Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.09 EPS

Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.09), Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. Maplebear had a return on equity of 19.34% and a net margin of 11.97%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.41 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Maplebear’s conference call:

• Q2 performance was strong, with GTV and total revenue both rising 14% year over year to $10.35 billion and $1.04 billion, respectively. Advertising and other revenue grew 16%, outpacing GTV growth.
• Profitability and cash generation improved, with adjusted EBITDA up 19% to $313 million, operating cash flow up 143% to $493 million, and free cash flow up 156% to $480 million. Instacart repurchased $325 million of shares and retains nearly $1 billion in buyback capacity.
• Management cited accelerating customer acquisition, improving order accuracy for the 16th consecutive quarter, strong enterprise adoption, and continued expansion of advertising and international offerings. The AI shopping assistant is expected to launch across North America and is already producing larger-than-average baskets.
• GAAP net income declined 4% year over year to $111 million, while GAAP gross profit as a percentage of GTV fell to 7.3% from 7.5%, partly due to higher publisher payments and stock-based compensation.
• Q3 guidance calls for GTV of $10.3 billion-$10.55 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $320 million-$340 million, both representing approximately 14% and 19% year-over-year growth at the midpoint. The company widened its guidance ranges and said it now expects results to land within the ranges, with the midpoint as its best estimate.

Maplebear Trading Up 11.4%

CART traded up $5.14 on Friday, hitting $50.17. 14,310,675 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,686,009. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $44.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.89. Maplebear has a twelve month low of $32.73 and a twelve month high of $53.50. The firm has a market cap of $11.79 billion, a PE ratio of 27.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Maplebear news, Director Ravi Gupta sold 181,000 shares of Maplebear stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.51, for a total value of $7,513,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 741,523 shares in the company, valued at $30,780,619.73. The trade was a 19.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 24.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Maplebear

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CART. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Maplebear by 51.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 131,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,256,000 after buying an additional 44,642 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Maplebear by 71.6% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 698 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Maplebear by 358.5% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 2,502 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Maplebear by 17.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 390,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,585,000 after acquiring an additional 57,879 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Maplebear during the first quarter worth about $268,000. Institutional investors own 63.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on CART shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Maplebear from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Maplebear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Maplebear from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Maplebear from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Maplebear from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Maplebear currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.27.

Maplebear News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Maplebear this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment improved significantly. Barclays raised its price target from $69 to $77 and maintained an “overweight” rating. JPMorgan, Oppenheimer, Cantor Fitzgerald, Benchmark and Needham also increased their targets, generally citing growth prospects and assigning bullish ratings. Analyst price-target updates
• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue and platform activity exceeded expectations. Maplebear reported revenue of $1.04 billion, above the $1.03 billion consensus estimate, while gross transaction value and revenue each grew 14% year over year. Adjusted EBITDA rose 19% to $313 million, and GAAP net income reached $111 million. Instacart second-quarter 2026 results
• Positive Sentiment: Management’s outlook supported the bullish case. The company raised its third-quarter revenue outlook above Wall Street expectations, suggesting continued demand for online grocery services. Advertising growth, artificial-intelligence initiatives and expansion with enterprise customers also provided additional growth drivers. CART second-quarter earnings analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Retailer pricing changes could expand adoption but affect economics. More retailers are offering grocery delivery through Instacart without item markups to appeal to cost-conscious shoppers. The strategy may increase order volume and online grocery penetration, although lower markups could pressure transaction economics. Retailers cut grocery delivery markups
• Negative Sentiment: The earnings miss remains a risk. Adjusted earnings were $0.45 per share, below estimates ranging from $0.54 to $0.55, though earnings increased from $0.41 a year earlier. Guggenheim kept a “neutral” rating and set a $46 target, implying downside from recent levels. CART misses second-quarter earnings estimates

About Maplebear

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.