Maplebear (Instacart) Q4 Earnings Miss Expectations
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 1 day ago
0mins
Should l Buy CART?
Source: seekingalpha
- Disappointing Earnings: Maplebear (Instacart) reported a Q4 2025 GAAP EPS of $0.30, missing expectations by $0.25, indicating pressure on profitability that could undermine investor confidence.
- Weak Revenue Growth: The company's Q4 revenue reached $992 million, reflecting a 12.3% year-over-year increase, yet it fell short of the $1.008 billion forecast, highlighting challenges from intensified market competition and slowing consumer spending.
- Cautious Future Outlook: For Q1 2026, Maplebear projects a gross transaction volume (GTV) between $10.125 billion and $10.275 billion, with adjusted EBITDA expectations of $280 million to $290 million, signaling a cautious stance on future growth.
- Limited Growth Potential: Although Instacart achieved double-digit growth across key metrics and anticipates an 11%-13% GTV increase for Q1 2026, persistent long-term market concerns may still impact its stock performance.
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Analyst Views on CART
Wall Street analysts forecast CART stock price to rise
22 Analyst Rating
13 Buy
8 Hold
1 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 33.240
Low
40.00
Averages
51.62
High
66.00
Current: 33.240
Low
40.00
Averages
51.62
High
66.00
About CART
Maplebear Inc., doing business as Instacart, is a grocery technology company in North America, works with grocers and retailers to transform how people shop. The Company partners with more than 1,800 national, regional, and local retail banners to facilitate online shopping, delivery and pickup services from more than 100,000 stores across North America on the Instacart Marketplace. The Instacart Platform offers retailers a suite of enterprise-grade technology products and services to power their e-commerce experiences, fulfill orders, digitize brick-and-mortar stores, provide advertising services, and glean insights. With Instacart Ads, thousands of consumer-packaged goods (CPG) brands - from category leaders to emerging brands - partner with the Company to connect directly with consumers online, right at the point of purchase. The Company, through its Instacart Health, provides tools to increase nutrition security and make healthy choices easier for consumers.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- AI Execution Acceleration: Maplebear Inc is leveraging AI to boost average output per engineer by nearly 40% and accelerate new project development four times faster, a strategy that will significantly enhance operational efficiency and market competitiveness.
- Advertising Ecosystem Expansion: Advertising revenue grew by 10% in Q4, with the number of advertising brands increasing from 7,000 to 9,000, showcasing the company's successful expansion in the advertising business, which is expected to support future performance despite ongoing macro uncertainties.
See More
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- Advertising Revenue Boost: The company's advertising and other revenue rose 10% to $294 million, reflecting a growing number of businesses leveraging its advertising tools to attract customers, thereby enhancing revenue diversification and market competitiveness.
- Optimistic Future Outlook: Instacart anticipates GTV growth of 11% to 13% in Q1, reaching approximately $10.2 billion, while adjusted EBITDA is projected to increase by 15% to 19% to around $285 million, showcasing the company's confidence in sustaining profitable growth.
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See More
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- Advertising Revenue Boost: The company's advertising and other revenue rose 10% to $294 million, indicating that more businesses are leveraging its advertising tools to attract customers, thereby enhancing the overall revenue structure.
- Optimistic Future Outlook: Management anticipates GTV growth of 11% to 13% in Q1, reaching approximately $10.2 billion, while adjusted EBITDA is projected to increase by 15% to 19% to around $285 million, reflecting confidence in future growth.
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