As the Q4 earnings season comes to a close, it’s time to take stock of this quarter’s best and worst performers in the gig economy industry, including DoorDash (NASDAQ:DASH) and its peers.
The iPhone changed the world, ushering in the era of the “always-on” internet and “on-demand” services - anything someone could want is just a few taps away. Likewise, the gig economy sprang up in a similar fashion, with a proliferation of tech-enabled freelance labor marketplaces, which work hand and hand with many on demand services. Individuals can now work on demand too. What began with tech-enabled platforms that aggregated riders and drivers has expanded over the past decade to include food delivery, groceries, and now even a plumber or graphic designer are all just a few taps away.
The 6 gig economy stocks we track reported a mixed Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.5% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.
While some gig economy stocks have fared somewhat better than others, they have collectively declined. On average, share prices are down 2% since the latest earnings results.
DoorDash (NASDAQ:DASH)
Founded by Stanford students with the intent to build “the local, on-demand FedEx", DoorDash (NYSE:DASH) operates an on-demand food delivery platform.
DoorDash reported revenues of $2.87 billion, up 24.8% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 1.1%. Despite the top-line beat, it was still a mixed quarter for the company with strong growth in its requests but EBITDA guidance for next quarter slightly missing analysts’ expectations.
The stock is up 3.4% since reporting and currently trades at $199.60.
Is now the time to buy DoorDash? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.
Best Q4: Angi (NASDAQ:ANGI)
Created by IAC’s mergers of Angie’s List and HomeAdvisor, ANGI (NASDAQ: ANGI) operates the largest online marketplace for home services in the US.
Angi reported revenues of $267.9 million, down 10.8% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 5.3%. The business had a very strong quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ number of service requests estimates.
The market seems content with the results as the stock is up 2.3% since reporting. It currently trades at $1.76.
Is now the time to buy Angi? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.
Weakest Q4: Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT)
Founded by Logan Green and John Zimmer as a long-distance intercity carpooling company Zimride, Lyft (NASDAQ: LYFT) operates a ridesharing network in the US and Canada.
Lyft reported revenues of $1.55 billion, up 26.6% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 0.9%. It was a mixed quarter: Lyft blew past analysts’ EBITDA and EPS expectations. On the other hand, its revenue slightly missed and its EBITDA guidance for next quarter fell short of Wall Street’s estimates.
Lyft delivered the fastest revenue growth but had the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. The company reported 24.7 million users, up 10.3% year on year. As expected, the stock is down 9% since the results and currently trades at $13.12.
Read our full analysis of Lyft’s results here.
Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK)
Formed through the 2013 merger of Elance and oDesk, Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) is an online platform where businesses and independent professionals connect to get work done.
Upwork reported revenues of $191.5 million, up 4.1% year on year. This number topped analysts’ expectations by 5.8%. Taking a step back, it was a mixed quarter as it also logged EBITDA guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations but a significant miss of analysts’ number of gross services volume estimates.
Upwork delivered the biggest analyst estimates beat but had the weakest full-year guidance update among its peers. The company reported 832,000 active customers, down 2.2% year on year. The stock is flat since reporting and currently trades at $15.61.
Read our full, actionable report on Upwork here, it’s free.
Uber (NYSE:UBER)
Notoriously funded with $7.7 billion from the Softbank Vision Fund, Uber (NYSE:UBER) operates a platform of on-demand services such as ride-hailing, food delivery, and freight.
Uber reported revenues of $11.96 billion, up 20.4% year on year. This result beat analysts’ expectations by 1.6%. Zooming out, it was a satisfactory quarter as it also recorded strong growth in its users.
The company reported 171 million users, up 14% year on year. The stock is up 13.1% since reporting and currently trades at $78.90.
Read our full, actionable report on Uber here, it’s free.
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