10-Q · May 7, 2026
Instacart (CART) reported Q1 2026 earnings with total revenue of $1,019 million, exceeding estimates of $1,005 million, and an EPS of $0.57, matching analyst expectations. The company provided forward guidance for Q2…
Earnings analysis · 10-Q
CART earnings analysis
Filed November 5, 2026 · Our reading of the company's report
The latest report
Q3 operating results were mixed: revenue increased to $1.095 billion and exceeded consensus, while diluted EPS of $0.60 improved year over year but missed the $0.63 estimate. Liquidity remained strong with $830 million…
Read full summary
Q3 operating results were mixed: revenue increased to $1.095 billion and exceeded consensus, while diluted EPS of $0.60 improved year over year but missed the $0.63 estimate. Liquidity remained strong with $830 million of cash, $105 million of marketable securities, $93 million of restricted cash, and no revolver borrowings. However, the proposed DoorDash merger has withdrawn financial guidance and introduces substantial regulatory, execution, termination-fee, employee-retention, and stock-consideration risks, while inflation and consumer-demand pressures continue to weigh on the business.
Gross and operating margin
How much of each revenue dollar the business keeps.
One point per quarterly or annual filing. Both margins are shares of that report's revenue.
How we read each report
Our analysis across the last few reports.
Our model's reading of each filing, not the share price or the market's reaction. Annual and quarterly reports each occupy one position.
Reported figures
- Earnings per share
- $0.6
What stood out
-
Revenue growth and beat
Q3 revenue was $1.095 billion, up approximately 5.3% from $1.04 billion in Q2 2026 and 16.6% from $939 million in Q3 2025. Revenue exceeded the $1.0717 billion consensus estimate by approximately 2.2%.
-
EPS improved year over year
Q3 diluted EPS was $0.60, up from $0.45 in Q2 2026 and $0.51 in Q3 2025, but below the $0.63 consensus estimate.
-
Strong liquidity position
As of September 30, 2026, the company held $830 million of cash and cash equivalents, $105 million of marketable securities, and $93 million of restricted cash and cash equivalents.
-
No revolver borrowings
As of September 30, 2026, there were no revolving loans outstanding under the credit agreement, supporting balance-sheet flexibility despite the proposed transaction.
-
Controls remain effective
Disclosure controls were assessed as effective as of September 30, 2026, and the company reported no changes in internal control over financial reporting that materially affected, or were reasonably likely to materially affect, controls during Q3 2026.
-
Defined merger consideration
The proposed merger provides for $65.00 per share in cash, a 0.3372 DoorDash share exchange ratio, or mixed consideration of $48.75 in cash plus 0.0843 DoorDash shares, subject to the merger agreement's election and proration provisions.
What to watch
-
Extended merger and regulatory risk
The proposed merger is subject to stockholder approval, regulatory clearances, registration and listing conditions, and other requirements. The outside date is 12 months after October 28, 2026, with extensions of up to four additional three-month periods, potentially extending the timeline to 24 months.
-
Material termination-fee exposure
If the merger is terminated in certain circumstances, Maplebear may owe DoorDash a $650 million termination fee, while DoorDash may owe Maplebear a $1.25 billion fee in specified antitrust or regulatory-failure circumstances; the filing states these amounts may not fully compensate for disruption or lost opportunities.
-
Inflation and demand pressure
Inflationary pressures, tariffs, freight and fuel costs, higher retailer prices, reduced consumer spending, lower order frequency, and smaller baskets have negatively affected demand; the company also states that brands may reduce advertising budgets and that shopper incentives or consumer refunds may be required.
-
Variable value of stock consideration
The stock portion of merger consideration is exposed to DoorDash share-price volatility: the fixed stock exchange ratio is 0.3372 and the mixed exchange ratio is 0.0843, with no adjustment solely for changes in either company's stock price.
-
Caper Cart wind-down
The company announced a decision to wind down Caper Cart operations in October 2026, while retaining certain immaterial Asia operations for near-term maintenance; this may create execution costs and reflects reduced investment in an initiative.
-
Emerging AI execution and compliance risk
The company is expanding AI Solutions but warns that AI-related offerings may create regulatory, cybersecurity, intellectual-property, accuracy, and third-party-provider risks; the filing states that foreign, federal, state, and local regulators are adopting AI frameworks.
Management's outlook
Financial and long-term guidance was withdrawn following the proposed DoorDash merger; no quantitative outlook is provided in the filing.
Earlier filings 4
10-K · February 26, 2026
Instacart (Maplebear) presents a platform-led grocery strategy anchored in Instacart Marketplace, Instacart Enterprise and Instacart Ads with scale across the ecosystem (powered more than 1.6 billion orders; more than…
10-Q · November 10, 2025
Instacart reported Q3 revenue of $939.0M (up $87M or ~10.2% YoY from $852M) and diluted EPS of $0.51 (vs $0.42 in Q3 2024), beating consensus. Gross profit rose to $692M but gross margin compressed to 73.7% from ~75.2%…
10-Q · August 8, 2025
Instacart reported Q2 revenue of $914 million, up from $823 million in Q2 2024, with gross profit of $678 million and operating income of $124 million. GAAP diluted EPS was $0.41 (diluted net income $116 million) while…
This is our reading of a public filing, not the filing itself. Analysis can contain errors; check the source document for full context.