Deliveroo reports adjusted EBITDA of £85M in 2023, its first-ever profit and up from a loss of £45M in 2022, after launching Deliveroo Shopping in November 2023
Deliveroo has logged its first-ever profit as it continues pushing past its restaurant roots.
Context & Ripple Effects
Deliveroo’s 2023 adjusted EBITDA positive follows a period in which growth did not prevent steep losses: its 2022 half-year loss widened even as revenue rose, alongside a planned exit from the Netherlands.
The result is an important waypoint in Deliveroo’s shift from a growth-funded delivery platform toward a more financially disciplined operator. Later reporting of a £2.9M FY2024 net profit makes clear that adjusted EBITDA and statutory profitability are distinct milestones.
First-order effects
- Deliveroo moves from a £45M adjusted EBITDA loss in 2022 to £85M positive adjusted EBITDA in 2023, strengthening its near-term case that the core business can operate profitably on that measure.
- The November launch of Deliveroo Shopping broadens the company’s offer beyond restaurant delivery, creating an additional category to test with its existing customer and delivery network.
Second-order effects
- Investors and rivals can assess Deliveroo less on order-growth alone and more on whether new categories sustain margins; that raises the bar for expansion that adds volume without improving unit economics.
- Restaurants, retail partners and riders may see more demand routed through a broader marketplace, but the commercial value of that expansion depends on whether shopping orders improve—not dilute—the reported profitability.
Third-order effects
- If adjusted-EBITDA gains translate into recurring net profits, food-delivery competition may increasingly favor platforms that can spread delivery infrastructure across multiple local-commerce categories rather than rely solely on restaurant orders.
- The gap between headline operating measures and net income remains material: the sector’s durability will be judged by whether reported profitability persists under statutory accounting, a long-running post-IPO loss trajectory suggests.
The trend: On-demand delivery platforms are shifting from growth-at-scale narratives toward proving that broader local-commerce networks can deliver durable, accounting-level profitability.