A quick but comprehensive look into the best food stocks to invest in this year!
If you're like the vast majority of people out there, chances are you enjoy ordering some food to be delivered to you now and then. With all the hustle and bustle of everyday life, many people opt for food delivery rather than working out how to prepare a meal themselves.
With the onset of the pandemic though, food delivery took a very different and broader meaning. Instead of simply ordering restaurant food, lockdowns have meant that we must order produce, canned goods, and other such groceries as well.
Indeed a revolution is taking place in the way we purchase food and, as an investor, staying on top of market changes is part and parcel of earning profits. But with all the companies beefing up their take-out and delivery services, which food delivery stocks are truly performing well and have a chance to do so even after restrictions ease up?
What ARE The Best Food Stocks This Year?
To answer that, the top 10 food delivery stocks in 2021 are listed below:
1. Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: UBER)
Market Value: $88.25 Billion
The San Francisco-based company ride-hailing, food delivery, and transportation businesses. By this point in time, "calling an Uber" is a term synonymous with hailing a safe ride to where you need to go.
Founded in 2003, the company has quickly grown to be the largest ride-sharing company in the world and, recently, has opened a food delivery division known as UberEats. Beginning only in 2014, the company has come to provide food delivery services in several US states as well as several countries in Europe and Asia.
The company has a market cap almost in the hundreds of billions and, by the end of the year 2020, the company posted 11 billion dollars of revenue. With over 66 million users and partnerships with 600,000 restaurants, Uber has a 20% market share in the food delivery industry. And with the start of the pandemic, UberEats has come to be an integral driver of the company's profits.
2. Papa John's International, Inc. (NYSE: DASH)
Market Value: $3.66 Billion
Founded in 1984, the Kentucky-based pizza restaurant chain has establishments all over the world and 5,000 stores in the United States. Sales for the company did especially well since the start of the pandemic restrictions -- mainly because the infrastructure for deliveries was already in place.
By the end of the last quarter of 2020, Papa John's International garnered $1.8 billion in revenue which is up by 15.5%. $430 million was earned in the last three months of last year which surpassed many investors' estimates.
Rob Lynch, the president, and CEO stated that the company is indeed enjoying the 3rd straight quarter of double-digit growth. Currently, the shares of the company continue to outperform expectations and, with plans to expand operations more globally, it'll be interesting to see if the profit margins are maintained.
3. DoorDash, Inc. (NYSE: PZZA)
Market Value: $55.17 Billion
The San Francisco-based food delivery platform is one of the largest food delivery companies in the USA. Relatively young, it was founded in 2012 and has since gone to control around 50% of the food delivery market. It seeks to maintain this position as is evident by its recent acquisition of Caviar, a food delivery startup, and Chowbotics in 2019.
By the end of the last year, the company posted over $3 billion in revenue and it was one of the companies that benefited greatly from the lockdown -- seeing sales almost triple since 2019.
The company currently enjoys 20 million users at any given time and a partnership with well over 400,000 restaurants. Projections predict the stock's value to rise over the next few months if the momentum can be sustained even after the lifting of restrictions.
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4. Grubhub Inc. (NYSE: GRUB)
Market Value: $6.88 Billion
Founded in 2004, the American food delivery platform is currently headquartered in Chicago and, in June of 2020, was acquired by the Dutch foodservice firm, Just Eat Takeaway. This acquisition seems to have worked to its own benefit as the company managed to gain a foothold in the market with a revenue of $1.82 billion at the end of 2020.
The acquisition took place after Uber itself made a move to purchase the company. At any rate, Just Eat Takeaway has expressed desires to make the platform the largest food delivery service outside of China. Recent estimates have put the company's market share in the US to about 18% with especially significant patronage among those residing in northeastern markets like New York and Boston.
5. Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ: LYFT)
Market Value: $18.39 Billion
This is a San Francisco-based ridesharing and food delivery company founded in 2012. Though mainly known for its car rentals and ride-sharing, thanks to a conference call with investors at the start of the pandemic, the company has since made a pivot to food delivery services.
Though it might be labeled as being new to the game, the company still managed to pull off revenue of $2.3 billion by the end of last year. Though this is well below the revenue posted for last year, the food delivery service side of the business is showing great promise.
Charging less than 30% commission for its operations, it might just be competitive enough for restaurant owners to favor the platform over the more established ones in the market. And with restrictions being lifted, it might start to see revenue from its ride-sharing and car rental side of business again too.
6. Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT)
Market Value: $396.64 Billion
One of the largest companies in the world, operating in 26 countries with more than 11,000 stores, investment in Walmart stocks is a wise choice for more than just food delivery. Founded in the early 1960s, the company has come to dominate the retail business and is looking to stay ahead of the competition with a foray into online shopping -- this includes the ordering of food.
By the end of last year, the company saw mixed returns from countries like Canada, the United Kingdom, China, Germany, South Korea, and of course, the USA -- generating a whopping $559 billion in revenue for itself.
Shares have jumped up by 13% over the past few weeks and many investors and many are soothed by the reports that it continues to maintain the lead over Amazon's grocery delivery service.
7. Domino's Pizza, Inc. (NYSE: DPZ)
Market Value: $18.84 Billion
Another pizza restaurant, Domino's Pizza is based in Michigan and has come to be one of the largest pizza restaurant chains since its founding in 1965. The company earned $4.14 billion in revenue by January 2021.
Though it has maintained its simple, uncomplicated menu and style over the decades, the company has recently invested in providing a host of new products and food options to stay ahead of the competition. These might signify some massive growth in its future which many investors are gearing up for.
8. Deliveroo Holdings Plc (OTCMKTS: DROOF)
Market Value: $5.19 Billion
The London-based online food delivery company has only been around since 2013 and only went public last month. Though not the largest company in terms of market cap, the main thing to know about this company is that there is a lot of potential for growth especially in the European market where it hails.
It's backed by Amazon who has expressed plans to expand the food delivery service with more investment. Though currently underperforming, it's a fine stock to purchase for the betting-kind of investor.
9. Blue Apron Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: APRN)
Market Value: $87.39 Million
This company only went public in 2017 and is really as new as they come. The New York startup is capitalizing on a very pertinent trend occurring right now among regular food delivery consumers -- the demand for healthy and ready-prepped ingredients for the buyer to cook easily.
The company is known to work with local farms and seek to make as little an impact on the environment as possible by decreasing waste materials in their packaging.
Financially, the company earned $460 million by the end of 2020 -- an increase of 22% year-on-year. Projections for 2021 state the company can grow by 27% by the end of this year should current trajectories continue.
10. Hello Fresh SE (OTCMKTS: HLFFF)
Market Value: $14.39 Billion
This is a Berlin-based meal kit delivery company founded in December 2011. It is the largest meal-kit provider in the US, and also operates in countries like the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, France, and Canada.
The company earned $4.5 billion in December 2020. Its great track record includes a gross profit margin of 65% and a net income margin of 9.84%. It also has an 81% return on equity and a 25% return on assets. The shares of the firm have also increased more than 180% over the past 2 years.
Bottom Line
Food is something no one can live without -- literally. Investing in things that people can't live without, and in things that solve very real problems, are just part of being a good investor. Investing in food delivery stocks means you're in both essentially. Research and patience are all you need to feed off of stocks like these.
