DoorDash (DASH) risk factors, 2025 10-K

Risks Related to Our Business and Operations

1. 01We 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
2. 02We 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
3. 03Our business may not continue to grow on pace with historical rates
4. 04We face intense competition and if we are unable to compete effectively, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected
5. 05If 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
6. 06If 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
7. 07We 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
8. 08We 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
9. 09Systems failures and resulting interruptions in the availability of our websites, mobile applications, or platform could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations
10. 10If 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
11. 11Our international operations and any future international expansion will subject us to additional costs and risks and our plans may not be successful
12. 12Our pricing methodologies are impacted by a number of factors, and we may not ultimately be successful in attracting and retaining merchants, consumers, and Dashers
13. 13We face certain risks associated with our pay models for Dashers
14. 14If we fail to manage our growth effectively, our brand, business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected
15. 15Growth 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
16. 16If 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
17. 17We 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
18. 18Illegal, 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
19. 19Our platform facilitates deliveries to consumers from non-partner merchants, and we face certain risks associated with these deliveries
20. 20If 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
21. 21We face certain risks in connection with our self-operated convenience, grocery, and other retail businesses
22. 22Our marketing efforts to help grow our business may not be effective
23. 23If 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
24. 24Any 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
25. 25We experience significant seasonal fluctuations in our financial results, which could cause our Class A common stock price to fluctuate
26. 26The 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
27. 27We are subject to risks related to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates
28. 28Our 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
29. 29If 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
30. 30We 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
31. 31We may use artificial intelligence in our business, and challenges with properly managing its use could result in reputational harm, competitive harm, and legal liability, and adversely affect our results of operations
32. 32Defects, 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
33. 33We 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
34. 34We 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
35. 35Our actual losses may exceed our insurance reserves, which could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations
36. 36Our business could be adversely impacted by changes in the Internet and mobile device accessibility of users

Risks Related to our Legal and Regulatory Environment

1. 37If 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
2. 38We are subject to various claims, lawsuits, investigations, and proceedings, and face potential liability, expenses, and harm to our business as a result
3. 39We have exposure to greater than anticipated income tax liabilities
4. 40Legislative changes or administrative practices may increase our tax obligations and exposures and could adversely affect our business results and operations
5. 41Our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes is subject to limitations
6. 42uncertain. 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
7. 43We may be subject to various regulations relating to payment processing
8. 44Government 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

Risks Related to our Dependence on Third Parties

1. 45We rely on third-party background check providers to screen potential Dashers, and if such providers fail to provide accurate information or we are not able to maintain business relationships with them, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected
2. 46Our platform, services, and operations depend on a wide variety of third-party software and services and any interruption in services provided by these third parties could adversely affect our business and results of operations
3. 47Internet search engines drive traffic to our platform and our new user growth could decline if we fail to appear prominently in search results

Risks Related to our Intellectual Property

1. 48Failure to adequately protect our intellectual property could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations
2. 49Intellectual property infringement assertions by third parties could result in significant costs and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and reputation
3. 50Our platform contains third-party open source software components, and failure to comply with the terms of the underlying open source software licenses could restrict our ability to provide our platform

Risks Related to Our Indebtedness and Liquidity

1. 51We may require additional capital to support business growth, and this capital might not be available on acceptable terms, if at all
2. 52Our revolving credit facility contains financial covenants and other restrictions on our actions that may limit our operational flexibility or otherwise adversely affect our results of operations

Risks Related to Ownership of our Class A Common Stock

1. 53Although we do not expect to rely on the “controlled company” exemption under the listing standards of Nasdaq, we expect to have the right to use such exemption and therefore we could in the future avail ourselves of certain reduced corporate governance requirements
2. 54listing standards of Nasdaq regarding corporate governance, including requirements that a majority of its board of directors consist of independent directors, a compensation committee be composed of independent directors, and that there is independent director oversight over the director nomination process
3. 55The trading price of our Class A common stock may be volatile, and you could lose all or part of your investment
4. 56The market price of our Class A common stock could decline as a result of sales of a large number of shares of our Class A common stock in the market, and the perception that these sales could occur may also depress the market price of our Class A common stock
5. 57We may not realize the anticipated long-term stockholder value of our share repurchase programs, and any failure to repurchase our Class A common stock after we have announced our intention to do so may negatively impact our stock price
6. 58Delaware law and provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws could make a merger, tender offer, or proxy contest difficult, thereby depressing the market price of our Class A common stock
7. 59If securities or industry analysts publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about us, our business, or our market, or if they change their analysis regarding our Class A common stock adversely, the market price and trading volume of our Class A common stock could decline
8. 60We do not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future