Greece’s largest food delivery platform, efood, generated record revenue in 2025 but saw profitability decline sharply as soaring delivery costs and higher marketing spending outpaced sales growth.
Online Delivery S.A., the company operating efood in Greece and part of Germany’s Delivery Hero group, reported revenue of €280.6 million, up 33% from the previous year. However, net profit fell 42% to €20.7 million, while pre-tax earnings declined to €27.2 million from €46.8 million in 2024.
Growth comes at a higher price
Payments for delivery services nearly doubled during the year, climbing to €143 million from €79.6 million in 2024. The expense relates to services provided by GO Delivery, a sister company within the Delivery Hero ecosystem.
The increase becomes even more striking over a longer period. Delivery service costs have risen from €43.2 million in 2022 to €49.6 million in 2023, €79.6 million in 2024 and now €143 million in 2025.
As a result, more than half of every euro generated by the platform is now effectively absorbed by delivery operations, significantly reducing operating leverage despite continued revenue growth.
Marketing and payment costs also weigh on earnings
Advertising and promotional spending increased 50%, reaching €28.6 million from €19 million a year earlier, reflecting continued investment in customer acquisition and brand visibility.
Meanwhile, fees paid to third parties rose to €41.8 million from €30.1 million, including payment processing services provided by Delivery Hero Payments, the group’s regulated financial services entity. Overall operating expenses surged to €223.6 million, a 62% increase year-on-year—almost double the pace of revenue growth.
Core revenue streams remain strong
Commission income, the percentage retained from every order placed through the platform, rose to €176.8 million, compared with €136.2 million in 2024. Since 2022, commission revenue has effectively doubled.
Advertising sold to restaurants and merchants also remained an increasingly important contributor. Revenue from sponsored listings, premium placement and promotional services reached €46 million, up from €42.3 million a year earlier and €32 million in 2022.
Revenue from other services, including delivery-related platform services, more than doubled to €51.4 million, highlighting the company’s broader monetization strategy beyond order commissions.
Competition set to intensify
Delivery Hero has been undergoing a strategic review since late 2025 following pressure from major shareholders and the departure of founder and former Chief Executive Niklas Östberg.
In May 2026, the company confirmed it had received a takeover proposal from Uber valuing Delivery Hero at approximately €10 billion. Uber has already increased its ownership stake to 19.5%, making it the company’s largest shareholder.
Uber has announced plans to launch Uber Eats in Greece as part of its expansion into seven new European markets during 2026. The platform will compete directly with efood, Wolt and Box while leveraging Uber’s existing ride-hailing user base to accelerate customer acquisition.
