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Investing.com -- Wells Fargo has raised earnings estimates for the largest rideshare and delivery platforms, citing accelerating advertising momentum as a key margin driver.
The bank told investors in a note Friday that it is increasing 2026 and 2027 EBITDA forecasts by an average of 5% and 8% across Uber, DoorDash, Lyft and Instacart.
“[We] see advertising as a critical margin lever in increasingly competitive rideshare and delivery,” Wells Fargo analysts wrote in their Gig Marketplace Ads Opportunity note.
Wells Fargo expects advertising revenues in the gig marketplace sector to climb from $4.3 billion in 2025 to $14.6 billion in 2030, a compound annual growth rate of 28%.
Among verticals, the bank sees the largest opportunity in restaurant advertising, which could reach $7.0 billion by 2030, compared with $5.2 billion for grocery and $2.9 billion for rideshare.
“DASH advertising opportunity [is] most underappreciated,” analysts said, estimating its ad revenues will scale from $1.3 billion in 2025 to $3.5 billion in 2028, a 39% three-year CAGR.
Wells Fargo lifted its 2027 EBITDA estimate for DoorDash by 10%, two percentage points above consensus. Uber’s 2027 EBITDA forecast was raised 6%, with analysts noting that “we see most upside to consensus ’26/’27 EBITDA forecasts for DASH & UBER.”
Rideshare advertising is said to remain “in early innings” with penetration below 20% in 2025, but Wells Fargo expects contribution to incremental margins to expand from 80 basis points in 2025 to 300 basis points in 2027.
For Instacart, the bank lifted 2027 EBITDA by 4% but kept its forecast 2% below consensus, citing margin risks from a mix shift toward off-platform ads. Lyft was described as having “the most runway remaining,” with penetration at just 25%.