DoorDash, Inc. (NASDAQ:DASH)

The financial ratios demonstrate notable trends and fluctuations over the analyzed periods, reflecting changes in operational efficiency and management of working capital components.

Receivables Turnover

This ratio shows an improving trend from March 2021 through to late 2023, peaking at about 20.07 in September 2023, indicating increasing efficiency in collecting receivables. However, after this peak, the turnover ratio gradually declined through the first quarter of 2025, reaching approximately 14.37, which suggests a slower collection pace more recently.

Payables Turnover

The payables turnover ratio experienced considerable variability, initially declining from 14.52 in March 2021 to around 12.5 mid-2022, followed by a sharp increase through late 2023, peaking at 31.29 in September 2024. This implies a faster payment cycle in this later period. Subsequently, the ratio dropped significantly towards early 2025 to about 17.36, indicating a slowdown in payables payment speed.

Working Capital Turnover

There is a consistent upward trend in working capital turnover from early 2021 onwards, increasing from 1.74 to a high of 4.09 in September 2023. The ratio then slightly decreased but remained relatively stable around 3.43 by March 2025. This overall increase reflects improved efficiency in utilizing working capital to generate sales, despite some moderation in later quarters.

Average Receivable Collection Period

The collection period decreased from 26 days in early 2021 to as low as 18 days by September 2023, indicating expedited collections. From late 2023 through early 2025, the period lengthened back to 25 days, suggesting a recent slowdown in the speed of receivable collections.

Average Payables Payment Period

This metric fluctuated significantly, initially rising from 25 days to 29 days in mid-2021, before declining sharply to 12 days by late 2023. A period of shorter payment cycles characterized this phase. Starting from late 2023 through early 2025, the payment period extended again to around 21 days, indicating a trend toward slower payments to suppliers.

The financial data reveals a consistent upward trend in revenue over the observed periods. Starting from US$1,077 million in the first quarter of 2021, revenue demonstrated steady growth through subsequent quarters, reaching US$3,032 million by the first quarter of 2025. This represents nearly a threefold increase in revenue during the span of four years, indicating sustained business expansion and likely improved market penetration or sales effectiveness.

Accounts receivable, net, also show an overall increase over time, though with moderate fluctuations. Beginning at US$282 million in March 2021, the figure initially decreased slightly by mid-2021 but generally trended upwards thereafter, reaching US$782 million by the first quarter of 2025. This gradual rise suggests increasing credit sales or extended payment terms consistent with revenue growth, implying the company is generating more sales on credit. Notable is the sharp increase in accounts receivable between December 2023 and March 2024, which may warrant further investigation to assess collection efficiency or customer payment behaviors during that period.

The receivables turnover ratio exhibits variability but generally remains within a range indicative of stable collection efficiency. Starting at approximately 14.01 in March 2022, the ratio peaked at around 20.07 in September 2023, suggesting improved turnover during that time, likely reflecting faster collection of receivables or improved credit management. However, a decline back to approximately 14.37 by March 2025 points to a slowdown in receivables collection relative to credit sales later in the timeline. This pattern might imply loosening credit terms or challenges in accelerating cash inflows despite rising revenues.

Overall, the patterns imply strong revenue growth accompanied by proportionate increases in accounts receivable. While the company has maintained relatively efficient receivables management for extended periods, the recent downward trend in turnover ratio signals potential emerging weaknesses in credit control or collection processes that could impact liquidity if not addressed.

Cost of revenue, exclusive of depreciation and amortization

The cost of revenue shows a generally upward trend over the periods analyzed. Starting at $563 million in March 2021, it increased steadily each quarter, reaching $1500 million by March 2025. This reflects a significant rise in the operational costs directly associated with revenue generation, indicating potential expansion or increased sales volumes over the timeframe.

Accounts payable

Accounts payable figures exhibit notable fluctuations. Beginning at $75 million in March 2021, the balance increased to $203 million by March 2022, fluctuated somewhat in subsequent quarters, and peaked at $329 million by March 2025. The variations indicate changes in the company's short-term obligations to suppliers, with occasional periods of decline followed by sharp increases, suggesting variability in procurement or payment cycles.

Payables turnover ratio

The payables turnover ratio data is available from December 2021 onward. Initially, the ratio started around 14.52 and then fluctuated significantly across quarters. Notably, it reached a high of 31.29 in September 2024 and moved down to about 17.36 by March 2025. These fluctuations imply changes in how quickly the company settles its payables, with higher ratios indicating faster payments to suppliers and lower ratios implying slower payment trends. The pattern does not show a consistent directional trend but rather volatility in turnover speed.

The financial data indicates several notable trends over the analyzed quarters. Working capital displays a general downward trend from March 2021 through December 2022, declining from $3,931 million to $2,176 million. This decrease suggests tightening liquidity or asset management during this period. However, starting in the first quarter of 2023, working capital begins to rise again, reaching $3,276 million by March 2025, indicating an improvement in short-term financial health or operational efficiency.

Revenue shows a consistent growth trajectory across all quarters, increasing steadily from $1,077 million in March 2021 to $3,032 million in March 2025. This steady rise reflects successful top-line expansion and market penetration over time.

The working capital turnover ratio, which measures revenue generated per unit of working capital, remained stable in 2021 but began to increase notably from March 2022, rising from 1.74 to a peak of 4.09 in September 2023. After this peak, the ratio declines slightly but remains elevated above 3.4 through March 2025. The initial increase indicates improved efficiency in using working capital to generate sales, while the modest decline afterward could suggest stabilization or adjustments in capital management relative to sales growth.

Working Capital

Decreased significantly through 2022, then rebounded steadily from 2023 to early 2025, indicating shifts in liquidity or asset management strategies.

Revenue

Displayed continuous and robust growth, nearly tripling from early 2021 to early 2025, highlighting successful business expansion.

Working Capital Turnover Ratio

Improved markedly from early 2022 through late 2023, suggesting enhanced efficiency in generating revenue from working capital before stabilizing at a slightly lower level.

Overall, the data reflects a period of initial capital tightening followed by operational scaling and improved efficiency, accompanied by sustained revenue growth. The trends imply a maturing business efficiently leveraging its working capital to support accelerating sales.

Receivables Turnover

The receivables turnover ratio demonstrates an overall fluctuating but generally strong performance over the analyzed periods. Starting from a value of 14.01 in March 2022, it increases steadily, peaking at 20.07 by September 2023. After reaching this peak, the turnover ratio declines moderately, settling around mid-teen values between 14.37 and 16.69 over the most recent quarters. This indicates that the company was able to accelerate its receivables collection efficiently leading up to late 2023, followed by a slight reduction in turnover speed in the subsequent period into early 2025.

Average Receivable Collection Period

The average receivable collection period mirrors the inverse trend of the receivables turnover, consistent with expectations. It starts at 26 days in March 2022 and shows a declining trend reaching a low of 18 days by September 2023, reflecting improved efficiency in converting receivables into cash. Post-September 2023, the collection period increases again, settling back to approximately 25 days by the end of the reporting horizon. This suggests that after a period of faster collections, the company experienced a slight lengthening of the time it takes to collect receivables towards early 2025.

Insights from Trends

The inverse relationship between receivables turnover and the average collection period is clearly evident. The improvements in turnover and reduction in collection days up to late 2023 point to effective credit and collections management during that time. However, the subsequent reversal toward slower turnover and longer collection periods may warrant further investigation to identify causes, which might include market conditions, changes in credit policy, or shifts in customer payment behaviors. Monitoring this trend going forward could be crucial for maintaining optimal working capital management.

The payables turnover ratio exhibits considerable fluctuation across the reported periods, generally showing an upward trend from the first available data point in March 2022 through to the end of 2024, before declining somewhat in early 2025. Starting at 14.52 in the March 2022 quarter, the ratio experienced slight decreases and increases, reaching peaks near 31.29 in September 2024 and staying elevated through the following quarters. This pattern indicates that the company has been increasing the frequency of its payments to suppliers over most of the observed timeframe, enhancing the pace with which it settles its payables.

Inversely related to the payables turnover ratio, the average payables payment period displays a decreasing trend during the same period. From 25 days in March 2022, it gradually declines with fluctuations, reaching a low around 12 days in several quarters near the end of 2023 and mid-2024. This shortening of the payment period suggests a trend toward quicker settlement of payables, consistent with the rise in payables turnover. Toward the end of the dataset, particularly in early 2025, the payment period increases again to 21 days, signaling a possible shift towards extending payment terms or delaying payments compared to the prior quarters.

The inverse relationship between the two metrics aligns with expected financial behavior: as the payables turnover ratio increases, the average payment period shortens. The significant peaks and troughs in the metrics indicate periods of strategic changes in payment policies or possibly fluctuating supplier terms. The high turnover ratios and shorter payment periods in late 2023 and 2024 may reflect tighter management of payables or improved liquidity. The subsequent movement toward a longer payment period in early 2025 might suggest liquidity considerations or renegotiation of supplier terms affecting payment schedules.

Overall, the trend portrays a dynamic management of payables, with a general tendency toward quicker payments over the period analyzed, followed by a slight and notable reversal during the most recent quarters.