With the business potentially at an important milestone, we thought we'd take a closer look at DoorDash, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:DASH) future prospects. DoorDash, Inc. operates a logistics platform that connects merchants, consumers, and dashers in the United States and internationally. The US$40b market-cap company's loss lessened since it announced a US$1.4b loss in the full financial year, compared to the latest trailing-twelve-month loss of US$1.0b, as it approaches breakeven. Many investors are wondering about the rate at which DoorDash will turn a profit, with the big question being "when will the company breakeven?" We've put together a brief outline of industry analyst expectations for the company, its year of breakeven and its implied growth rate.

Check out our latest analysis for DoorDash

Consensus from 35 of the American Hospitality analysts is that DoorDash is on the verge of breakeven. They expect the company to post a final loss in 2024, before turning a profit of US$277m in 2025. Therefore, the company is expected to breakeven roughly 2 years from today. What rate will the company have to grow year-on-year in order to breakeven on this date? Using a line of best fit, we calculated an average annual growth rate of 75%, which is rather optimistic! Should the business grow at a slower rate, it will become profitable at a later date than expected.

Given this is a high-level overview, we won't go into details of DoorDash's upcoming projects, however, keep in mind that by and large a high forecast growth rate is not unusual for a company that is currently undergoing an investment period.

Before we wrap up, there's one aspect worth mentioning. DoorDash currently has no debt on its balance sheet, which is rare for a loss-making growth company, which usually has a high level of debt relative to its equity. This means that the company has been operating purely on its equity investment and has no debt burden. This aspect reduces the risk around investing in the loss-making company.

Next Steps:

This article is not intended to be a comprehensive analysis on DoorDash, so if you are interested in understanding the company at a deeper level, take a look at DoorDash's company page on Simply Wall St. We've also put together a list of key factors you should further research:

1. Valuation: What is DoorDash worth today? Has the future growth potential already been factored into the price? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether DoorDash is currently mispriced by the market.
2. Management Team: An experienced management team on the helm increases our confidence in the business – take a look at who sits on DoorDash's board and the CEO's background.
3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.