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Instacart reports $2B loss, but sales still beat expectations

The delivery giant’s third quarter financial results also forecast growth in the total value of transactions on its platform

Chloe Riley, Executive Editor

November 9, 2023

1 Min Read
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Instacart

Instacart has reported a nearly $2 billion loss in its first earnings report since going public, but overall, sales beat Wall Street estimates and the company forecasts growth in the total value of transactions it sees on its platform.

On Wednesday, Instacart reported a third quarter net loss of $1.99 billion, driven by “significantly elevated” stock-based compensation during its IPO, according to the company. 

Instacart’s shares slipped less than 1% after hours on Wednesday.

Overall company revenue rose 14% to $764 million. Instacart said it expected “mid-single-digit” growth in gross transaction value, a measurement of the total value of products sold.

For full year 2023, Instacart said it anticipates gross transaction value to grow in mid-single digits, versus analysts’ estimate of 4.7% growth at $30.18 billion. It expects three times more adjusted EBITDA for the period than the $187 million it had in 2022.

“We are confident in our position, even as several macroeconomic factors work against the online grocery industry: COVID is no longer a tailwind, consumers are receiving less government aid, interest rates remain high and inflation persists,” the company said in a letter to shareholders.

“Given our substantially larger scale, these headwinds impact us more than smaller, new entrants,” Instacart said. “While we expect these and other factors to continue to dampen our current and near-term growth, they do not change our long-term view on online grocery adoption or our competitive advantages.”

Related:Instacart stock languishes after IPO

About the Author

Chloe Riley

Executive Editor, Supermarket News

Chloe Riley is the Executive Editor of Supermarket News, which delivers the ultimate in competitive business intelligence, news and information for executives in the food retail and grocery industry. A graduate of the School of Journalism at Columbia College Chicago, Chloe previously served as a Digital Strategist at SEO firm Profound Strategy, Associate Editor at B2B hospitality mag HOTELS Magazine, as well as CEO of her own digital strategy company, Chlowe. She lives in Woodstock, Illinois. 

Email her at [email protected], or reach out on LinkedIn and say hi. 

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