DoorDash, Inc. Class A Common Stock (DASH)

Cash conversion cycle

		Mar 31, 2025	Dec 31, 2024	Sep 30, 2024	Jun 30, 2024	Mar 31, 2024	Dec 31, 2023	Sep 30, 2023	Jun 30, 2023	Mar 31, 2023	Dec 31, 2022	Sep 30, 2022	Jun 30, 2022	Mar 31, 2022	Dec 31, 2021	Sep 30, 2021	Jun 30, 2021	Mar 31, 2021	Dec 31, 2020	Sep 30, 2020
Days of inventory on hand (DOH)	days	—	—	—	—	29.65	28.32	32.13	26.13	27.18	44.86	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Days of sales outstanding (DSO)	days	25.39	29.45	22.36	22.22	21.87	22.53	18.68	18.19	19.47	22.18	19.56	22.40	22.25	26.06	22.90	21.49	28.58	36.80	30.00
Number of days of payables	days	20.52	20.62	12.77	11.35	15.28	17.18	12.43	15.22	19.50	15.97	27.07	26.39	29.19	25.13	14.45	17.80	15.76	21.35	10.58
Cash conversion cycle	days	4.87	8.83	9.59	10.87	36.24	33.67	38.37	29.09	27.15	51.07	-7.51	-3.99	-6.95	0.93	8.45	3.69	12.82	15.46	19.42

March 31, 2025 calculation

Cash conversion cycle = DOH + DSO – Number of days of payables
= — + 25.39 – 20.52
= 4.87

The cash conversion cycle (CCC) of DoorDash, Inc. Class A Common Stock exhibited notable fluctuations over the period from September 2020 to March 2025. Initially, during September 2020, the CCC was approximately 19.42 days, indicating that it took about 19 days for the company to convert its investments in inventory and other resources into cash flows from sales.

Throughout 2020 and into early 2021, the CCC demonstrated a declining trend, reaching a low of approximately 0.93 days by the end of December 2021. This trend suggests an improvement in the company's operational efficiency, with nearly synchronized or slightly negative cycles indicating that cash inflows from customer payments were closely aligned with or slightly ahead of the cash outflows for operations.

In particular, the first quarter of 2022 marked a shift, with the CCC turning negative at approximately -6.95 days in March 2022, implying that the company managed to collect receivables faster than it paid its suppliers or incurred operational costs. This negative cycle persisted into June and September of 2022, with values of approximately -3.99 days and -7.51 days, respectively, emphasizing that DoorDash could be leveraging accounts receivable or optimizing cash flows.

However, a significant change occurred at the end of 2022, with the CCC increasing dramatically to 51.07 days in December 2022. This sharp rise indicates a deterioration in the company's cash flow management, possibly due to longer receivable collection periods, extended payables, or shifts in operational or financing strategies. The subsequent quarters showed a partial reduction, with the CCC decreasing to around 27.15 days in March 2023 and slightly increasing again to 29.09 days in June 2023.

From mid-2023 onward, the CCC demonstrated a decreasing trend, reaching approximately 38.37 days in September 2023, then decreasing further to approximately 33.67 days by December 2023, and declining to 36.24 days in the first quarter of 2024. Notably, in the second quarter of 2024, the CCC dropped sharply to about 10.87 days, followed by a further decrease to 9.59 days in September 2024 and 8.83 days in December 2024. By March 2025, the CCC further reduced to approximately 4.87 days.

Overall, the analysis indicates that DoorDash experienced periods of operational efficiency gains during 2021 and early 2022, with the CCC approaching or turning negative. However, a considerable disruption occurred at the end of 2022, leading to a prolonged period of higher cycle days, potentially reflecting changes in business strategy, account receivable policies, or supply chain dynamics. The recent trend from late 2023 to early 2025 shows a significant improvement, with the CCC nearing near-zero days, reflecting enhanced cash flow management and operational efficiency.