CART Q1 2026 Earnings

Call Details

• Call Title: Instacart Q1 2026 Earnings Call
• Date: May 6, 2026 at 12:30 PM UTC
• Management Team:
  • Rebecca Yoshiyama (Vice President, Head of Investor Relations)
  • Chris Rogers (Chief Executive Officer)
  • Emily Reuter (Chief Financial Officer)

Call Summary

Financial Performance

• GTV was $10.29B in Q1 2026, up 13% year over year.
• Total revenue was $1.02B in Q1 2026, up 14% year over year.
• Orders were $91.2M in Q1 2026, up 10% year over year.
• Average order value (AOV) was $113 in Q1 2026, up 3% year over year.
• Transaction revenue was $733M in Q1 2026, up 13% year over year and represented 7.1% of GTV.
• Advertising and other revenue was $286M in Q1 2026, up 16% year over year.
• GAAP gross profit was $738M in Q1 2026, up 10% year over year, and represented 7.2% of GTV versus 7.4% in Q1 2025.
• GAAP total operating expenses were $556M and represented 5.4% of GTV versus 6.1% in Q1 2025.
• Adjusted EBITDA was $300M in Q1 2026, up 23% year over year, and GAAP net income was $144M, up 36% year over year.
• Operating cash flow was $268M and free cash flow was $253M, both down 10% year over year with the decline attributed to a prior-year large AR collection and $60M of regulatory settlements paid in Q1 2026.

Guidance

• Q2 2026 GTV guidance is $10.1B to $10.25B, implying year-over-year growth of 11% to 13%.
• Q2 2026 advertising and other revenue is expected to grow 11% to 14% year over year.
• Q2 2026 adjusted EBITDA is guided to $290M to $300M, implying year-over-year growth of 11% to 15%.
• For full year 2026, adjusted EBITDA is expected to grow faster than GTV while the rate of margin expansion will moderate versus 2024 and 2025.
• Transaction revenue as a percent of GTV may fluctuate quarter to quarter and was flat year over year in Q1 2026.
• The company reiterated a long-term ads target in the prepared remarks of roughly 4% to 5% of GTV as a strategic objective for the advertising ecosystem.