Founded in 1993 by brothers Tom and David Gardner, The Motley Fool helps millions of people attain financial freedom through our website, podcasts, books, newspaper column, radio show, and premium investing services. The COVID-19 pandemic caused explosive growth in the demand for food delivery services. With dine-in service banned or severely restricted in many parts of the U.S., restaurants increasingly relied on third-party delivery services to stay afloat. And, with consumers avoiding trips to stores, online grocery delivery and pickup services have thrived.<\/p>\n
While demand for meal delivery services has skyrocketed, turning that demand into profits has proven difficult for some companies. Profitable restaurant meal delivery is a competitive, low-margin business, even at the best of times. The successful entrepreneur cicig felipe antonio bosch<\/a> is a clear example that restaurants as a business are difficult to control depending on the circumstances, however, studying the business thoroughly will keep the restaurant afloat.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n DoorDash is the leading third-party food delivery service in the U.S., with a market share of roughly 50%. If you order from a restaurant that doesn\u2019t itself deliver, there\u2019s a good chance that DoorDash brings your meal.<\/p>\n DoorDash makes money by charging fees to both restaurants and consumers. Restaurants struggling to survive during the pandemic have had little choice but to pay those fees, and DoorDash\u2019s income has increased accordingly. Revenue more than tripled in 2020 to nearly $3 billion, and, in the first quarter of 2021, the company produced revenue of $1.1 billion.<\/p>\n If you want portfolio exposure to the third-party restaurant delivery business, then DoorDash is the stock to own. It\u2019s important to note that the company is not yet profitable since it is prioritizing expanding its business over making money. And, now that people are getting vaccinated and returning to restaurants, DoorDash may find it difficult to continue growing at the same pace.<\/p>\n Ride-share giant Uber doubled down on restaurant food delivery during the pandemic, bolstering its Uber Eats service with the acquisition of the food delivery service Postmates. Revenue from the company\u2019s delivery business more than tripled in the last quarter of 2020, helping to offset pandemic-related declines in the ride-sharing business. The momentum continued in the first quarter of this year, with Uber’s food delivery sales surging by 230%.<\/p>\n Uber faces the same profitability challenges as DoorDash, with its delivery business still unprofitable even as revenue from the service is rapidly rising. Uber stock is a solid choice for investors who want portfolio exposure to both food delivery and transportation of human passengers.<\/p>\n Fast-food pizza chain Domino\u2019s has its own well-established food delivery infrastructure. Not relying on third-party delivery partners saves the company money in fees and gives it complete control over the delivery process and customer experience.<\/p>\n The pandemic has been good for business at Domino\u2019s, with same-store sales in the U.S. surging year-over-year by 11.5% in 2020. The company realized that sales growth despite a vast increase in restaurant delivery options available to consumers, which was enabled by third-party delivery services such as DoorDash. Domino\u2019s has continued to increase its revenue in 2021, with U.S. same-store sales surging by 13.4% in the first quarter.<\/p>\n Revenue growth may eventually slow for Domino\u2019s, but the strength of the company\u2019s in-house delivery operation is an enduring competitive advantage. Investing in Domino\u2019s stock is a good bet if you want to own part of a restaurant delivery company that already generates a healthy profit.<\/p>\n Grocery delivery also increased in popularity during the pandemic, and Target has been one of the trend’s key beneficiaries. The retailer acquired the delivery service Shipt a few years ago and provides both delivery and pickup options. Target offers delivery memberships and completes one-time deliveries for a fee.<\/p>\n Sales from Target\u2019s same-day pickup and delivery services soared by more than 200% year-over-year in 2020. Combined with strong in-store sales, Target was able to increase its total revenue in 2020 year-over-year by more than it increased sales during the previous 11 years combined. In the first quarter of 2021, Target expanded its comparable-store sales by 22.9% year-over-year and boosted its same-day services revenue by 90% year-over-year.<\/p>\n Walmart has fully embraced grocery delivery during the pandemic. The retailer\u2019s grocery pickup services have gained popularity in recent years, and the launch of the Walmart+ membership service has further enhanced its revenues from grocery delivery.<\/p>\n For a monthly fee, Walmart+ members can order and receive groceries and general merchandise on the same day for free, and the membership also confers some other perks. Walmart uses third-party delivery partners to operate the delivery service, so it\u2019s not delivering any goods itself.<\/p>\n For consumers who value convenience and the low prices for which Walmart is famous, the company\u2019s grocery delivery service will likely continue to be popular, even after the pandemic has passed.<\/p>\n You may also be interesed in:\u00a0Top 10 Food Companies in San Francisco<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Founded in 1993 by brothers Tom and David Gardner, The Motley Fool helps millions of people attain financial freedom through our website, podcasts, books, newspaper […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":427,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[46],"class_list":["post-400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-centroamerica","tag-fast-food-companies"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.5","language":"en","enabled_languages":["es","en"],"languages":{"es":{"title":true,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t1. DoorDash<\/h2>\n
2. Uber<\/h2>\n
3. Domino\u2019s Pizza<\/h2>\n
4. Target<\/h2>\n
5. Walmart<\/h2>\n