What happened Shares of Just Eat Takeaway.com (NASDAQ: GRUB) jumped on Thursday, adding as much as 9.8%. As of 1:01 p.m. ET, the stock was still up 8.7%. The takeout food delivery specialist capped off 2021 with preliminary results that were stronger than many investors had anticipated. So what Just Eat Takeaway, the parent company of online food delivery service Grubhub, reported preliminary fourth-quarter results that topped off a banner year in 2021. Image source: Getty Images. Total orders of roughly 1.1 billion grew 33% year over year. Investors had feared that the loosening of pandemic-related restrictions and the return to in-restaurant dining would devastate Just Eat Takeaway's results. However, its fourth-quarter growth was stronger than anticipated, as total orders of 274 million grew 14% compared with the prior-year quarter. Robust order growth fueled gross transaction value (GTV) that grew to 28.2 billion euro (roughly $32.3 billion) last year, an increase of 31%. Fourth-quarter GTV of 7.3 billion euro ($8.37 billion) climbed 13%. Just Eat Takeaway's delivery order growth was strongest in the U.K. and Ireland, with full-year growth of 306%, while more than doubling in the fourth quarter. In North America -- its largest segment -- order growth increased 19% in 2021, slowing to 6% in Q4. As a result of the strong order growth and GTV in line with its forecasts, Just Eat Takeaway now expects its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) margin for the full year to come in at the midpoint of its guided range of -1% to -1.5% of GTV. Now what Just Eat Takeaway also reaffirmed its guidance for 2022, which includes GTV growing by midteens percentage points. It also said that 2021 was the peak year for losses, with adjusted EBITDA margin improving to -0.6% to -0.8% of GTV. Long term, management is guiding for adjusted EBITDA margins that eventually improve to 5% of GTV and adding 30 billion euro ($34.4 billion) in GTV over the coming five years. It's important to note that Just Eat Takeaway continues to generate significant losses as it invests in its expansion. It could be some time before it's profitable, so investors should exercise caution. 10 stocks we like better than Just Eat Takeaway.comWhen our award-winning analyst team has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* They just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Just Eat Takeaway.com wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of January 10, 2022 Danny Vena has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Just Eat Takeaway.com N.V. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source