Over the past few years, the global food delivery market has grown rapidly, driven primarily by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and rapid advancements in technological innovation.
The sector, which includes both grocery delivery and meal delivery segments, is projected to generate revenues worth $1.85 trillion (€1.75 trillion) by 2029, according to Statista database.
The pandemic lockdown-fuelled growth, however, has waned with several companies reporting drop in sales growth rates in the years since.
This was exemplified in the case of Just Eat Takeaway, when Europe’s biggest meal delivery firm, announced in November that it was selling its US unit Grubhub at a considerable loss.
At the height of the pandemic-driven food delivery boom in 2020, the Netherlands-based company had bought Grubhub for $7.3 billion (€6.9 billion).
Four years later, the company was forced to offload the business to New York-based Wonder Group for $650 million (€614 million).
With food delivery companies facing a tougher macroeconomic environment and performing well below their pandemic peaks, ESM takes a quick look at the leading food delivery companies in the world in terms of market capitalisation.
DoorDash
DoorDash leads the market in the United States, holding a commanding share of over 60%. As of November 2024, the San Francisco-based online delivery firm has a market capitalisation of €70.97 billion.
Overcoming competition from UberEats and Instacart, the company posted its first profit since going public in late 2020. Beating analysts’ expectation, DoorDash grew its revenue by 25% in the July-September period to $2.7 billion (€2.55 billion).
In October, DoorDash forecast fourth-quarter core profit above estimates, hoping that more consumers would use its platform to order groceries to beauty products during the holiday period.
Zomato
India’s food delivery major Zomato ranks second, with a market capitalisation of €27.32 billion. The Gurgaon-headquartered company holds 58% of market share in the food delivery, whereas its rival Swiggy has 34%, according to Reuters.
Zomato reported a smaller-than-expected rise in profit in the second quarter, with its consolidated net profit rising nearly five-fold to $20.94 million (€19.80 million) for the quarter ended 30 September.
Grab Holdings
With a market capitalisation of €19.06 billion, Singapore’s Grab Holdings ranks third in this list.
The Southeast Asian tech company has been witnessing slower growth in the food-delivery business after the pandemic-era push.
Last year, the company had slashed 11% of its workforce in a major restructuring move to cut losses.
Swiggy
Fourth in the list is India’s food and grocery delivery firm Swiggy, with a market cap of €11.79 billion and 34% share in the country's food delivery market.
The SoftBank-backed company, which rivals Zomato across segments such as food delivery and quick commerce, made headlines when its $1.4 billion IPO — the country’s second biggest this year — made a stellar debut on the Indian stock market in November.
Swiggy has yet to turn a profit, though it has significantly narrowed its annual losses. In contrast, Zomato posted a fiscal 2024 profit after having reported a loss the previous year.
Delivery Hero
German online takeaway food company Delivery Hero, with a market capitalisation of €11.10 billion, holds the fifth position.
The firm, which operates in more than 70 nations, has seen its stock falling around 74% from its January 2021 peak, with CEO Niklas Ostberg citing weak capital markets in Europe as the reason behind its dismal performance.
With Middle East and North Africa (MENA) emerging as its fastest-growing region, the company launched an IPO of its Emirati subsidiary Talabat on the Dubai Stock Exchange, raising as much as $2 billion (€1.89 billion).
Jubilant FoodWorks
Jubilant FoodWorks, which operates the Domino’s Pizza brand in India, is the sixth largest food-delivery company with a market capitalisation of €4.74 billion.
In November, the Noida-based food and beverages firm posted a smaller-than-expected drop in second quarter profit, as cheaper menu items attracted customers in the wake of high inflation.
According to Reuters, its consolidated net profit dropped to $7.59 million (€7.17 million) for the quarter ended 30 September from $11.6 million (€10.95 million) a year ago.
Just Eat Takeaway
Europe's biggest food delivery company by revenue, Just Eat Takeaway secured the seventh position with a market capitalisation of €3.11 billion, as of November 2024.
While its business is performing well in its key Northern European, UK and Irish markets, sales in North America fell by 9% on a year-on-year basis due to stiff competition and fewer orders, according to its latest quarterly report.
Deliveroo
British meal delivery company Deliveroo, with a market capitalisation of €2.74 billion, takes eighth place on the list.
It reported a positive net profit of £1.3 million (€1.5 million) and free cash flow in the first half of 2024, an encouraging result considering it had reported a loss of 83 million pounds a year ago.
It also comes at a time when Deliveroo continues to branch out from takeaway food to focus on grocery and retail deliveries.
HelloFresh
Founded in 2011, German meal-kits maker HelloFresh is the ninth largest food delivery firm.
The company boomed during the pandemic when customers ordered boxes of pre-portioned ingredients to cook at home during lockdown.
According to Financial Times, its revenues swelled from €14.2 million in its second year to €7.6 billion in 2023, making it the market leader in the US.
With the meal-kits business now losing customers, HelloFresh has expanded its offering to include ready meals and a premium pet food brand. The company’s market capitalisation stands at €1.97 billion.
Jahez
Launched in 2016, Riyadh-based Jahez rounds off the top ten list.
It is the biggest locally owned food delivery group in Saudi Arabia with a market capitalisation of €1.88 billion.
