Delivery Hero (ETR:DHER) executives used the company’s full-year 2025 earnings call to emphasize what CEO Niklas Östberg described as a “defining year,” pointing to profitable growth, rising cash generation, and accelerating traction in quick commerce as the group moves toward an “Everyday App” strategy that spans multiple verticals beyond restaurant delivery.
Strategy: from food delivery to a multi-vertical “Everyday App”
Östberg said Delivery Hero entered 2025 with a plan to deliver “profitable growth” while proving its platform can evolve beyond food delivery. He highlighted strengthening performance in core markets, including a return to momentum in Korea and Saudi Arabia toward the end of the year, and continued migration of additional brands to a single global tech stack to improve both customer proposition and operational efficiencies.
He also pointed to monetization initiatives, saying AdTech products are approaching a EUR 1.5 billion revenue run rate, which he framed as reducing reliance on commissions alone. Östberg said customers who engage across multiple verticals spend five times more than customers using the platform only for meals.
Östberg described what he called the “incrementality” of quick commerce, stating that when a food customer places their first quick commerce order, food order frequency increases from 4.6 to 5.9 orders per month, and combined frequency rises to 8 orders per month with quick commerce orders added. He said the company is confident it can reach EUR 10 billion in quick commerce GMV by full-year 2026.
2026 priorities include loyalty, quick commerce, and AI
Looking to 2026, Östberg outlined four priorities:
- Strengthen leadership across geographies, including expanding offering and increasing loyalty through the subscription program.
- Double down on quick commerce by expanding assortment and improving experience to stay relevant for daily shopping needs.
- Accelerate AI initiatives, with a stated goal to automate 85% of first-line service contacts, roll out AI agents for sales and support, and launch conversational ordering. He also said engineers are integrating AI agents and tooling to improve development efficiency.
- Continue the strategic review with a “clear mandate to unlock shareholder value.”
Financial results: higher adjusted EBITDA and improved cash generation
CFO Marie-Anne Popp reported 9% like-for-like GMV growth in 2025 and 23% revenue growth, attributing the revenue outperformance to expansion of the group’s own delivery offering and growth in its demand business.
Popp said adjusted EBITDA rose 30% year-over-year to EUR 903 million, reflecting “strong underlying operational performance and continued cost discipline.” She added that Free Cash Flow increased 15% to EUR 250 million, driven by improved working capital efficiency and lower tax payments, and noted that the company strengthened its balance sheet through corporate actions including refinancing and the Taiwan sale.
On reconciliation items, Popp said management adjustments fell to EUR 147 million and were mainly driven by reorganization measures, including provisions for legal risks tied to the transition to an employment-based rider model in Spain. Share-based compensation increased to EUR 224 million, which she attributed to a different vesting structure and lower expense reversals due to a new long-term incentive program; she said it is expected to remain broadly stable going forward.
Popp also cited a shift in “other reconciliation items” from positive EUR 158 million to negative EUR 260 million, attributing the change to the Uber breakup fee recognized in 2024 and goodwill impairment in 2025. She said the net result improved by EUR 183 million in 2025.
Liquidity, refinancing, and Taiwan disposal
Popp said the company has made “significant progress” reducing leverage and recently announced a $1.4 billion term loan facility due 2032, intended to fund repayment of maturities in 2026 and 2027 and for general corporate purposes. On a pro forma basis for the refinancing, she said cash would be EUR 2.7 billion against EUR 2.25 billion in outstanding convertible bonds and EUR 2.8 billion in term loans.
Management also discussed the Taiwan disposal, which Östberg described as a $600 million transaction and “the first major step” in unlocking shareholder value. Popp said Delivery Hero expects to receive a further EUR 520 million at closing, primarily for debt reduction and general corporate purposes, and added that the impact on adjusted EBITDA will be marginal.
In Q&A, Popp reiterated that the company still operates under a minimum liquidity covenant of EUR 800 million, adding that the current cash position is above what is required to run the business. She said the primary use of cash and proceeds would be to repay existing debt and address near-term maturities first, including an intention—previously announced on March 5—to use proceeds to repay the 2026 and 2027 convertible bonds.
Guidance and notable Q&A themes
For 2026, Popp maintained like-for-like GMV guidance of 8% to 10% and said revenue growth is expected to again exceed GMV growth, though the gap is expected to be smaller than in 2025 as the transition to own delivery slows after reaching 78% of group level in 2025, up from 67% in 2024. She guided to adjusted EBITDA of EUR 910 million to EUR 960 million in 2026, reflecting increased investments in customer loyalty in key markets (including MENA and South Korea) and in integrated verticals. Free Cash Flow is expected to be more than EUR 200 million in 2026, with the guidance reflecting continued business improvement and investments in the Dmarts business.
Additional Q&A discussion included:
- Prosus stake “overhang”: Östberg said it is “obviously a clear problem,” but emphasized it is not Delivery Hero’s decision and that Prosus will decide what to do with its stake.
- Korea: Östberg said the company has rebuilt its Korea operating model over the last 18 months, including pricing and tech architecture changes and a new subscription program that is now “nearly 50% of total order volumes.” He said category share has been growing since mid-2025 and that the company feels “very good” about the market’s development.
- MENA trading amid conflict: Östberg said the company’s first priority is safety and that it has maintained reliable service. He said demand saw an initial boost at the beginning of the conflict, with food now back to more normal levels and a “little bit” of uplift in quick commerce as people stay home more.
- Contingencies in Spain: Popp said the Spain rider-related contingencies are disclosed as a range of EUR 520 million to EUR 860 million. She confirmed EUR 524 million has been paid out, but cautioned that contingencies do not necessarily translate one-to-one into future cash outflows.
- Europe profitability and rider models: Popp said Europe ended around breakeven in the fourth quarter of 2025 as planned. She and Östberg said rider model decisions are country-specific; Östberg added there are no discussions at this time to move Italy to an employment model.
- Dmarts footprint: Östberg said the company is running about 800 Dmarts, with a slight increase planned, expanding SKUs, and increasing orders per store as the business grows.
- Talabat buyback: Management said Delivery Hero does not expect to sell into Talabat’s planned buyback, with Östberg stating the company is “very bullish about Talabat.”
Östberg closed by reiterating that 2025 demonstrated Delivery Hero can deliver profitable growth while generating positive free cash flow, and said the 2026 outlook reflects a deliberate choice to invest in the highest-return areas—deepening offerings in major profit pools and expanding vertical reach—while the strategic review continues.
About Delivery Hero (ETR:DHER)
Delivery Hero SE offers online food ordering and delivery services. It operates approximately in 70 countries in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Latin America. The company was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Berlin, Germany.
