DoorDash has delivered a positive surprise in its third-quarter performance, with the company witnessing a surge in orders and narrowing its losses. The delivery service headquartered in San Francisco disclosed strong growth, primarily fueled by increased user activity and more frequent orders.

In the third quarter, DoorDash experienced a significant 24% increase in total orders, reaching 543 million orders between July and September. This substantial growth outperformed Wall Street expectations, which had forecasted 521 million orders, according to analysts polled by FactSet. The company’s revenue also experienced a significant increase, surging by 27% to reach $2.16 billion, outperforming the analysts’ anticipated $2.09 billion.

This strong performance led to a more than 7% rise in DoorDash shares during after-hours trading.

One of the driving factors behind DoorDash’s success has been the growth in its monthly active users, which reflects customers who have placed at least one order within the last month. During September, the company witnessed double-digit percentage growth in this regard, with strong demand coming from both domestic and global markets. Additionally, DoorDash highlighted an acceleration in the frequency of orders compared to the second quarter.

DoorDash has also been expanding its subscriber base for its DashPass and Wolt+ subscription programs, which offer free deliveries on many orders for a monthly fee. The acquisition of the Finnish delivery service Wolt Enterprises in 2021 played a crucial role in extending DoorDash’s presence into various countries, including Sweden, Germany, and Israel.

Moreover, DoorDash reported a significant reduction in its net loss for the third quarter, which decreased to $73 million from $295 million in the same quarter the previous year. This enhancement was credited to increased efficiency and disciplined cost control. It’s important to mention that DoorDash carried out staff reductions in late 2022, affecting approximately 1,250 employees.

Overall, DoorDash’s third-quarter performance surpassed expectations, as reflected in a loss of 19 cents per share, which was considerably better than the 40-cent loss anticipated by Wall Street. The company’s financial success can be attributed to its growth trajectory and effective cost-management techniques.