Maplebear Inc. (CART) Earnings & Analysis

Latest quarter

Instacart reported Q2 FY2026 revenue of $1.04 billion, which was 1.77% above the consensus. Adjusted earnings per share, as the consensus counts them, were $0.45, below the $0.55 estimate.

The company reported that gross transaction value, the value of orders placed on its platform, rose 14% year over year to $10.35 billion. CFO Emily Reuter attributed the increase primarily to orders, which rose 9% to 90.3 million, and said average order value also increased.

Reuter said transaction revenue rose 13% to $746 million, while advertising and other revenue grew 16% to $297 million. The filing attributed transaction revenue growth partly to order value and fulfillment efficiencies, while increased advertising volume and platform activity contributed to advertising growth.

Instacart’s gross margin fell to 72.0% from 74.2% a year earlier; the filing said cost of revenue grew faster than revenue. Operating margin rose to 13.8% from 13.5%. Reuter said free cash flow was $480 million, up 156%, primarily because the company collected a large receivable in the quarter and had higher receivables outstanding a year earlier.

Adjusted EPS is the figure the consensus estimates, not the GAAP EPS above.

What management said on the call

CEO Chris Rogers said Instacart was attracting customers and increasing engagement among existing ones. CFO Emily Reuter said the rise in average order value reflected deeper engagement and business from club retailers, whose orders tend to be larger.

On pricing, Rogers said retailers offering delivery without item markups were growing faster and retaining customers better. He said Instacart was extending the number of retailers offering that arrangement on its marketplace.

Reuter said advertising growth came from large, midsize and emerging brands, with activity particularly pronounced toward the end of the quarter alongside the World Cup. She said gross profit as a share of transaction value declined partly because payments to publishers increased as Carrot Ads and off-platform partnerships expanded.

Rogers said Instacart had improved its found rate and perfect order fill rate year over year for the 16th consecutive quarter. He said the company was testing personalized health tags and nutrition scores and using customer dietary preferences to improve replacement recommendations. After an analyst asked about the AI assistant, Rogers said Instacart planned to launch it across North America over the following several weeks; he said orders placed with it were larger on average than the typical basket.

Asked how the enterprise business contributes to margins, Rogers said sharing marketplace technology with retailers lowered the cost to serve them and increased order density. Reuter said marketplace and enterprise also reinforce advertising opportunities, adding that the company was expanding its portfolio of retailer tools.

On competition, Rogers said increased digital-first competition was prompting retailers to invest in their own capabilities. He said Instacart was approaching international expansion with its existing enterprise products rather than building highly customized solutions for new markets.

For the quarter ahead, Reuter said Instacart had widened its GTV and adjusted EBITDA guidance ranges to reflect its scale. She said the company expected results within those ranges, with the midpoint as its best estimate.

Guidance

For Q3 FY2026, Instacart expects advertising and other revenue to grow 15% to 18% year over year, compared with its earlier Q2 growth guide of 11% to 14%. The company expects Q3 adjusted EBITDA of $320 million to $340 million, compared with its earlier Q2 guide of $290 million to $300 million.