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(Sharecast News) - Delivery Hero reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter growth on Thursday and said it expected 2026 earnings to come in at the upper end of its guidance range, as the German delivery group's push beyond restaurant meals into groceries and household essentials gained momentum.
The Berlin-based company said gross merchandise value rose 8.8% year on year on a like-for-like basis to 12.5bn in the first quarter, accelerating from 7.9% growth in the previous quarter and ahead of the 12.3bn expected by analysts in a company-compiled poll cited by Reuters.
Total segment revenue increased 17.8% to 3.7bn.
Delivery Hero said the performance was driven by its transition into an 'Everyday App' spanning food, groceries and other household essentials, as well as continued growth in quick commerce.
Quick Commerce GMV rose 30% year on year and now accounts for 18% of group GMV, up three percentage points from a year earlier.
Customers using multiple verticals generated 55% of group GMV, while subscribers accounted for 43%.
"By building a delivery platform that spans food, groceries, and other household essentials, we capture more of our customers' needs to become the app they reach for every day," said Niklas stberg, chief executive and co-founder.
"Our strategic review is progressing, with a focus on sharpening our footprint and delivering high, profitable growth."
Delivery Hero confirmed its full-year outlook for like-for-like GMV growth of 8% to 10%, total segment revenue growth of 14% to 16%, adjusted EBITDA of 910m to 960m and free cash flow of more than 200m.
"We've had a strong start to the year and our targeted investments in Korea, MENA and Quick Commerce are yielding results," commented chief financial officer Marie-Anne Popp.
"This gives us confidence in achieving adj. EBITDA in the upper half of our guidance range for 2026."
Growth was broad-based across regions.
GMV in the Middle East and North Africa rose 16.1% on a like-for-like basis, supported by strong order growth at HungerStation and Talabat, while subscription penetration in Saudi Arabia reached 61% of GMV, the highest level in the group.
The Americas grew GMV by 18.1%, with order growth accelerating to 25% and subscriptions reaching 37% of total orders.
Asia returned to growth, with GMV up 3.0%, helped by a recovery in South Korea, where expanded own-delivery operations and subscriptions supported revenue growth.
Europe recorded GMV growth of 6.8%, with own-delivery reaching 83% of orders, although the company said growth was expected to reaccelerate in the second half as short-term efficiency effects from a rider model change in Spain fade.
Integrated Verticals, which includes quick commerce operations, increased GMV by 28% and revenue by 32%.
Delivery Hero also highlighted the use of artificial intelligence across the business, including Herogen, an autonomous coding agent that it said is producing annual coding output equivalent to 130 senior engineers.
It said a new generative AI ad-ranking model improved vendors' return on advertising spend by 7%.
The company said its strategic review remained a top priority for the management and supervisory boards.
The review was launched after pressure from large shareholders over capital allocation and strategic options.
stberg told Reuters the company was narrowing its focus to selected markets after exiting Taiwan, but declined to give details on possible disposals, saying Delivery Hero wanted to preserve its negotiating position.
Delivery Hero said it had a pro forma cash balance of 2.7bn, with a further $600m expected from the sale of its Taiwan business.
At 1611 CEST (1511 BST), shares in Delivery Hero were up 8.34% in Frankfurt at 20.73.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.