Maplebear Inc. (CART) Stock Price & How to Invest

Maplebear Inc., which does business as Instacart, runs the largest dedicated online grocery marketplace in North America. Customers order from more than a thousand retail banners, independent contractors called shoppers pick and deliver the items, and Instacart takes fees from both sides plus a cut from the retailer. The company reports gross transaction value (GTV) as its headline volume metric, and revenue arrives in two buckets: transaction revenue (delivery fees, service fees, and retailer economics) and advertising and other revenue, which is a retail media network selling placement to consumer packaged goods brands inside the app. A third leg, the enterprise technology business, licenses Instacart's software back to grocers: Storefront Pro for retailer-branded e-commerce, Carrot Ads so retailers can run their own ad networks, FoodStorm for prepared foods, and AI-equipped Caper smart carts for in-store shopping. Chris Rogers took over as chief executive in 2025 after Fidji Simo left for OpenAI.

The investment picture rests on a mix that keeps shifting toward the profitable end. In the second quarter of 2026 Instacart posted GTV of ~$10.35 billion (up ~14%), revenue of ~$1.04 billion (up ~14%), orders of ~90.3 million (up ~9%), adjusted EBITDA of ~$313 million (up ~19%), and free cash flow of ~$480 million, while buying back ~$325 million of stock. Advertising and other revenue grew ~16% to ~$297 million, faster than volume, and now sits at ~2.9% of GTV. Against that, the market has assigned the stock a modest multiple, around ~25 times trailing earnings and roughly ~17 times forward estimates on a ~$11.9 billion market capitalization, which is the market pricing in exactly the thing bears point at: research cited by Piper Sandler puts Instacart's share of the online grocery intermediary market at roughly 58%, down from about 70% two years earlier, while DoorDash's grocery volume has been compounding at triple-digit rates off a smaller base. The bull and bear cases are not arguing about the financials, which are clean. They are arguing about market share.

The clearest risk is share loss in a category everyone wants: Amazon, Walmart, DoorDash and Uber are all pushing into grocery delivery with deeper balance sheets, and outside estimates put Instacart's intermediary share at roughly 58% versus about 70% two years earlier. Order growth of ~9% is running below GTV growth of ~14%, meaning volume increasingly comes from larger baskets rather than more frequent shopping, which is a thinner form of growth. Gig worker classification remains unresolved: state laws in the AB5 mold, a pending US Supreme Court case on whether last-mile drivers can avoid mandatory arbitration, and a history of settlements (including a $46.5 million California classification settlement) all point at a cost structure that is not fully fixed. Management has flagged SNAP EBT policy changes as an external headwind, since benefit-funded grocery spending is a real slice of volume. Finally, the advertising business depends on consumer packaged goods marketing budgets, which are cyclical, and on Instacart remaining the place where those brands' shoppers actually shop.

27 analysts publish price targets on CART, averaging $52.52 against a $50.66 price as of August 2026, or +3.7%. The published targets run from $37.00 to $77.00, a wide spread, and the ratings split 18 buy, 12 hold, 1 sell. Over the last six months there have been 9 raises and 1 cut among the published actions. A price target is what an analyst published on a date, not a prediction, and sell-side ratings skew positive across the whole market.

Read the full CART forecast and price target for the target table, the recent rating actions by firm, and how the consensus has shifted.

We give no verdict on Maplebear Inc.. Both cases are real, which is why the question is contested at all, so here is the strongest version of each.

The case for buying. Advertising is the profit engine, and it is outgrowing the marketplace. Advertising and other revenue reached ~$297 million in the second quarter of 2026, up ~16% year over year and ahead of the ~14% GTV growth, taking the ad rate to ~2.9% of GTV from ~2.8% a year earlier. The most optimistic published target, $77.00, assumes this works close to its best case.

The case against. The clearest risk is share loss in a category everyone wants: Amazon, Walmart, DoorDash and Uber are all pushing into grocery delivery with deeper balance sheets, and outside estimates put Instacart's intermediary share at roughly 58% versus about 70% two years earlier. The most pessimistic target, $37.00, is roughly what CART is worth if this bites instead.

Read the full bull and bear case on CART, including what would have to change to break either one. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Maplebear Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker.

• Revenue (TTM): ~$3.99B
• GTV (TTM): ~$40B, with Q2 2026 at ~$10.35B, up ~14%
• Advertising and other revenue (Q2 2026): ~$297M, up ~16%, or ~2.9% of GTV
• Adjusted EBITDA (Q2 2026): ~$313M, up ~19%, ~30% margin on revenue
• Free cash flow (TTM): ~$1.18B
• Market cap / P/E: ~$11.9B, ~25x trailing and ~17x forward earnings

Instacart's total take rate lands near ~10% of GTV, split between ~7.2% transaction revenue and ~2.9% advertising, and the transaction portion has been notably stable while the ad portion climbs. The valuation is undemanding relative to the growth rate, with enterprise value of roughly ~$11.0 billion against trailing adjusted EBITDA that annualizes above $1.2 billion, largely because the market discounts the durability of the share position rather than the quality of the current numbers. Third quarter 2026 guidance calls for GTV of ~$10.3 billion to ~$10.55 billion and adjusted EBITDA of ~$320 million to ~$340 million.

Other names that sit close to CART: same theme, named as a direct competitor, or held beside it in the same funds. Each entry says which. Worth a look if you are thinking about diversification within a thesis rather than concentration on one ticker.

There are three common ways to get CART exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it, which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic portfolio, so CART sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.

Walnut takes the portfolio route. Describe a thesis where CART fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.

New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.

Instacart is a rare gig-economy company that actually earns money, and the debate is not about profitability but about whether its middleman position in online grocery is durable.

Whether CART is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is CART a buy or a sell?, and where the stock could go from here in the CART stock forecast.

For income investors, whether CART pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does CART pay a dividend? And to weigh CART against a peer, read the full side-by-side comparisons: CART vs DASH and CART vs UBER.