Maplebear Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• Strong second-quarter growth: Instacart’s GTV and revenue both increased 14% year over year to $10.35 billion and $1.04 billion, respectively, while adjusted EBITDA rose 19% to $313 million. Advertising and other revenue grew faster, up 16% to $297 million.
• Cash generation and shareholder returns improved: Free cash flow surged 156% to $480 million, and the company repurchased $325 million of shares during the quarter. Instacart ended the period with $1 billion in cash and nearly $1 billion remaining under its buyback authorization.
• Growth initiatives remain central to the outlook: Instacart is expanding AI-powered shopping tools, inventory intelligence, retailer technology and international operations. For the third quarter, management expects GTV growth of 14% at the midpoint, adjusted EBITDA growth of 19%, and advertising growth of 15% to 18%.

Maplebear NASDAQ: CART, which operates Instacart, reported second-quarter 2026 growth in gross transaction value, revenue and adjusted EBITDA, as the grocery technology company pointed to momentum in its marketplace, enterprise offerings and advertising business.

Gross transaction value, or GTV, rose 14% year over year to $10.35 billion, driven by a 9% increase in orders to 90.3 million and a 4% rise in average order value to $115. Total revenue increased 14% to $1.04 billion, while advertising and other revenue climbed 16% to $297 million.

“Our business is performing incredibly well,” Chief Executive Officer Chris Rogers said on the company’s earnings call. He said Instacart had accelerated growth over the past three quarters, supported by its fastest year-over-year rate of net new customer activations since 2022.

Profitability and Capital Returns

GAAP net income was $111 million, down 4% from a year earlier. Chief Financial Officer Emily Reuter said the decline was primarily due to increased stock-based compensation expense associated with a shift in the first quarterly vesting date for annual equity refresh grants from August to May.

Adjusted EBITDA rose 19% to $313 million. Operating cash flow increased 143% to $493 million, and free cash flow rose 156% to $480 million. Reuter attributed the cash-flow gains primarily to the collection of a large accounts receivable balance during the quarter, as well as higher receivables in the prior-year period.

The company repurchased $325 million of shares in the quarter and ended the period with $998 million remaining under its repurchase authorization. It also closed the quarter with $1 billion in cash and similar assets. Reuter said the company remains on track to return the majority of its free cash flow through share repurchases this year.

• Transaction revenue increased 13% to $746 million.
• GAAP gross profit rose 11% to $751 million.
• Adjusted operating expenses represented 4.5% of GTV, compared with 4.8% a year earlier.
• Advertising and other revenue represented 2.9% of GTV, up from 2.8% in the prior-year quarter.

AI, Inventory Intelligence and Customer Experience

Rogers highlighted Instacart’s data and fulfillment network as a competitive advantage. The company has completed more than 1.6 billion lifetime orders, built a catalog of more than 2 billion products and generates more than 10 million daily inventory signals, he said.

Instacart improved its found rate and perfect order fill rate year over year for the 16th consecutive quarter, according to Rogers. During the quarter, the company began testing personalized health tags and nutrition scores, along with a replacement model designed to better account for dietary preferences such as gluten-free, low-sugar and allergen-free products.

In July, Instacart acquired Arpalis, a computer-vision company whose technology uses video scans to build views of store shelf availability. Rogers said the technology is expected to improve fulfillment efficiency, strengthen inventory intelligence and support more relevant AI-powered shopping experiences.

The company plans to launch its AI assistant across its North American marketplace in the coming weeks. Rogers said the tool can use customers’ preferences, purchase histories, nearby inventory and current promotions to create orders that can be delivered in as fast as an hour. Orders placed through the assistant have been larger on average than the company’s typical basket, he said.

Enterprise Expansion and International Efforts

Instacart continued to expand its technology offerings for retailers, which include e-commerce, fulfillment, in-store technology, retail media and AI products. Its Storefront solution now powers more than 380 grocery websites, while Storefront Pro added partners including Calgary Co-op and Dierbergs. Rogers said Aldi’s first-quarter U.S. launch on Storefront Pro was performing above expectations.

The company also cited growth for Caper smart carts, Foodstorm order-management technology and AI offerings for retailers. Costco launched Foodstorm-powered online ordering and delivery for custom cakes and party platters nationwide, while Big Y signed for a chain-wide rollout of online catering and in-store shelf-ordering kiosks.

Internationally, Instacart said Storefront Pro launches with Costco in France and Spain were performing well. The company’s acquisition of Instaleap, completed in the second quarter, expanded its international reach and led to a picking-technology partnership with U.K. supermarket chain Morrisons.

Rogers said retailers internationally are facing many of the same needs as those in North America, including e-commerce scaling, fulfillment, recommendations, cart management and checkout. He said Instacart is pursuing an enterprise-first international approach by deploying products already proven in North America rather than creating highly customized offerings for each market.

Advertising Growth and Third-Party Integrations

Advertising and other revenue outpaced GTV growth for the quarter, with Reuter citing broad-based contributions from large, mid-market and emerging brands. The company said performance was particularly strong near the end of the quarter alongside the World Cup.

Instacart rolled out AI-powered campaign and creative recommendations to all advertisers using Ads Manager. It also began testing a “Grow” objective aimed at increasing customer lifetime value through repeat purchases and expanded its “Acquire” objective to display advertising. The company introduced an Immersive Feed, a shoppable vertical-video format built around recipe and meal inspiration.

Rogers said the company’s partnership strategy includes integrations with third-party AI platforms such as Google Gemini, OpenAI and Anthropic. He described those efforts as early-stage incremental demand channels rather than material near-term contributors.

Third-Quarter Outlook

For the third quarter, Instacart forecast GTV of $10.3 billion to $10.55 billion, representing 14% year-over-year growth at the $10.425 billion midpoint. It projected adjusted EBITDA of $320 million to $340 million, or 19% growth at the $330 million midpoint.

The company expects advertising and other revenue to increase 15% to 18% year over year in the third quarter, again exceeding expected GTV growth.

Reuter said the company widened its GTV and adjusted EBITDA guidance ranges to reflect its larger operating scale. Going forward, management expects results to land within its guidance ranges, with the midpoint serving as its best estimate.

About Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART)

Maplebear, Inc, doing business as Instacart, operates a leading online grocery and essentials marketplace that connects consumers, retail partners and personal shoppers through its digital platform. The company enables customers to order groceries, household items and specialty products for same-day or scheduled delivery, as well as in-store pickup. By integrating its technology with retailers' existing inventory and point-of-sale systems, Maplebear streamlines the shopping experience and provides real-time availability and pricing.

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in San Francisco, Maplebear has grown from a regional startup to a publicly traded company listed on NASDAQ under the ticker CART.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source