CNBC reported on September 5 that Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) is expanding into restaurant delivery with a new partnership with Inspire Brands-owned Dunkin’, starting with about 150 Dunkin’ locations inside Walmart stores and expanding over the next year to most of the chain’s roughly 10,000 U.S. locations. Its vast majority sit outside Walmart stores entirely.
The move builds on an earlier 2026 partnership with Subway and marks Walmart’s shift from delivering food only from restaurants inside its own stores toward delivering from independent restaurant locations generally, territory long dominated by DoorDash, Inc. (NASDAQ:DASH) and Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) Uber Eats. Walmart’s advantage includes having roughly 90% of Americans within 10 miles of a store and an existing delivery workforce it can extend to new routes. A Walmart spokesperson framed the effort as a natural extension of the retailer’s existing shopping experience, calling the service, branded Walmart Restaurant Delivery, a way to add value and convenience. Tulane University’s Hongseok Jang, who studies online delivery, said if Walmart’s own delivery system proves it can handle the volume, “there will be a big competition between Walmart and Uber Eats and DoorDash.”
Bull Case
Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) is leveraging infrastructure it already owns rather than building a delivery network from scratch. Its stores sit near nearly all Americans, while its existing delivery workforce gives the company a major logistical advantage in restaurant delivery. So Walmart can enter the market with infrastructure and customer relationships that would take a new competitor years to develop.
The strategic value for Walmart goes beyond delivery fees since combining restaurant orders with grocery and general-merchandise deliveries could increase order frequency and basket sizes. It gives Walmart another way to deepen customer engagement and make incremental revenue. The strategy also lets Walmart use its massive customer base to cross-sell restaurant delivery alongside its current offerings.
DoorDash, Inc. (NASDAQ:DASH) still has growth opportunities that Walmart’s entry does not directly undermine. Total orders grew 27% year over year in the second quarter, while new verticals such as grocery and retail could turn gross-profit positive by the end of 2026. DoorDash has also secured FAA certification for drone delivery. It gives the firm more ways to expand beyond standard restaurant delivery.
Bear Case
Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s expansion into independent restaurant locations invades DoorDash’s core territory directly. DoorDash, Inc. (NASDAQ:DASH)’s own profitability isn’t fully secure. GAAP net income fell 30% year over year to $200 million in the second quarter even as revenue grew 36%, leaving less room to absorb aggressive new price competition from a much larger-scale rival.
Uber Eats now faces this new front while Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER)’s management attention is already stretched. The firm just cut 10% of its corporate workforce. It is managing mounting competitive pressure from Waymo in autonomous vehicles, adding a well-resourced new delivery competitor to an already full plate.
Restaurant delivery is a notoriously low-margin, logistically complex business that took even a dedicated specialist like DoorDash years to approach sustainable profitability. Walmart’s own U.S. comparable sales growth slowed to 2.6% last quarter. It means resources devoted to an unproven new vertical carry real opportunity cost.
Success is far from guaranteed even with Walmart’s scale. Delivering from locations outside its own stores lacks the built-in efficiency of using drivers already on-site collecting grocery orders. It is a distinction analysts have specifically flagged as the harder, less-proven phase of Walmart’s strategy.
Hedge Fund Data
Insider Monkey’s database shows Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) was held by 111 hedge funds in the second quarter of 2026, up from 99 in the first quarter, with holdings value rising to $11.12 billion from $10.94 billion. DoorDash, Inc. (NASDAQ:DASH) saw its fund count fall to 107 from 117, though holdings value rose to $6.37 billion from $6.01 billion, while Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) held roughly flat at 151 funds and $9.33 billion. Walmart’s growing hedge fund interest contrasts with DoorDash’s declining fund count, even as DoorDash’s dollar value held up.
Conclusion
Walmart is using assets it already owns, including stores, drivers, and daily customer traffic, to enter a business that DoorDash and Uber Eats have spent years building. The bull case focuses on Walmart’s low incremental cost of entry, its potential to increase basket sizes, and the diversification already underway at both delivery platforms. The bear case rests on Walmart’s direct threat to DoorDash, added competitive pressure on Uber Eats, and execution risks in a notoriously difficult, low-margin business. Investors should look at whether Walmart can make restaurant delivery profitable beyond its own stores.
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