DoorDash to Acquire Instacart in ~$17B Cash-and-Stock Deal; Q3 Results Released

Executive Summary

On October 29, 2026, Maplebear Inc. (dba Instacart) filed a Current Report on Form 8-K disclosing two major developments:

1. Definitive Acquisition Agreement by DoorDash: Instacart entered into an agreement to be acquired by DoorDash, Inc. in a cash-and-stock transaction with an implied equity valuation of approximately $17 billion.
2. Q3 2026 Financial Results: Solid operational and financial growth across gross transaction value (GTV), revenue, and Adjusted EBITDA.

Following the acquisition announcement, Instacart cancelled its previously scheduled November 5, 2026 earnings conference call and suspended all future financial and long-term guidance.

---

Key Financial Metrics (Three Months Ended September 30, 2026)

Metric	Q3 2025	Q3 2026	YoY Change
Gross Transaction Value (GTV)	$9,170M	$10,528M	+15%
Orders	83.4M	91.4M	+10%
Total Revenue	$939M	$1,095M	+17%
Transaction Revenue	N/A	$764M	+14%
Advertising & Other Revenue	N/A	$331M	+23%
GAAP Gross Profit	$692M (74% margin)	$786M (72% margin)	+14%
GAAP Net Income	$144M	$147M	+2%
Adjusted EBITDA	$278M (30% margin)	$342M (31% margin)	+23%
Operating Cash Flow	$287M	$324M	+13%
Free Cash Flow	$272M	$307M	+13%

---

Balance Sheet & Liquidity

• Cash & Cash Equivalents: $830 million as of September 30, 2026 (up from $637 million at year-end 2025).
• Short-Term Marketable Securities: $97 million.
• Total Current Assets: $2,216 million.
• Total Stockholders' Equity: $2,567 million.
• Share Repurchases: Repurchased $230 million of common shares during the quarter.

---

Strategic & Market Implications

• Consolidation in On-Demand Delivery: Combining DoorDash's dominant restaurant delivery and expanding convenience footprint with Instacart's deep grocery integration, retail media ad network, and enterprise software creates a market leader in localized logistics and retail media.
• Regulatory Considerations: Given the combined market share in local delivery and retail media, the transaction is expected to face close antitrust scrutiny by regulatory bodies prior to closing.
• Guidance & Shareholder Impact: CART stock is expected to trade closely around the transaction value parity with DASH shares, subject to deal spread and regulatory approval risk.