Delivery Hero raised 2026 guidance in August ahead of third-quarter update scheduled for today
Key Facts
Delivery Hero was scheduled to report its third-quarter trading update on October 28, 2026, according to the company’s investor relations calendar. However, any new figures the update may contain cannot be verified here, so no documented data is available to confirm a further guidance increase on that day. The latest published guidance in the available evidence dates to August 27, when the company raised its financial targets for 2026. The revision covered gross merchandise value, revenue and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, as well as free cash flow. This places the third-quarter update in the context of August guidance, without attributing new figures to the company before they are verified.
In August, the company raised its 2026 gross merchandise value growth forecast to a like-for-like range of 9% to 11%, from a previous range of 8% to 10%. It also increased its revenue growth forecast to 17%-19% from 14%-16%. For profitability, the adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization range became €960 million to €1 billion, compared with a previous range of €910 million to €960 million. It also raised its free cash flow forecast to more than €250 million from €200 million. These revisions reflect an improvement in the guidance published at the time, but do not in themselves establish whether the October update introduced further changes.
August guidance was underpinned by second-quarter momentum, with group gross merchandise value rising 11.3% year on year on a like-for-like basis to €13.2 billion. The growth rate was 8.8% in the first quarter, meaning it accelerated between the two periods, according to company figures. Delivery Hero said gross merchandise value growth in its quick-commerce business accelerated to 32% year on year on a like-for-like basis in the second quarter. This performance provides an operational backdrop to the guidance increase announced by the company in August, while details of the drivers behind the October update remain unconfirmed in the available information. It is therefore important to distinguish between second-quarter results and the guidance published in August when reading any news about the third-quarter update.
The company’s operating trajectory coincides with a takeover offer from Uber, which announced on July 16 a cash offer of €41.50 for each Delivery Hero share, equivalent to a fully diluted equity value of €13.0 billion. The management board and supervisory board said in a joint statement issued on September 2 that they considered the cash consideration “fair and appropriate” and recommended that shareholders accept the offer. The price represents a premium of about 108% to the unaffected closing price on May 8, and about 127% to the volume-weighted average price on the Xetra platform during the three months before that date, according to the offer document. Before launching the offer, Uber held about 24.77% of the voting share capital, along with additional economic exposure of about 11.74% through equity derivatives. The offer acceptance period ends on November 5, 2026, at 24:00 Central European Time.
Uber says the deal would expand its combined platform to 99 markets, with pro forma gross bookings of $236 billion in 2025. It also forecast that the number of markets where it offers both mobility and delivery services would rise from 34 to 58 after the deal closes. Under a separate arrangement linked to the agreement, Delivery Hero agreed to sell its businesses in 14 markets to SSW Partners for about $1.6 billion, subject to completion of Uber’s offer and other customary conditions. Uber said it is committed to retaining Delivery Hero’s headquarters and making no changes to its Berlin workforce until at least 2029. It also pledged to invest €2 billion in Germany during the five years following the July announcement, with a focus on its local workforce, its nationwide business, the deployment of autonomous vehicles and related partnerships.
The deal comes as Uber’s delivery business recorded growth in the second quarter of 2026: group gross bookings topped $58 billion, up 22% year on year, while delivery bookings rose 25%, according to the company’s prepared remarks. Uber said the acquisition would be immediately accretive to adjusted earnings per share on a non-GAAP basis upon closing, with accretion reaching the high single digits by the third year. The company said the deal was expected to close in the second half of 2027. In the U.S. market, Uber shares closed at $65.78 on October 27, according to EL7 data. The November 5 offer acceptance deadline remains the next announced milestone for shareholders ahead of the expected timetable for completing the deal.