stockrowWhat it does
Maplebear Inc. does business as Instacart. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in San Francisco, it is led by Chief Executive Officer Chris Rogers. Instacart provides technology and services for grocery retailers, customers, brands and the shoppers who pick and deliver orders.
Customers can shop through the Instacart app or website for delivery or pickup. They can order from retailers and restaurants for occasions ranging from a weekly grocery shop to a convenience order. Instacart+ is a membership program that offers benefits including unlimited $0 delivery fees on orders over a certain size.
Instacart also sells technology to retailers for their own websites, apps and stores. Its enterprise platform includes online storefronts, order fulfillment, advertising, marketing and tools that give retailers information about their operations. Retailers can choose individual components rather than take the whole platform. Orders on retailers’ own sites can be picked and delivered by Instacart shoppers, handled by retailer employees, or fulfilled through a combination of the two.
Brands use Instacart Ads to reach grocery customers through formats such as sponsored products, display ads, coupons and brand pages. Instacart also offers advertising tools for retailers’ own sites and apps. It was reported on 30 October 2026 that Instacart had shut its smart cart division earlier that week.
How it makes money
Instacart reports transaction revenue and advertising and other revenue. Transaction revenue comes primarily from customer service and delivery fees, Instacart+ membership fees, retailer service and fulfillment fees, and revenue-sharing agreements with payment-card providers. Customers pay for Instacart+ monthly or annually, while the company earns fees when it arranges fulfillment or connects retailers with customers.
Retailers pay service fees for transactions on Instacart Marketplace and fulfillment fees for orders placed through their own online storefronts powered by Instacart. The company records transaction revenue after deducting the purchase value of goods remitted to retailers, shopper payments and incentives, coupons, consumer incentives and refunds. Shopper tips included in gross transaction value go directly to shoppers.
Advertising and other revenue includes the advertising business, through which brands can pay to reach customers on Instacart and on participating retailers’ digital properties. Carrot Ads extends Instacart’s advertising offering to partners’ websites and apps. Instacart said it also made a self-service advertising offering available to all consumer packaged goods partners for campaigns bought through Pinterest in Q2 2026.
In FY2025, transaction revenue was $2.7 billion and advertising and other revenue was $1.1 billion. In Q2 2026, total revenue was $1.04 billion. Instacart said Q2 transaction revenue was $746 million and advertising and other revenue was $297 million.
Revenue can change with the mix of fees, fulfillment options and incentives. Instacart expects transaction revenue as a share of gross transaction value to fluctuate as those factors and shopper payments change.
| Product or service | Revenue, FY2025 | Share | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transaction | $2.7 billion | 71.5% | 10.6% |
| Advertising and other | $1.1 billion | 28.5% | 11.2% |
Customers and how it sells
Instacart serves several groups at once: consumers placing orders, retailers selling products or buying technology, brands purchasing advertising, and shoppers earning money by fulfilling orders. As of December 31, 2025, it enabled more than 2,200 retail banners and served over 9,000 active brands. Approximately 600,000 shoppers had completed at least one order during the month ended December 31, 2025.
Retailers reach consumers through Instacart’s marketplace and through their own sites powered by its enterprise platform. Customers can order for delivery or pickup, while retailers can use separate enterprise tools for functions such as fulfillment, advertising and operational insights. Instacart’s storefront technology powered more than 380 grocers’ e-commerce sites as of December 31, 2025.
The United States accounted for 96.2% of FY2025 revenue; international markets accounted for 3.79%. Two customers identified as Customer B and Customer A represented 17.0% and 11.0% of FY2025 revenue, respectively.
Instacart said its Storefront Pro offering launched with Costco in France and Spain, and that Instaleap, acquired in Q2 2026, signed a picking-technology partnership with Morrisons in the United Kingdom. It also said it had signed Big Y for online catering and in-store shelf-ordering kiosks.
| Region | Revenue, FY2025 | Share | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $3.6 billion | 96.2% | 10.9% |
| International | $142.0 million | 3.79% | 8.40% |
Suppliers and costs
Instacart relies on retailers for the goods customers order and on a network of shoppers to pick, pack and deliver many orders. Shoppers provide fulfillment services under agreements with Instacart; retailers can also use their own employees for some orders. The company also uses payment-card providers, publishers, contractors, vendors and consultants in its operations.
Shopper payments and incentives, consumer incentives, coupons and refunds are deducted when transaction revenue is recognized. Instacart expects those amounts to fluctuate with demand, fulfillment methods, operating efficiency and changes in regulation. It also spends on technology, personnel, marketing and customer support.
California’s Proposition 22 requires minimum earnings and healthcare subsidy payments for qualifying independent contractors. Instacart expects its compliance costs in California to remain elevated. Additional rules governing shopper compensation or classification can affect costs and operations elsewhere.
Instacart said gross profit as a share of gross transaction value declined year over year in Q2 2026 partly because payments to publishers increased as certain Carrot Ads and off-platform partnerships expanded. In FY2025, gross margin was 74%, down from 2024 as cost of revenue grew faster than revenue.
- Revenue$3.7B
- Cost of revenue−$984.0M
- Research and development−$650.0M
- Selling, general and administrative−$1.3B
- Other operating costs−$274.0M
- Operating income$498.0M
Competitive position
Instacart competes for retailers, consumers, brands and shoppers. The factors differ by group: retailers consider technology, pricing, fulfillment and support; consumers consider selection, affordability and convenience; brands consider reach, data and pricing; and shoppers consider earnings potential, flexibility and their experience.
DoorDash has been described as one of Instacart’s main competitors. It was reported on 30 October 2026 that the companies had agreed to an acquisition and would operate independently until the deal closes. The proposed acquisition requires regulatory approval.
Instacart’s marketplace connects retailers, shoppers, customers and advertisers, while its enterprise tools also serve retailers’ own channels. The company uses transaction data in its advertising and has built a product catalog and inventory signals from its order and shopper activity. Its enterprise tools cover storefronts, fulfillment, marketing and insights.
Our reading: The combination of retailer relationships and a shopper network is a meaningful source of competitive strength because it supports both marketplace orders and retailers’ own storefronts. Our reading: Transaction and inventory data can strengthen advertising and shopping tools, although competitors and partners still contest customer relationships and pricing. Our reading: Retailer integrations can help make the enterprise offering harder to replace, but retailers can select individual modules rather than adopt the whole platform.
| Competitor | Where they compete | Threat (our reading) |
|---|---|---|
| DoorDash | Grocery delivery and marketplace customers | High |
Growth opportunities
Instacart’s growth plans include attracting and retaining marketplace customers, expanding retailers’ use of enterprise technology, increasing advertising revenue and entering new markets. It also aims to increase adoption of Instacart+ and add services and fulfillment options.
In 2025, orders increased to 338.8 million, or 15% growth compared with 2024, driven primarily by new customers and greater engagement from existing customers. Gross transaction value increased to $37,224 million, or 11% growth, with the rise in orders partly offset by lower average order value.
Instacart said Q2 2026 gross transaction value was $10.35 billion, up 14% year-over-year, while advertising and other revenue grew 16% year-over-year. It said it was testing an advertising objective intended to encourage repeat purchases and had expanded another objective to display ads.
The company plans to expand its AI shopping assistant across North America and offer related tools to retailers. It said it acquired Arpalus in July 2026 for computer-vision technology that can help identify what is on store shelves. It also acquired Instaleap in Q2 2026 as it expanded its international enterprise business.
Instacart expects its enterprise products to help retailers operate across their own online channels and stores. It also expects advertising opportunities to expand across its marketplace and retailers’ storefronts as those businesses grow.
- $1.8BFY2021
- $2.6BFY2022
- $3.0BFY2023
- $3.4BFY2024
- $3.7BFY2025
Structural risks
- Competition and retention: Instacart must attract and retain retailers, customers, brands and shoppers. Competing services, pricing changes and shifts in shopping behavior can affect its ability to do so.
- Shopper classification and regulation: Laws and proceedings can challenge shoppers’ independent-contractor status or impose additional compensation and benefit requirements. Changes could increase costs, affect customer pricing or impair operations.
- Customer and retailer experience: Higher fees or differences between online and in-store prices can discourage customers. Out-of-stock items, poor substitutions, late deliveries and limited retailer selection can also reduce satisfaction.
- Concentration and privacy: Customer B represented 17.0% of FY2025 revenue and Customer A represented 11.0%. Instacart also collects and processes user data and faces changing privacy and data-security requirements.
- Seasonality and operating variability: Order volumes are typically lower in the second and third quarters and higher during the holiday season. Advertising revenue has historically been seasonally high in the fourth quarter and low in the first.
- Proposed acquisition: It was reported on 30 October 2026 that the DoorDash acquisition needs regulatory approval and may not close until the first half of 2028.
Bottom line
Our reading
Instacart combines a grocery marketplace with retailer technology and advertising, using the same shopper network and data across those activities. Our reading: Its business rests on keeping retailers, customers, shoppers and brands engaged while managing fulfillment costs and regulation. Retailer concentration and the proposed DoorDash transaction add uncertainties alongside its efforts to expand enterprise services and advertising.