06:23 AM EDT, 05/02/2024 (MT Newswires) -- DoorDash's ( DASH ) stock fell early Thursday after the food delivery company recorded a slightly wider-than-expected first-quarter loss, while its short-term core profit outlook fell short of market estimates at the midpoint.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization is pegged at $325 million to $425 million for the second quarter, the company said late Wednesday. The midpoint of $375 million is below than the Capital IQ-polled consensus of $388.5 million. Adjusted EBITDA came in at $371 million in the previous quarter.

DoorDash ( DASH ) expects marketplace gross order value, which reflects the total dollar value of orders, including taxes, tips and membership fees, to be in a range of $19 billion to $19.4 billion for the ongoing three-month period. The consensus on Visible Alpha is for $19.36 billion. In the first quarter, the metric climbed 21% to $19.24 billion.

The company's second-quarter guidance reflects "more limited upside to near-term margin" as it continues to invest across new verticals, international markets and its core business, Wedbush Securities said in a late Wednesday client note. "Notably, the frequency and magnitude of (adjusted) EBITDA surprises have lessened in recent quarters, and we think upside to guidance is limited as the company continues to invest, notably in (research and development) this year," said analysts led by Scott Devitt.

The brokerage maintained its neutral rating on DoorDash's ( DASH ) stock and the 12-month price target of $115. Shares of the delivery firm dropped about 13% in premarket activity.

For the March quarter, the company's net loss narrowed to $0.06 a share from $0.41 the year before, but missed the Street's view for a per-share loss of $0.05. Revenue advanced 23% to $2.51 billion, buoyed by "an increasing contribution from advertising," the company said in a statement. Analysts' estimate was for $2.45 billion in revenue.

Orders inclined 21% to 620 million with orders in platform services accelerating for the fourth consecutive quarter and growing faster than marketplace orders, according to the company. Total costs and expenses widened to $2.57 billion from $2.21 billion year-on-year.

"We improved logistics quality and efficiency and drove incremental operational scale," DoorDash ( DASH ) said. "In the vast majority of communities we operate in, our solid execution contributed to greater choice for consumers, higher sales for merchants, increased earnings for Dashers, and improved profitability in our business."

Price: 111.82, Change: -15.64, Percent Change: -12.27