With DoorDash’s initial public offering (IPO) a remarkable success, it’s easy to say that food delivery is big business, or even a growing industry.
For now, there’s not an exchange traded fund dedicated to the food delivery industry, but there are ways to play the growth segment via ETFs. One strong choice is the ARK Industrial Innovation ETF (NYSEArca: ARKQ).
The ARK Industrial Innovation ETF captures the converging industrial and technology sectors, capitalizing from autonomous vehicles, robotics, 3D printing, energy storage, and space exploration technologies. No, food delivery isn’t explicitly involved, but ARKQ’s exposure to the booming drone market is relevant at time of exponential growth for companies like DoorDash.
“In partnership with Starship Technologies and through its acquisition of Scotty Labs, Doordash is investing in autonomous technology but might not win the race to build an autonomous drone logistics network. ARK believes that, much like Uber and other ride-hailing companies, Doordash probably will have to partner with a drone logistics provider which will lower its share of delivery economics significantly,” writes ARK analyst Tasha Keeney.
Emerging Trends to Invest in for the Long Haul
Investors are always on the lookout for long-term growth opportunities, but now more than ever, it seems prescient to look beyond the immediate noise of the socioeconomic and political headlines to find investment opportunities for the long haul. Emerging technologies may offer that growth, according to many experts.
With the coronavirus forcing social distancing upon Americans, e-commerce and home deliveries are taking off. Neither delivery personnel nor package recipients want to interact with each other for fear of contracting the respiratory illness.
That’s sparking an uptick in drone deliveries, a potentially efficacious theme for ARKQ. There are currently about 1.5 million registered drones in the nation and forecasts show that by 2025, that number will increase to three million.
“ARK estimates that drones will deliver food orders for only $0.25 per order at scale, boosting food delivery as a percent of food-away-from-home from 2% today to nearly 40% by 2030,” notes Keeney. “Drones are likely to deliver nearly half of those orders. Owning the technology stacks, drone manufacturers like Skydio or Amazon are in good positions to offer the logistics networks and enjoy the lion’s share of drone delivery economics.”
For more on disruptive technologies, visit our Disruptive Technology Channel.
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.