Financing

DoorDash plans an IPO

The delivery provider has filed confidential registration statements for an initial public offering.
Image courtesy of DoorDash

Stock investors could get an opportunity to invest in another delivery provider.

DoorDash, the domestic leader of the emerging market for third-party delivery, has confidentially submitted a registration statement for a proposed initial public offering, the company announced Thursday.

In so doing, the San Francisco-based company would be wading into an uncertain investment market for third-party delivery providers. Investor sentiment has largely turned against the business amid mounting concerns that they can’t generate profits.

Grubhub’s stock price has declined 44% over the past year. Uber this week replaced the head of its Uber Eats delivery service with Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, who had been vice president of its international rides business.

Postmates last year reportedly delayed its IPO, citing market conditions. The smaller Waitr Holdings is trading at 35 cents a share and recently laid off its drivers, shifting to the more popular contractor model.

Postmates, Uber Eats and DoorDash have all discussed mergers in some combination, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month.

Yet DoorDash is the largest delivery provider in the U.S. and has deals with numerous major restaurant chains. McDonald’s, for instance, said its sales improved after the company started marketing its deal with the provider last year.

It’s uncertain how much stock DoorDash plans to sell or at what price. The company said the IPO is expected to take place after federal securities regulators review the offering.

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