DoorDash jumps 17% after earnings show food orders soaring to records and reveal strong guidance for 2022

• DoorDash surged as much as 17% Thursday following its Wednesday fourth-quarter earnings beat.
• The delivery-app posted strong order numbers and customer sign-ups.

DoorDash stock surged as much as 17% on Thursday trading after the company's Wednesday earnings report revealed record numbers and optimism for 2022.

The stock had pared some gains as of 10:30 a.m. ET and was trading at $108.65, up about 14.5%.

The delivery-app company posted strong order numbers and customer sign-ups, pointing to sustained strong demand for food delivery services.

It reported $1.3 billion in revenue versus the $1.28 billion expected, and fourth-quarter gross order value grew 36% year-over-year to $11.2 billion, beating the expected $10.6 billion.

While DoorDash benefited from lockdowns and pandemic trends, it posted an upbeat guidance for the coming year and doesn't anticipate momentum slowing.

"We continue to believe the transition to omni-channel local commerce is in its early innings and we are just beginning to build the platform we envision," DoorDash said. "While we are the leader in the restaurant category in the U.S., we see significant room for growth within this category and even more in our newer categories."

Among other milestones for the fourth quarter, the company notched record monthly active users of over 25 million, up 22% year-over-year, and increased DashPass members to more than 10 million. It recorded 369 million orders, beating analyst expectations of 361 million.

DoorDash said it achieved higher-than-expected consumer retention and growth, which helped drive outperformance.

It also noted that in 2021 over 6 million people "dashed," or delivered food for the company, earning more than $11 billion. Three million dashed in the fourth-quarter.

"We strongly believe dashing has a positive impact on individuals and their communities," said DoorDash. "In our most recent survey: 68% of Dashers said they use dashing to make up for lost income at work, which suggests dashing generates income that is additive to structured employment."

"Among other factors, our outlook anticipates continued growth in our U.S. restaurant Marketplace, as well as ongoing investment in new categories, international markets, and Platform Services," Doordash said.