Grubhub Acquires LevelUp

Turns out the online and mobile food ordering business has some hefty tailwinds in place.

Grubhub’s active diner count jumped 69 percent year over year to 15.6 million users, up from 9.2 million. The company posted revenues of $240 million, up 51 percent over last year, which was better than the $233 million expected. Earnings on an adjusted basis were $0.50 a share, besting consensus by seven cents.

Gross food sales stood at $1.2 billion, gaining 39 percent.

Those were the headline numbers. As for greenfield opportunities, more new diners signed up for the platform than any quarter before, with less money spent on advertising, as management noted on the call. With a bit of granular detail, CEO Matt Maloney stated that June was the best month in the quarter, where seasonally it has been the worst, according to comments on the call.

The company announced the acquisition of LevelUp, which should expedite integration with restaurants and “create a seamless diner experience in-app, online and in-store,” said the 423,000 daily average grubs, up 35 percent year over year.

CFO Adam DeWitt stated new markets, year to date, have reached a count of 70.

Amid the headline numbers, the company has noted that average order sizes were up 3 percent year over year, with a boost in mix across all brands served.

That increase in revenue per order comes absent increased support costs for those orders.

Beyond the quarter’s results, the firm stated it has acquired LevelUp for $390 million in cash, a deal which will spur further integrations with the nation’s top restaurant brands, with additional channels in place to attract new diners.

DeWitt stated on the call that LevelUp, a seven-year-old firm based in Boston, serves 200 regional and national brands, with a point-of-sale (POS) approach that seeks to replicate each brand’s experience online. The CFO said it is “not a demand-generating” tool like Grubhub but is focused instead on POS integration. LevelUp processes about 100,000 orders a day, as noted on the call. Maloney said the firm has “the best white-label products in the business.”

Amid the organic growth and the LevelUp news, the firm’s guidance now comes in above the Street, with 2018’s top line at $966 million to $983 million, versus the $961 million consensus.

The call is still ongoing, and we’ll refresh with additional detail. Shares were up 11 percent as of this writing.