What drove Doordash's operating expenses surge in recent quarters?

Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, has stated that the company's strongest quarter was in Q4 2024, with gross bookings growing 18% year-over-year and 21% quarter-over-quarter, primarily driven by an increase in delivery gross bookings. This surge in bookings led to a corresponding increase in operating expenses, as the company invested in growth initiatives and scaled up its operations to meet the higher demand. 1. **Revenue Growth**: Uber's revenue grew by 20% year-over-year to $12.0 billion, with combined Mobility and Delivery revenue growing 23% year-over-year to $10.7 billion. This increase in revenue necessitated higher operating expenses to support the expanded business activities. 2. **Cost of Revenues**: The cost of revenues, which includes insurance expenses, credit card processing fees, data center expenses, and mobile device and service expenses, rose from around $2.5 billion in 2016 to about $6 billion in 2018. This key driver of Uber's expenses continued to rise in tandem with the increase in revenues. 3. **General and Administrative Expenses**: General and Administrative (G&A) expenses, which account for about 15% of total operating expenses, also contributed to the overall increase in operating expenses. These expenses are likely to have risen due to the company's growth and the need for additional infrastructure and personnel to support the increased business activity. 4. **Research and Development**: Uber's R&D expenses have increased from around $0.9 billion in 2016 to about $1.5 billion in 2018. This indicates that the company has been investing heavily in platform improvements and innovation, which would have led to higher operating expenses. In conclusion, Uber's operating expenses surged in recent quarters due to the company's strong revenue growth, particularly in the Delivery segment, and the need to invest in scaling up its operations, infrastructure, and technology to support the increased demand and maintain its market position.