The Instacart logo is seen on a smartphone and on a PC screen.
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Instacart‘s stock rose 3% after the grocery delivery platform topped third-quarter earnings and issued upbeat guidance under new CEO Chris Rogers.
Here’s how the company did versus LSEG estimates:
- Earnings per share: 51 cents adjusted vs. 49 cents expected
- Revenue: $939 million vs. $934 million expected
Revenues rose 10% from $852 million in the year-ago period. Gross transaction value, which tracks the value of goods sold, rose 10% to $9.17 billion from $8.3 billion last year and surpassed a $9.11 billion estimate from FactSet.
In his first letter to shareholders as CEO, Rogers called the company a “clear leader” in online grocery delivery and said Instacart is focused on continuing to invest.
“We’re deepening customer and retailer relationships, expanding our ads ecosystem, and launching innovative AI-powered tools across all aspects of our business — all while driving profitable growth,” he wrote.
For the current quarter, the grocery delivery platform forecasted gross transaction value to range between $9.45 billion and $9.6 billion, reflecting 9% to 11% year-over-year growth. The midpoint surpassed the $9.48 billion forecast by FactSet. The company expects EBITDA of $285 million to $295 million.
Instacart said the guidance reflects a robust October and enterprise partnership growth, but also accounts for issues with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, as the government shutdown has dragged on.
Orders during the period grew 14% from a year ago to 83.4 million and topped the 83 million expected by StreetAccount. Instacart said average order volume fell 4% due to restaurant orders and waived delivery fees on lower basket orders for Instacart+ members.
Instacart’s net income rose to $144 million, or 51 cents per share, from $118 million, or 42 cents in the year-ago period.
The company said it is using artificial intelligence tools to expand features for grocers and shoppers and boost its advertising offering. Earlier this month, the company launched a suite of new AI solutions for grocers, including a shopping assistant that offers product recommendations.
The company also upped its share buyback plan by $1.5 billion and said it plans to undertake an accelerated $250 million share repurchase program.
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