Instacart shares soar as upbeat forecast tempers competition fears

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February 13, 2026 10:51 AM EST

Signage for Instacart is displayed at National Retail Federation (NRF) 2026: Retail's Big Show, in New York City, U.S., January 12, 2026. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper

(Corrects to "formally" from "formerly" in ‌paragraph 2)

By Angela ​Christy ​M

Feb 13 (Reuters) - Instacart's shares surged as much as 19% on Friday after the online grocery delivery company, a ‌go-to for millions of Americans, issued an upbeat first-quarter forecast ⁠that eased worries about growing competition.

Shares of the company, formally known as Maplebear, ‌jumped to $39.60 in morning trading, ‌on track for their best day since its 2023 listing.

Instacart ended the fourth quarter with gross transaction value (GTV), or the total value ​of goods ordered on its platform, recording its strongest growth in three years.

Quarterly GTV jumped 14% from a year earlier to $9.85 ⁠billion, aided by efforts to sharpen product selection, improve quality and keep the service affordable ​for budget-conscious shoppers.

"Though often overlooked for CART, it is not trivial to sustain double-digit growth in the brutally ​competitive grocery category against scaled giants ‌such as Walmart, DoorDash and Uber Eats," said Michael Morton, analyst at MoffettNathanson Research.

Last year, the company ⁠lowered the minimum order value for its Instacart+ service to $10 to better compete for smaller baskets, as rivals aggressively move into low-ticket groceries. Instacart+ is ⁠the company's loyalty program.

DoorDash and Uber Eats have been expanding their grocery and ​convenience offerings, while Amazon is testing delivery in under 30 minutes.

On Thursday, Instacart executives said while rivals are pulling in smaller, fill-in orders, Instacart continues to ‌win in larger baskets over $75, which make up roughly three-quarters of the U.S. digital grocery market.

The company ‌now expects first-quarter GTV between $10.13 billion and $10.28 billion, above Wall Street ⁠estimates.

Instacart's forward price-to-earnings multiple, a ‌common benchmark for valuing ​stocks, is 14.44, compared to 45.71 for DoorDash.

(Reporting by Savyata Mishra and Angela Christy in Bengaluru; Editing by ‌Jonathan Ananda)


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