[hanging]

  GrubHub... lost $33.4 million over the last 3 months. (In fairness: COVID-19.)

I don't understand the qualifier. Hasn't Covid-19 been a boon to delivery services? If they can't profit during these artificially beneficial market conditions (boosted demand and endless supply of minions to do delivery), how can they ever profit?

[boublepop]

They are engineered to take a loss. If market conditions improve they ramp up costs. It’s not a game to maximize profits yet, it’s a game of trying to maximize vale extracted from losses.

[hazbot]

"We're losing money on every sale!"

"Don't worry, we'll make up for it in volume."

[jjeaff]

Is that from silicon valley? Because I have to say that Seinfeld (Kramer) already did that bit, hilariously, many years ago.

[tanseydavid]

According to this post: https://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/we_...

the original use of the joke/phrase goes back to at least 1933 and likely further.

[weare138]

I'm guessing it's because of so many of the restaurants being closed in urban areas during the lockdown and people having less money to spend on things like takeout.