Instacart Announces First Quarter 2026 Financial Results

Instacart Announces First Quarter 2026 Financial Results GTV grew 13% year-over-year and total revenue grew 14% year-over-year

GAAP net income of $144 million, up 36% year-over-year; Adjusted EBITDA of $300 million, up 23% year-over-year

SAN FRANCISCO, May 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Instacart (NASDAQ: CART) today released financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2026.

"Q1 was a milestone quarter — surpassing $10 billion in GTV and $1 billion in total revenue for the first time. These results prove that our strategy is working. We're the leading grocery technology platform, delivering a best-in-class consumer experience, powering retailers across marketplace and enterprise, and operating a scaled ads ecosystem," said Chris Rogers, CEO. "Each part of our platform is getting stronger — and they're compounding together. That foundation positions us to invest in new initiatives like AI Solutions, international expansion, and in-store technologies that will help accelerate our growth over time."

"We started the year with strong momentum, delivering a ninth consecutive quarter of double-digit GTV growth and our fastest advertising and other revenue growth since Q3 2023. We also continued to expand profitability year-over-year while generating meaningful free cash flow," said Emily Reuter, CFO. "Our operating fundamentals are solid and give us the flexibility to reinvest to further accelerate growth, pursue strategic M&A, and opportunistically return capital through share repurchases as we focus on maximizing long-term shareholder value."

First Quarter 2026 Financial Highlights

Three Months Ended March 31,

2025

2026

% Change

(in millions, except percentages)

GTV

$ 9,122

$ 10,288

13 %

Orders

83.2

91.2

10 %

Total revenue

$ 897

$ 1,019

14 %

GAAP gross profit

$ 671

$ 738

10 %

GAAP gross margin

75 %

72 %

GAAP gross profit as a percent of GTV

7.4 %

7.2 %

GAAP net income

$ 106

$ 144

36 %

GAAP net income as a percent of total revenue

12 %

14 %

GAAP net income as a percent of GTV

1.2 %

1.4 %

Adjusted EBITDA (1)

$ 244

$ 300

23 %

Adjusted EBITDA margin (1)

27 %

29 %

Adjusted EBITDA as a percent of GTV (1)

2.7 %

2.9 %

Net cash provided by operating activities

$ 298

$ 268

(10) %

Free cash flow (1)

$ 280

$ 253

(10) %

___________

(1)

Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin, Adjusted EBITDA as a percent of GTV, and free cash flow are non-GAAP

financial measures. For more information regarding our use of these measures and reconciliations to the most directly

comparable financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP, see the section titled "Non-GAAP Financial

Measures" and the reconciliations presented at the end of this press release.

Operational Highlights

___________

As of Q4'25.

Second Quarter 2026 Financial Outlook

GTV

$10,100 - $10,250 million

Adjusted EBITDA

$290 - $300 million

This GTV outlook represents year-over-year growth between 11% to 13% with GTV expected to continue to outpace orders growth. Our Adjusted EBITDA outlook represents year-over-year growth between 11% to 15%.

For fiscal 2026, we remain committed to steady annual Adjusted EBITDA year-over-year growth at a rate that outpaces GTV growth. Similar to prior years, we expect this rate of expansion to moderate year-over-year as we reinvest to accelerate across our multiple growth engines and lap some of the more significant operating expense efficiencies realized in 2024 and 2025.

We have not provided the forward-looking GAAP equivalent to our Adjusted EBITDA or a GAAP reconciliation as a result of the uncertainty regarding, and the potential variability of, reconciling items such as stock-based compensation and related payroll tax expenses, certain legal and regulatory accruals and settlements, and reserves for sales and other indirect taxes. Accordingly, a reconciliation of this non-GAAP guidance metric to its corresponding GAAP equivalent is not available without unreasonable effort. However, it is important to note that these reconciling items could have a significant effect on future GAAP results.

Webcast and conference call information

Instacart management will host a conference call to discuss the company's results at 5:30 a.m. Pacific Time (8:30 a.m. Eastern Time) today. An audio webcast of the conference call will be available on the company's Investor Relations website at https://investors.instacart.com/.

About Instacart

Instacart is a leading grocery technology company that partners with more than 2,200 retail banners – representing nearly 100,000 stores – to transform how people shop for the groceries they need from the retailers they trust, while creating flexible earning opportunities for shoppers. Through the Instacart Marketplace, Instacart Enterprise platform, and Instacart Ads ecosystem, the company powers ecommerce, fulfillment, in-store technology, AI offerings, and advertising for partners. For more information, visit www.instacart.com/company. Maplebear Inc. is the registered corporate name of Instacart.

Forward-Looking Statements

This letter and the accompanying oral presentation contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements other than statements of historical fact could be deemed forward-looking, including without limitation statements regarding our financial outlook, including GTV, Adjusted EBITDA, transaction revenue, advertising and other revenue, cost of revenue, stock-based compensation expense, cash flow, and orders, trends in our business and industry, impacts from macroeconomic conditions, our plans and expectations regarding growth, products, features, and partnerships, including expansion of our capabilities, services, and solutions, the expected benefits of AI, our strategic priorities, investments, and initiatives, including international expansion and M&A activity, our ability to drive sales and growth for our partners, and activity under our share repurchase program. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as "anticipate," "believe," "contemplate," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "target," "toward," "will," or "would," or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions.

The forward-looking statements contained in this letter and the accompanying oral presentation are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other factors that may cause actual results or outcomes to be materially different from any future results or outcomes expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other factors include, but are not limited to, our ability to forecast our performance; our ability to attract and increase engagement of customers, retailers, brands, and shoppers; the increasing scale, scope, and complexity of our business; evolving and uncertain macroeconomic conditions; our ability to achieve and maintain profitability and profitable growth; competition; and legal and regulatory developments; as well as other risks described from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 filed with the SEC on February 26, 2026.

You should not rely on forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. We have based the forward-looking statements contained in this letter and the accompanying oral presentation on information available to us as of the date hereof, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

Key Business Metrics

We use the following key business metrics to help us evaluate our business, identify trends affecting our performance, formulate business plans, and make strategic decisions:

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

We use the following non-GAAP financial measures in conjunction with GAAP measures to assess performance, to inform the preparation of our annual operating budget and quarterly forecasts, to evaluate the effectiveness of our business strategies, and to discuss our business and financial performance with our board of directors. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to investors about our business and financial performance, enhance their overall understanding of our past performance and future prospects, and allow for greater transparency with respect to metrics used by our management in their financial and operational decision making. We are presenting these non-GAAP financial measures to assist investors in seeing our business and financial performance through the eyes of management, and because we believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide an additional tool for investors to use in comparing results of operations of our business over multiple periods with other companies in our industry.

Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA as a Percent of GTV, and Adjusted EBITDA Margin. We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss), adjusted to exclude (i) provision for (benefit from) income taxes, (ii) interest income, (iii) other (income) expense, net, (iv) depreciation and amortization expense, (v) stock-based compensation expense, (vi) payroll taxes related to stock-based compensation, (vii) certain legal and regulatory accruals and settlements, net, (viii) reserves for sales and other indirect taxes, net, (ix) acquisition-related expenses, and (x) restructuring charges. We define Adjusted EBITDA margin as Adjusted EBITDA as a percent of total revenue.

Adjusted Cost of Revenue and Adjusted Cost of Revenue as a Percent of GTV. We define adjusted cost of revenue as cost of revenue excluding depreciation and amortization expense and stock-based compensation expense.

Adjusted Operations and Support Expense and Adjusted Operations and Support Expense as a Percent of GTV. We define adjusted operations and support expense as operations and support expense excluding depreciation and amortization expense, stock-based compensation expense, and payroll taxes related to stock-based compensation.

Adjusted Research and Development Expense and Adjusted Research and Development Expense as a Percent of GTV. We define adjusted research and development expense as research and development expense excluding depreciation and amortization expense, stock-based compensation expense, and payroll taxes related to stock-based compensation.

Adjusted Sales and Marketing Expense and Adjusted Sales and Marketing Expense as a Percent of GTV. We define adjusted sales and marketing expense as sales and marketing expense excluding depreciation and amortization expense, stock-based compensation expense, and payroll taxes related to stock-based compensation.

Adjusted General and Administrative Expense and Adjusted General and Administrative Expense as a Percent of GTV. We define adjusted general and administrative expense as general and administrative expense excluding depreciation and amortization expense; stock-based compensation expense; payroll taxes related to stock-based compensation; certain legal and regulatory accruals and settlements, net; reserves for sales and other indirect taxes, net; and acquisition-related expenses.

Adjusted Total Operating Expenses and Adjusted Total Operating Expenses as a Percent of GTV. We define adjusted total operating expenses as the sum of adjusted operations and support expense, adjusted research and development expense, adjusted sales and marketing expense, and adjusted general and administrative expense.

We exclude depreciation and amortization expense and stock-based compensation expense from our non-GAAP financial measures as these are non-cash in nature. We exclude payroll taxes related to the vesting and settlement of certain equity awards; certain legal and regulatory accruals and settlements, net; reserves for sales and other indirect taxes, net; acquisition-related expenses; and restructuring charges as these are not indicative of our operating performance.

Free Cash Flow. We define free cash flow as net cash provided by (used in) operating activities less purchases of property and equipment, including capitalized internal-use software.

Non-GAAP financial measures are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for comparable GAAP financial measures and should be read only in conjunction with our condensed consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. Our presentation of non-GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to similar measures used by other companies, which reduce their usefulness as comparative measures. In addition, other companies may not publish these or similar measures. Further, these measures have certain limitations in that they do not include the impact of certain expenses that are reflected in our condensed consolidated statements of operations. We encourage investors and others to review our business, results of operations, and financial information in their entirety, not to rely on any single financial measure, and carefully consider our results under GAAP, as well as our supplemental non-GAAP information and the reconciliation between these presentations, to more fully understand our business. Please see the tables included at the end of this press release for the reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP results.

MAPLEBEAR INC. DBA INSTACART

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(unaudited, in millions)

As of

December 31,

As of

March 31,

2025

2026

ASSETS

Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents

$ 637

$ 631

Short-term marketable securities

Accounts receivable, net

1,127

1,095

Restricted cash and cash equivalents, current

172

110

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

213

197

Total current assets

2,199

2,091

Long-term marketable securities

Restricted cash and cash equivalents, noncurrent

Property and equipment, net

218

219

Operating lease right-of-use assets

Intangible assets, net

Goodwill

393

Deferred tax assets, net

664

626

Other assets

Total assets

$ 3,687

$ 3,535

LIABILITIES, REDEEMABLE CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCK, AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

Current liabilities:

Accounts payable

$ 70

$ 48

Accrued and other current liabilities

634

604

Operating lease liabilities, current

Deferred revenue

211

230

Total current liabilities

917

885

Operating lease liabilities, noncurrent

Other long-term liabilities

Total liabilities

974

941

Series A redeemable convertible preferred stock

196

198

Stockholders' equity:

Preferred stock

—

Common stock

—

Additional paid-in capital

7,005

7,143

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

(1)

(4)

Accumulated deficit

(4,486)

(4,744)

Total stockholders' equity

2,518

2,395

Total liabilities, redeemable convertible preferred stock, and stockholders' equity

$ 3,687

$ 3,535

Note: Due to rounding, numbers presented may not sum precisely to the totals presented.

MAPLEBEAR INC. DBA INSTACART

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(unaudited, in millions, except share amounts, which are reflected in thousands, and per share amounts)

Three Months Ended March 31,

2025

2026

Revenue

$ 897

$ 1,019

Cost of revenue

226

281

Gross profit

671

738

Operating expenses:

Operations and support

Research and development

144

164

Sales and marketing

216

230

General and administrative

126

Total operating expenses

561

556

Income from operations

110

182

Interest income

Income before provision for income taxes

124

188

Provision for income taxes

Net income

$ 106

$ 144

Accretion related to Series A redeemable convertible preferred stock

(2)

Net income attributable to common stockholders, basic

$ 104

$ 142

Accretion related to Series A redeemable convertible preferred stock

—

Net income attributable to common stockholders, diluted

$ 104

$ 144

Net income per share attributable to common stockholders:

Basic

$ 0.40

$ 0.59

Diluted

$ 0.37

$ 0.57

Weighted-average shares used in computing net income per share attributable to common

stockholders:

Basic

262,432

239,273

Diluted

277,193

253,597

Note: Due to rounding, numbers presented may not sum precisely to the totals presented.

MAPLEBEAR INC. DBA INSTACART

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(unaudited, in millions)

Three Months Ended March 31,

2025

2026

OPERATING ACTIVITIES

Net income

$ 106

$ 144

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:

Depreciation and amortization expense

Stock-based compensation expense

Impairments of long-lived assets and other assets

Provision for bad debts

Amortization of operating lease right-of-use assets

Deferred income taxes

(2)

Other

—

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

Accounts receivable

Prepaid expenses and other assets

(9)

Accounts payable

(3)

(22)

Accrued and other current liabilities

(51)

Deferred revenue

Operating lease liabilities

(3)

(1)

Other long-term liabilities

(1)

Net cash provided by operating activities

298

268

INVESTING ACTIVITIES

Purchases of marketable securities

(62)

(4)

Maturities of marketable securities

Purchases of property and equipment, including capitalized internal-use software

(18)

(16)

Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities

(8)

FINANCING ACTIVITIES

Taxes paid related to net share settlement of equity awards

(8)

(4)

Proceeds from exercise of stock options

Changes in advances from payment card issuer

Repurchases of common stock

(89)

(359)

Net cash used in financing activities

(46)

(328)

Effect of foreign exchange on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash and cash equivalents

(1)

Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash and cash equivalents

254

(68)

Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash and cash equivalents - beginning of period

1,449

827

Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash and cash equivalents - end of period

$ 1,703

$ 758

Note: Due to rounding, numbers presented may not sum precisely to the totals presented.

MAPLEBEAR INC. DBA INSTACART

KEY BUSINESS METRICS AND RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP RESULTS

(unaudited, in millions, except percentages)

Three Months Ended March 31,

2025

2026

GTV

$ 9,122

$ 10,288

Orders

83.2

91.2

Net income

$ 106

$ 144

Provision for income taxes

Interest income

(14)

(6)

Depreciation and amortization expense

Stock-based compensation expense

Payroll taxes related to stock-based compensation (1)

Certain legal and regulatory accruals and settlements, net (2)

Reserves for sales and other indirect taxes, net (3)

(1)

—

Acquisition-related expenses

—

Adjusted EBITDA

$ 244

$ 300

Net income as a percent of GTV

1.2 %

1.4 %

Adjusted EBITDA as a percent of GTV

2.7 %

2.9 %

Total revenue

$ 897

$ 1,019

Net income as a percent of total revenue

12 %

14 %

Adjusted EBITDA margin

27 %

29 %

(1)

Represents employer payroll taxes related to the vesting and settlement of certain equity awards.

(2)

Represents certain legal, regulatory, and policy expenses, including those related to worker classification, as well as non-recurring intellectual

property matters and regulatory settlements.

(3)

Represents sales and other indirect tax reserves, net of abatements, for periods in which we were unable to collect such taxes from customers.

We believe this adjustment is useful for investors in understanding our underlying operating performance because in these cases, the taxes

were not intended to be a cost to us but rather are to be borne by the customers.

Note: Due to rounding, numbers presented may not sum precisely to the totals presented.

MAPLEBEAR INC. DBA INSTACART

RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP RESULTS

(unaudited, in millions, except percentages)

Three Months Ended

Mar. 31,

Jun. 30,

Sep. 30,

Dec. 31,

Mar. 31,

2025

2026

Cost of revenue

$ 226

$ 236

$ 247

$ 275

$ 281

Depreciation and amortization expense

(14)

(15)

(20)

(24)

Stock-based compensation expense

(2)

(3)

(2)

Adjusted cost of revenue

$ 210

$ 218

$ 225

$ 253

$ 255

Cost of revenue as a percent of GTV

2.5 %

2.6 %

2.7 %

2.8 %

2.7 %

Adjusted cost of revenue as a percent of GTV

2.3 %

2.4 %

2.5 %

2.6 %

2.5 %

Operations and support expense

$ 75

$ 66

$ 62

$ 71

$ 74

Depreciation and amortization expense

—

(1)

Stock-based compensation expense

(3)

(4)

(3)

(4)

(3)

Payroll taxes related to stock-based compensation (1)

(1)

—

Adjusted operations and support expense

$ 71

$ 61

$ 58

$ 67

$ 70

Operations and support expense as a percent of GTV

0.8 %

0.7 %

Adjusted operations and support expense as a percent of GTV

0.8 %

0.7 %

0.6 %

0.7 %

Research and development expense

$ 144

$ 166

$ 169

$ 170

$ 164

Depreciation and amortization expense

(2)

Stock-based compensation expense

(34)

(58)

(56)

(55)

(46)

Payroll taxes related to stock-based compensation (1)

(6)

(2)

(4)

Adjusted research and development expense

$ 102

$ 103

$ 109

$ 112

$ 111

Research and development expense as a percent of GTV

1.6 %

1.8 %

1.7 %

1.6 %

Adjusted research and development expense as a percent of GTV

1.1 %

1.2 %

1.1 %

Sales and marketing expense

$ 216

$ 217

$ 206

$ 214

$ 230

Depreciation and amortization expense

(2)

(3)

(2)

Stock-based compensation expense

(13)

(18)

(13)

(16)

(10)

Payroll taxes related to stock-based compensation (1)

(1)

—

(1)

Adjusted sales and marketing expense

$ 200

$ 197

$ 191

$ 195

$ 217

Sales and marketing expense as a percent of GTV

2.4 %

2.3 %

2.2 %

Adjusted sales and marketing expense as a percent of GTV

2.2 %

2.1 %

2.0 %

2.1 %

MAPLEBEAR INC. DBA INSTACART

RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP RESULTS (CONTINUED)

(unaudited, in millions, except percentages)

Three Months Ended

Mar. 31,

Jun. 30,

Sep. 30,

Dec. 31,

Mar. 31,

2025

2026

General and administrative expense

$ 126

$ 106

$ 87

$ 163

$ 88

Depreciation and amortization expense

(1)

Stock-based compensation expense

(14)

(23)

(7)

(21)

(19)

Payroll taxes related to stock-based compensation (1)

(2)

(1)

—

(1)

Certain legal and regulatory accruals and settlements, net (2)

(40)

(6)

(2)

(78)

(1)

Reserves for sales and other indirect taxes, net (3)

—

Acquisition-related expenses

—

(1)

Adjusted general and administrative expense

$ 70

$ 74

$ 78

$ 63

$ 65

General and administrative expense as a percent of GTV

1.4 %

1.2 %

1.0 %

1.7 %

0.9 %

Adjusted general and administrative expense as a percent of GTV

0.8 %

0.6 %

Total operating expenses

$ 561

$ 554

$ 525

$ 619

$ 556

Depreciation and amortization expense

(5)

(6)

Stock-based compensation expense

(64)

(103)

(79)

(96)

(78)

Payroll taxes related to stock-based compensation (1)

(10)

(5)

(3)

(6)

Certain legal and regulatory accruals and settlements, net (2)

(40)

(6)

(2)

(78)

(1)

Reserves for sales and other indirect taxes, net (3)

—

Acquisition-related expenses

—

(1)

Adjusted total operating expenses

$ 443

$ 434

$ 436

$ 463

Total operating expenses as a percent of GTV

6.1 %

5.7 %

6.3 %

5.4 %

Adjusted total operating expenses as a percent of GTV

4.9 %

4.8 %

4.4 %

4.5 %

(1)

Represents employer payroll taxes related to the vesting and settlement of certain equity awards.

(2)

Represents certain legal, regulatory, and policy expenses, including those related to worker classification, as well as non-recurring intellectual

property matters and regulatory settlements.

(3)

Represents sales and other indirect tax reserves, net of abatements, for periods in which we were unable to collect such taxes from customers.

We believe this adjustment is useful for investors in understanding our underlying operating performance because in these cases, the taxes

were not intended to be a cost to us but rather are to be borne by the customers.

Three Months Ended

Mar. 31,

Jun. 30,

Sep. 30,

Dec. 31,

Mar. 31,

2025

2026

Net cash provided by operating activities

$ 298

$ 203

$ 287

$ 184

$ 268

Purchases of property and equipment, including capitalized

internal-use software

(18)

(16)

(15)

(12)

(16)

Free cash flow

$ 280

$ 187

$ 272

$ 171

$ 253

Note: Due to rounding, numbers presented may not sum precisely to the totals presented.

SOURCE Maplebear Inc. dba Instacart