory and punitive damages, penalties, including related to PAGA and government fines;
• injunctions prohibiting continuance of existing business practices;
• claims for employee benefits, social security, workers’ compensation, and unemployment;
• claims of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation under civil rights laws;
• claims under laws pertaining to unionizing, collective bargaining, and other concerted activity;
• other claims, charges, or other proceedings under laws and regulations applicable to employers and employees, including risks relating to allegations of joint employer liability or agency liability; and
• harm to our reputation and brand.
In addition to the harms listed above, a reclassification of Dashers as employees would require us to significantly alter our existing business model and operations in order to continue to operate our platform in that jurisdiction, which would result in significant increased costs and could negatively impact our ability to attract and retain Dashers on our platform, which
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could have an adverse effect that is material to our business, financial condition, and results of operations. A reclassification of Dashers as employees could also result in an increase to the fees we charge to consumers and the commissions we charge to merchants, which in turn could affect our ability to attract and retain consumers and merchant partners, and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We have been involved in and continue to be involved in numerous legal proceedings related to Dasher classification. We are currently involved in a number of putative class actions and representative actions brought, for example, pursuant to PAGA, and numerous individual claims, including those brought in arbitration or compelled pursuant to the terms of our independent contractor agreements to arbitration, challenging the classification of Dashers that utilize our platform as independent contractors. In addition, in June 2020, the San Francisco District Attorney filed a claim against us in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, alleging that we misclassified California Dashers as independent contractors as opposed to employees.
Several jurisdictions, including in the United States, have modified, or are considering modifying, their standards used to determine worker classification. For example, Proposition 22, which preserves flexibility for California Dashers, took effect in 2020. Jurisdictions that have passed or may pass laws protecting Dashers’ independent contractor status may impose new obligations that increase our costs. For example, certain provisions of Proposition 22 regarding compensation, along with certain other requirements, are applicable to us and Dashers in California. These provisions have increased our costs related to Dashers in California. To offset a portion of these increased costs, in certain circumstances we charge higher fees and commissions, which have resulted in, and in the future could result in, lower order volumes over time. Depending on whether and how much we choose to increase fees and commissions, these increased costs could also lead to a lower Adjusted EBITDA and earnings per share.
Several other jurisdictions where we operate have adopted or may be considering, or in the future may consider, adopting legislation, or we may propose or support legislation, ballot initiatives, other legislative processes, or voluntary agreements with third parties, that would pair worker flexibility and independence with new protections and benefits. To the extent other jurisdictions adopt such legislation, or we propose or support legislation, ballot initiatives, other legislative processes, or agreements, we would expect our costs related to Dashers in such jurisdictions to increase. We may also experience lower order volumes in such jurisdictions if it becomes necessary to charge higher fees and commissions as a result of such laws, which would adversely affect our results of operations. Even with the passage of Proposition 22 and similar legislation, such initiatives and legislation could still be challenged and subject to litigation.
With the breadth of our geographic scope, the classification of Dashers that utilize our platform as independent contractors may be subject to challenge in other jurisdictions. In particular, through Wolt, we are subject to local regulations and challenges in Europe and Asia to the classification of Wolt courier partners as independent contractors. For example, in May 2025, the Supreme Administrative Court in Finland issued a decision that courier partners in Finland were employees, but excluded from the Working Hours Act, resulting in Wolt not being responsible for keeping statutory records of Wolt courier partners' working hours. We are, and may continue to be, subject to similar actions in other jurisdictions. In addition, other jurisdictions are considering changing the standards used to determine worker classification, which may impact the classification of Dashers using our platform. For example, the EU's Platform Work Directive, which entered into force in December 2024, requires EU member states to transpose its requirements to their national laws, including enacting new national laws for determining worker classification of platform workers, and may involve differing implementation by the various member states. Such EU-wide legislative reforms may adversely affect our ability to operate our current independent contractor model within the European Economic Area (the "EEA").
In certain jurisdictions where there are uncertainties associated with the interpretation of applicable law, or for other reasons, we may decide to adopt employment-based models, as Wolt already does, for example, in Germany, which could result in certain operational challenges and increased costs and cause us to withdraw from certain jurisdictions or decide not to expand our business in or into a certain jurisdiction, which could limit our growth and expansion opportunities.
We are subject to various claims, lawsuits, investigations, and proceedings, and face potential liability, expenses, and harm to our business as a result.
We face potential liability, legal expenses, and harm to our business relating to the nature of our business generally, and with the delivery services we facilitate in particular. Specifically, we are subject to claims, lawsuits, arbitration proceedings, government investigations, audits, and demands, and other legal, regulatory, and other administrative proceedings, including those involving personal injury, property damage, worker classification, labor and employment, anti-discrimination, commercial disputes, competition, consumer complaints, intellectual property disputes, marketing and advertising to merchants, consumers, and Dashers, compliance with regulatory requirements, and other matters, and we
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may become subject to additional types of claims, lawsuits, government investigations, and legal or regulatory proceedings as our business grows and as we deploy new services. We are also subject to claims, lawsuits, and other legal proceedings seeking to hold us vicariously liable for the actions of merchants, consumers, and Dashers.
Reports, whether true or not, of food-borne illnesses and injuries caused by food tampering or inappropriate or unsanitary food preparation, handling, or delivery, or other food safety incidents have led to threatened and actual legal claims against, and severely injured the reputations of, participants in the food business and could do so in the future as well. If any such report were to affect one or more of the merchants on our platform that generate a significant percentage of our overall business, it could cause considerable harm to our business. Further, food and other products that are ordered through our platform could be subject to a recall, but we may have limited ability, if any, to ensure compliance with a recall. In addition, reports of food-borne illnesses, food and other product recalls, food tampering, or inappropriate or unsanitary food preparation, handling, or delivery, even those occurring solely at merchants that are not on our platform, or any related injuries to, or deaths of, any consumers or Dashers, could, as a result of negative publicity about the restaurant or grocery industry, adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We also face potential liability and expense for claims, including class, collective, and other representative actions, by or relating to Dashers regarding, among other things, the classification of Dashers that utilize our platform as well as our Dasher pay models, including claims regarding disclosures we make with respect to Dasher earnings, service fees, delivery fees, and gratuities, the process of signing up to become a Dasher, including our background check processes, removal of platform access, and the nature and frequency of our communications to Dashers via email, text, or telephone. We also face potential liability and expense for claims, including class actions, by or relating to consumers regarding, among other things, disclosures we make with respect to sales tax, consumer fees, gratuities, sign up and cancellation of subscription services, the local delivery fulfillment services we facilitate, discrepancies between the items on our websites and consumer applications and the items advertised at the merchants from which such items are delivered, and the nature and frequency of our marketing communications to consumers via email, text, or telephone. In addition, we face potential liability and expense for claims, including class, collective, and other representative actions, by or relating to merchants regarding, among other things, menu pricing, exclusivity arrangements, and the listing of merchants on our platform without an agreement. Finally, we face potential liability and expense for claims relating to the information that we publish on our websites and mobile applications, including claims for trademark and copyright infringement, defamation, libel, and negligence, among others.
The results of any such claims, lawsuits, arbitration proceedings, government investigations, audits, and demands, or other legal or regulatory proceedings cannot be predicted with any degree of certainty. Any claims against us, whether meritorious or not, could be time-consuming, result in costly litigation, be harmful to our reputation, require significant management attention, and divert significant resources. It is possible that a resolution of one or more such proceedings could result in substantial damages, settlement costs, fines, and penalties that could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Determining reserves for our pending litigation is a complex and fact-intensive process that requires significant subjective judgment and speculation. There is no guarantee that our litigation reserves will be sufficient to offset such liabilities. These proceedings could also result in harm to our reputation and brand, sanctions, consent decrees, injunctions, or other orders requiring a change in our business practices. Further, under certain circumstances, we have contractual and other legal obligations to indemnify and to incur legal expenses on behalf of our business and commercial partners and current and former directors and officers. Any of these outcomes and obligations could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
In the United States and certain other jurisdictions in which we operate, we include arbitration and class action waiver provisions in our terms of service with the merchants, consumers, and Dashers that utilize our platform. These provisions are intended to streamline the litigation process for all parties involved, as they can in some cases be faster and less costly than litigating disputes in court. However, arbitration can be costly and burdensome, and the use of arbitration and class action waiver provisions subjects us to certain risks to our reputation and brand, as these provisions have been the subject of increasing public scrutiny. In order to minimize these risks to our reputation and brand, we may limit our use of arbitration and class action waiver provisions or be required to do so in a legal or regulatory proceeding, either of which could cause an increase in our litigation costs and exposure. Additionally, we permit certain users of our platform to opt out of such provisions, which could also cause an increase in our litigation costs and exposure.
Further, with the potential for conflicting rules regarding the scope and enforceability of arbitration and class action waivers on a state-by-state basis, as well as between U.S. state and federal law, there is a risk that some or all of our arbitration and class action waiver provisions could be subject to challenge or may need to be revised to exempt certain categories of protection. If these provisions were found to be unenforceable, in whole or in part, or specific claims are required to be exempted, we could experience an increase in our costs to litigate disputes and the time involved in resolving such
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disputes, and we could face increased exposure to potentially costly lawsuits, each of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We have exposure to taxing authorities successfully asserting that we have not properly collected or remitted, or in the future should collect or remit, sales and use, gross receipts, value added, similar taxes or withholding taxes, and successfully imposing additional obligations or liabilities on us, and any such assessments, obligations, or liabilities could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
The application of non-income, or indirect, taxes to businesses like ours is a complex and evolving issue. Many of the fundamental statutes and regulations that impose these taxes were established before the adoption and growth of the Internet and e-commerce. Significant judgment is required on an ongoing basis to evaluate applicable tax obligations, and as a result, amounts recorded are estimates and are subject to adjustments. In many cases, the ultimate tax determination is uncertain and could exceed the amount of applicable reserves, if any. In addition to our own potential liability, if we or merchants pass along increased additional taxes and raise prices to consumers, our order volume may decline.
We are subject to indirect taxes, such as payroll, sales, use, value-added, goods and services, and gross receipt taxes, in the United States and non-U.S. jurisdictions where we operate. In certain jurisdictions, we collect and remit indirect taxes. However, tax authorities may raise questions about, or challenge or disagree with, our calculation, reporting, or collection of taxes and may require us to collect taxes in jurisdictions in which we do not currently do so or to remit additional taxes and interest, including tax on the cost of goods sold, and could impose associated penalties and fees. A successful assertion by one or more tax authorities requiring us to collect taxes in jurisdictions in which we do not currently do so, to collect additional taxes in a jurisdiction in which we currently collect taxes, or to collect, remit or pay taxes that are otherwise the responsibility of our vendors and partners, could result in substantial tax liabilities, including taxes on past sales, as well as penalties and interest, could discourage merchants, consumers, and Dashers from utilizing our offerings, or could otherwise harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Further, even where we are collecting taxes and remitting them to the appropriate authorities, we may fail to accurately calculate, collect, report, and remit such taxes.
The United States and certain non-U.S. jurisdictions have tax rules generally requiring payors to obtain payee taxpayer information and report payments to unrelated parties to the government. Under certain circumstances, a failure to comply with such obligations may cause us to become liable for monetary penalties or to withhold a percentage of the amounts paid to Dashers and merchants and remit such amounts to the taxing authorities. Due to the large number of Dashers and merchants, and the amounts paid to each, process failures with respect to these reporting obligations could result in substantial financial liability and other consequences to us if we were unable to remedy such failures in a timely manner.
In addition, governments are increasingly looking for ways to increase revenue, which could result in legislative action to increase indirect taxes, including digital services taxes. Such legislative action could discourage merchants, consumers, and Dashers from utilizing our offerings, or could otherwise harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
As a result of these and other factors, the ultimate amount of tax obligations owed may differ from the amounts recorded in our financial statements and any such difference may adversely affect our results of operations in future periods in which we change our estimates of our tax obligations or in which the ultimate tax outcome is determined.
We have exposure to greater than anticipated income tax liabilities.
We are subject to income taxes in the United States and certain non-U.S. jurisdictions. Our provision for (benefit from) income taxes is a function of the manner in which we operate our business, and any changes to such operations or laws applicable to such operations may affect our effective tax rate. The determination of our worldwide provision for (benefit from) income taxes and other tax liabilities requires significant judgment by management and, in the ordinary course of our business, there are many transactions and calculations for which the applicable law and the ultimate tax determination are uncertain. Although we believe that our provision for (benefit from) income taxes is reasonable, the ultimate outcome may differ from the amounts recorded in our financial statements and could materially affect our financial results in the period or periods for which such determination is made.
In addition, our effective tax rate could be adversely affected by changes in our business operations, acquisitions, investments, entry into new businesses and geographies, changes in our stock price, intercompany transactions, changes in law or administrative interpretations thereof, changes in accounting principles, changes to our forecasts of income and
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loss, changes in the mix of earnings and losses in countries with differing statutory tax rates, certain non-deductible expenses, or changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities.
Legislative changes or administrative practices may increase our tax obligations and exposures and could adversely affect our business results and operations.
The U.S. federal, state, and local governments, as well as a number of other countries and organizations, such as the European Union and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, are actively considering changes to existing tax laws and regimes that, if enacted, could increase our tax obligations in jurisdictions where we do business. In addition, regulatory and other guidance, including case law, with respect to existing tax laws are constantly evolving. If one or more of these jurisdictions change applicable tax laws or successfully challenge our interpretations of existing or new tax laws or their application, including how or where our profits and losses are currently recognized, our overall taxes could increase, and our business, financial condition, or results of operations may be adversely impacted. For example, an increasing number of jurisdictions are considering or have adopted laws, administrative practices or interpretations that impose new tax measures, including but not limited to, revenue-based taxes and additional reporting obligations, targeting online commerce and the remote selling of goods and services. These include new obligations to withhold or collect sales, consumption, value added, or other taxes on online marketplaces and remote sellers, or other requirements that may result in liability for third-party obligations.
Jurisdictions have also proposed or enacted taxes on gross revenue derived from, for example, sales of online advertising services and the provision of digital intermediary services such as the operation of online marketplaces. Proliferation of these or similar tax measures may continue unless broader international tax reform is implemented. Our results of operations and cash flows could be adversely affected by additional taxes imposed on us prospectively or retroactively, or additional taxes or penalties resulting from the failure to comply with any collection obligations or failure to provide information about our customers, suppliers, and other third parties for tax reporting purposes to various government agencies. In some cases, we also may not have sufficient notice to enable us to build systems and adopt processes to properly comply with new reporting or collection obligations by the effective date.
Our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes is subject to limitations.
While federal net operating loss ("NOL") carryforwards generated on or after January 1, 2018 are not subject to expiration, the deductibility of such NOL carryforwards is limited to 80% of our federal taxable income. Our state and non-U.S. NOLs have varying expiration dates going forward. Utilization of our NOL carryforwards depends on our future taxable income, and there is a risk that some of our existing NOL carryforwards and tax credits in various jurisdictions could expire unused (to the extent subject to expiration) and be unavailable to offset future taxable income. In addition, under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), loss utilization is limited if a corporation undergoes an “ownership change,” generally defined as a greater than 50 percentage point change (by value) in its equity ownership by significant stockholders or groups of stockholders over a three-year period. We may have undergone ownership changes in the past, and we may experience ownership changes in the future because of shifts in our stock ownership, many of which are outside of our control. As a result, our ability to use our NOL carryforwards and other tax attributes to offset future U.S. federal taxable income or income tax liabilities may be, or may become, subject to limitations, which could result in increased future tax liability to us.
Our business is subject to a variety of laws and regulations globally, including those related to worker classification, Dasher pay and conditions of work, merchant pricing and commissions, and consumer fees and taxes, many of which are unsettled and still developing, and any of which could subject us to legal claims, increased costs, operational burdens, or otherwise adversely affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
The on-demand local commerce industry and our business model are relatively nascent and rapidly evolving. We are or may become subject to a variety of laws in the United States and other jurisdictions, including those related to worker classification, Dasher pay and conditions of work, Dasher deactivations, insurance, merchant pricing and commissions, consumer fees, subscriptions, and taxes. Laws, regulations, and standards governing issues such as worker classification or our relationship with Dashers more generally (for example, those concerning Dasher pay and insurance requirements), labor and employment, anti-discrimination, food safety, alcoholic beverages and other highly regulated products, online payments, gratuities, merchant pricing and commissions, text messaging, membership products, intellectual property, data retention, privacy, data protection, data transfers and sharing, cybersecurity, consumer protection, consumer fees, antitrust, background checks, website and mobile application accessibility, environmental sustainability and related disclosures, and tax and other government-imposed fees are often complex, subject to change, and subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity. The scope and interpretation of these laws, and whether they
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are applicable to us, are often uncertain and may be conflicting, including varying standards and interpretations between U.S. law and the laws of other countries, between U.S. state and federal law, between individual states, and even at the city and municipality level. As a result, their application in practice may change or develop over time through judicial decisions or as new guidance or interpretations are provided by regulatory and governing bodies. For example, the scope and interpretation of the laws that are or may be applicable to the delivery of text messages are continuously evolving and developing and, in particular, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act restricts telemarketing and the use of automated SMS text messages without proper consent. This has resulted, and may in the future result, in civil claims against us.
We are subject to regulatory review, proceedings, and audits pursuant to national, federal, state, and local laws regulating the sale and delivery of alcoholic beverages and other highly regulated products. These regulations and laws may dictate matters such as licensing, permitting, or other governmental review requirements, advertising restrictions, and consumer age verification. Any governmental litigation, fines, or restrictions on our operations resulting from the enforcement of these existing regulations, any changes to existing regulations or changes to the interpretation or enforcement of existing regulations, or the adoption of any new legislation or regulations could result in penalties or cause us to have to suspend sales and delivery of highly regulated products in a jurisdiction for a period of time or result in increased sales or marketing costs, or changes to our business practices, each of which could have an adverse effect on our brand, reputation, business, financial condition, and results of operations.
As our business grows and evolves and our services are used in a greater number of geographies, we have become subject to a growing array of laws and regulations, which increase the complexity and compliance risk inherent in our business. For example, the EU has recently enacted, and is in the process of enacting, various laws and regulations that govern digital services and AI, and impose environmental sustainability obligations and disclosure requirements on businesses like ours. The impact of these new regulations on the overall industry, business models, and our operations is uncertain. We may be required to enhance our disclosures and undertake certain changes to our products, services, fees and commissions structure, and operations, including hiring additional highly specialized personnel, as a result of these new requirements, which could subject us to increased administrative costs. While the EU has since begun to streamline legislation in areas such as digital policy, sustainability, and beyond, it is still too early to determine the extent to which these efforts will reduce administrative burdens.
In recent years, regulatory scrutiny of larger companies, technology companies, and companies engaged in dealings with independent contractors has increased. As a result, regulatory and administrative bodies may enact new laws or promulgate new regulations that are adverse to our business, or they may view matters or interpret laws and regulations differently than they have in the past in a manner adverse to our business, including by changing employment-related laws, mandating specific earnings standards or other requirements for Dashers, requiring businesses like ours to maintain specific auto insurance coverage, or by regulating or capping the commissions businesses like ours agree to with merchants or the fees that we may charge consumers. For example, in December 2023, a New York City rule mandating certain minimum earnings standards for certain food delivery workers took effect. In addition, some jurisdictions in which we operate have price control measures in effect on local commerce platforms. These price control measures, minimum earnings standards, and other regulations can increase the cost and complexity of operating, which has caused, and may in the future cause, us to increase the fees we charge to consumers. To the extent that price control measures, minimum earnings standards, or other regulations lead to an increase in the fees we charge to consumers, consumer demand for our services could be reduced, which would further harm our business and results of operations. In addition, certain jurisdictions may challenge or seek to regulate the way in which we categorize, disclose, or collect consumer fees on our platform. For example, the City of Chicago has challenged such fees as confusing or misleading to consumers.
In addition, there is an increasingly active litigation and regulatory environment regarding antitrust and competition matters in the United States and other jurisdictions in which we operate. We could be subject to claims of violations of competition laws in many aspects of our business, including alleged market sharing, price fixing, anticompetitive exclusionary conduct, exchange of competitively sensitive information, and with respect to any acquisitions we undertake. For example, in February 2025, Uber filed a lawsuit in California state court alleging that certain of our business practices are anticompetitive. In addition, competition authorities in some of the jurisdictions in which we operate have made queries regarding, or investigated, our pricing-related terms or other practices and, in certain jurisdictions, competition authorities and courts have issued decisions concerning our pricing-related terms or other practices. Any potential violations of competition laws could result in litigation, fines, restrictions on our operations, render applicable provisions or contracts unenforceable, divert management’s attention, and lead to claims for damages and reputational harm, each of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Any failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations could also subject us to claims and other legal and regulatory proceedings, fines, or other penalties, criminal and civil proceedings, forfeiture of significant assets, and other enforcement actions. In addition, the increased attention focused upon liability issues as a result of lawsuits and legislative
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proposals could adversely affect our reputation or otherwise impact the growth of our business. Any costs incurred to prevent or mitigate this potential liability are also expected to adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We are subject to various U.S. and non-U.S. anti-corruption laws and other anti-bribery and anti-kickback laws and regulations.
We are subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended (the “FCPA”), and other anti-corruption, anti-bribery, and anti-money laundering laws in the jurisdictions in which we do business, both domestic and abroad, including EU anti-money laundering directives and related regulations in connection with our operations in Europe. The FCPA and other applicable anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws generally prohibit us and our employees from improperly influencing government officials or commercial parties in order to obtain or retain business, direct business to any person, or gain any improper advantage. These laws may also hold us liable for acts of corruption and bribery committed by our third-party business partners, representatives, and agents who are acting on our behalf. We and our third-party business partners, representatives, and agents may have direct or indirect interactions with officials and employees of government agencies or state-owned or affiliated entities and we may be held liable for the corrupt or other illegal activities of these third-party business partners and intermediaries and our employees, representatives, contractors, and agents, even if we do not explicitly authorize such activities. In addition, we may be subject to liability, including penalties and fines, for any failure to satisfy certain requirements under anti-money laundering laws, such as meeting local “know your customer” and ongoing due diligence standards. For example, in connection with our operations in Europe, we could be liable for penalties of up to 10% of our revenue in a fiscal year in the event that our anti-money laundering compliance measures are found to be insufficient. All of these laws may also require that we keep accurate books and records and maintain internal controls and compliance procedures designed to prevent any such actions. While we have policies and procedures to address compliance with such laws, we cannot assure you that our employees and agents will not take actions in violation of our policies or applicable law, for which we may be ultimately held responsible, and our exposure for violating these laws increases as our international presence expands, including as a result of our acquisition of Wolt, and as we increase sales and operations in non-U.S. jurisdictions. Any violation of the FCPA or other applicable anti-bribery, anti-corruption, and anti-money laundering laws could result in whistleblower complaints, adverse media coverage, investigations, imposition of significant legal fees, loss of export privileges, severe criminal or civil sanctions, or suspension or debarment from U.S. government contracts, substantial diversion of management’s attention, a drop in our stock price, or overall adverse consequences to our business, all of which may have an adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We may be subject to various regulations relating to payment processing.
The majority of payments by our consumers are made by credit card or debit card or through third-party payment services, which subjects us to certain payment-related regulations. We may in the future offer new payment options to consumers that may be subject to additional regulations and risks. In the United States, money transmitters are regulated by numerous state and local governments and agencies, many of which may define "money transmitter" differently. If we are found to be a money transmitter under any applicable regulations and we are not in compliance with such regulations, we may be subject to fines or other penalties levied by national, federal, state, or local regulators in one or more jurisdictions. Outside of the United States, we are subject to additional laws, rules, and regulations related to the provision of payments and financial services. For example, as a result of our operations in Europe, we are subject to the revised EU Payment Services Directive ("PSD II") and related regulations. One of our subsidiaries acts as an intra-group licensed payment service provider and electronic money institution for its payment services to merchants in the EEA countries and has obtained a payment institution license and electronic money license from the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority in accordance with PSD II. Should our payment institution or electronic money licenses be revoked in the future, or any other enforcement measures be taken by the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority, such as imposing penalties or forcing us to cease offering certain payment facilities, our operations in Europe would be adversely affected. Furthermore, as we expand into new jurisdictions and expand or pursue new business opportunities, the payment-related regulations that we are subject to will expand as well, including, for example, with respect to the provision of payments and financial services we offer in Israel. In addition to fines, penalties for failing to comply with applicable rules and regulations related to payment processing could include criminal and civil proceedings, forfeiture of significant assets, or other enforcement actions. We could also be required to make significant changes to our business practices or compliance programs as a result of regulatory scrutiny, which could interrupt our ability to operate in certain jurisdictions and otherwise adversely affect our business and results of operations.
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Government regulation of the Internet, mobile devices, and e-commerce is evolving, and unfavorable changes could substantially adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We are subject to general business regulations and laws as well as regulations and laws specifically governing the Internet, mobile devices, and e-commerce that are constantly evolving. Existing and future laws and regulations, or changes thereto, may impede the growth of the Internet, mobile devices, e-commerce, or other online services, and increase the cost of providing online services, require us to change our business practices, or raise compliance costs or other costs of doing business. These regulations and laws, which continue to evolve, may cover taxation, tariffs, user privacy, data protection, cybersecurity, pricing and commissions, content, copyrights, distribution, social media marketing, advertising practices, sweepstakes, mobile, electronic contracts and other communications, consumer protection, broadband residential Internet access, and the characteristics and quality of services. It is not always clear how existing laws governing issues such as property ownership, sales, use, and other taxes, libel, and personal privacy apply to the Internet and e-commerce. In addition, as we continue to expand internationally, it is possible that non-U.S. government entities may seek to censor content available on our mobile applications or websites or may even attempt to block access to our mobile applications and websites. Any failure, or perceived failure, by us to comply with any of these laws or regulations could result in damage to our reputation and brand, a loss in business, and proceedings or actions against us by governmental entities or others, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Changes in laws or regulations relating to privacy or the protection or transfer of data relating to individuals, or any actual or perceived failure by us to comply with such laws and regulations or any other obligations relating to privacy or the protection or transfer of data relating to individuals, could adversely affect our business.
We receive, transmit, process, and store a large volume of personal data relating to the merchants, consumers, and Dashers that use our platform, as well as other personal data relating to our employees and other personnel. We are subject to a growing body of local, municipal, state, federal, national, and international laws and regulations in the jurisdictions where we operate that address privacy and the collection, storing, sharing, use, disclosure, and protection of certain types of data, which may require the notification of certain security breaches involving personal data. These laws and regulations evolve frequently, and their scope may continually change through new legislation, amendments to existing legislation, or changes in enforcement, and such changes may be inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another. For example, many U.S. states have enacted comprehensive privacy legislation similar to the California Consumer Privacy Act and a growing number of U.S. states have enacted legislation addressing other privacy matters, such as cybersecurity and consumer health data and biometrics. With our operations in the EU, we are subject to the General Data Protection Regulation, as well as national data protection and privacy schemes in other countries in which we operate. Any changes in these laws or regulations or their interpretation or enforcement could add further complexity, variation in requirements, restrictions, and legal risk; require additional investment of resources in compliance and data management programs; and result in changes or increased compliance costs in business practices and policies. For example, new and evolving requirements around consumer health data may restrict our ability to provide personalized content on our platform. These laws also impose strict and sometimes inconsistent requirements relating to the processing of personal data as well as significant penalties, such as fines, injunctions against the processing of personal data, and civil litigation claims, for noncompliance. We have incurred, and expect to continue to incur, significant expenses in our efforts to comply with current and evolving privacy, data protection, and cybersecurity standards and protocols imposed by law, regulation, industry standards, or contractual obligations.
We are also subject to industry standards, such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, which requires companies to adopt certain measures designed to ensure the security of cardholder information. We may also be contractually required to process and secure data in certain manners and to indemnify and hold harmless third parties from the costs or consequences of non-compliance with any laws, regulations, or other legal obligations relating to privacy, data protection, cybersecurity, or consumer protection.
Additionally, our success depends in part on our ability to access, collect, use, and otherwise process data relating to Dashers, merchants, consumers, and other individuals. If the use of tracking technologies, such as “cookies,” is further restricted, regulated, or blocked by new laws, regulations, litigation, or other practices, the amount or accuracy of Internet user information we collect would decrease, which could harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations. U.S. and non-U.S. jurisdictions have enacted or are considering enacting legislation or regulations that significantly restrict the practice of online tracking. Other regulators are increasingly scrutinizing the use of online tracking tools and compliance with requirements related to the online behavioral advertising ecosystem. Moreover, some providers of consumer devices and web browsers, such as Apple and Google, plan to or have implemented means to make it easier for Internet users to block tracking technologies or to require new permissions from users for certain activities, which could, if widely adopted, significantly reduce the effectiveness of such practices and technologies. As a result, we may
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have to develop alternative systems to determine our customers’ behavior, customize their online experience, or efficiently market to them.
Despite our efforts to comply with applicable laws, regulations, and other obligations relating to privacy, data protection, and cybersecurity, it is possible that our interpretations of the law and regulations or our practices and platform could be inconsistent with, be alleged to fail, or fail to meet all requirements of, such laws, regulations, or obligations. Our failure, or the failure by our vendors, merchants, or Dashers on our platform, to comply with applicable laws or regulations or any other actual or asserted obligations relating to privacy, data protection, or cybersecurity, or any compromise of security that results in unauthorized access to, or use or release of personal data or other data relating to merchants, consumers, Dashers, or other individuals, or the perception of privacy concerns or that any of the foregoing types of failure or compromise has occurred, could damage our reputation and brand, discourage new and existing merchants, consumers, and Dashers from using our platform, or result in fines, investigations, or proceedings by governmental agencies and private claims and litigation, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Risks Related to our Dependence on Third Parties
We rely primarily on third-party insurance policies from a limited number of insurance providers to insure our operations-related risks. If our insurance coverage is insufficient for the needs of our business or our insurance providers are unable to meet their obligations, we may not be able to mitigate the risks facing our business, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We procure third-party insurance policies from a limited number of insurance providers to cover various operations-related risks, including auto liability, workers’ compensation, business interruptions, security and data breaches, crime, directors’ and officers’ liability, occupational accident liability for Dashers, and general business liabilities. For certain types of operations-related risks, we may not be able to, or may choose not to, acquire insurance. We may also choose to self-insure for certain types of claims or for certain claims below or above certain dollar amounts. Even if we do acquire insurance for our operations-related risks, we may not obtain enough insurance to adequately mitigate such risks, and we may have to pay high premiums, self-insured retentions, or deductibles for the coverage we do obtain. If any of our insurance providers becomes insolvent, it would be unable to pay any operations-related claims that we make. In addition, if any of our insurance providers terminate their relationship with us or refuse to renew their relationships with us on commercially reasonable terms, we would be required to find alternate insurance providers and may not be able to secure similar terms or a suitable replacement in an acceptable time frame. Further, some of our agreements with merchants require that we procure certain types of insurance, and if we are unable to obtain and maintain such insurance, we would be in violation of the terms of these merchant agreements and could be subject to additional liabilities as a result.
If the amount of one or more operations-related claims were to exceed our applicable aggregate coverage limits, we would be responsible for the excess, in addition to amounts already incurred in connection with deductibles, self-insured retentions, or otherwise paid by our insurance subsidiary. In addition, if we were to experience an unusually large amount of operations-related claims that we self-insure, our financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected. Even if operations-related claims do not result in liability, we may incur significant costs in investigating and defending against them.
Insurance providers have raised premiums and deductibles for many businesses and may do so in the future. As a result, our insurance and claims expenses could increase substantially, or we may decide to raise our deductibles or self-insured retentions when our policies are renewed or replaced. Our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected if (i) the cost per claim, premiums, or the number of claims significantly exceeds our historical experience and coverage limits, (ii) we experience claims in excess of our coverage limits, (iii) our insurance providers fail to pay on our insurance claims, (iv) we experience a significant claim or claims for which coverage is not provided, or (v) the number of claims under our deductibles or self-insured retentions differs from historical averages.
We primarily rely on third-party payment processors to process payments made to merchants and Dashers and a small number of third-party payment processors to process payments made by consumers, and if we cannot manage our relationship with such third parties and other related risks, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.
We primarily rely on a third-party payment processor, Stripe, to process payments made to merchants and Dashers and a small number of third-party payment processors to process payments made by consumers, primarily Stripe and PayPal. Under our commercial agreements with Stripe and PayPal, each of these parties may terminate our relationship with advanced notice. If both Stripe and PayPal terminate their relationship with us or refuse to renew their agreements with us
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