Instacart Lifts Revenue as Cash Flow Rebounds
Free cash flow climbed 156% to $480 million as the delivery company generated more cash.
Maplebear (CART), the grocery-delivery company operating as Instacart, increased second-quarter revenue 14% as gross transaction value growth accelerated.
GTV rose 14% to $10.351 billion, compared with 13% growth in the first quarter. Orders grew 9% to 90.3 million, slowing from 10%, and declined about 1% sequentially even as customers spent more through the platform.
Revenue reached $1.043 billion, maintaining the prior quarter’s 14% growth rate. GAAP net income fell 4% to $111 million after rising 36% in the first quarter, while net-income margin contracted sequentially to 11% of revenue from 14%.
Transaction revenue increased 13% to $746 million and edged up to 7.2% of GTV. Advertising and other revenue rose 16% to $297 million, lifting its share of GTV to 2.9% from 2.8% in the preceding quarter.
Gross profit rose 11% to $751 million, with gross margin holding at 72%. Adjusted EBITDA increased 19% to $313 million, and its margin expanded sequentially to 30% of revenue from 29%.
The divergence between GAAP and adjusted expenses reflected higher stock-based compensation in research and development. GAAP R&D expense increased $38 million sequentially to $202 million as stock-based compensation rose to $84 million from $46 million, while adjusted R&D expense increased $2 million to $113 million.
For the third quarter, Instacart expects GTV of $10.3 billion to $10.55 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $320 million to $340 million. The midpoints imply 14% GTV growth and 19% adjusted EBITDA growth, and the company widened both ranges to reflect its increased scale.
Instacart expects GTV growth to continue outpacing order growth in the third quarter. The company repurchased about $325 million of shares during the second quarter, while cash and similar assets increased to $1 billion from approximately $880 million.