Shares of grocery delivery company Instacart, which trades under parent firm Maplebear (CART), took a downturn on Wednesday following a softer forecast due to one of its partners, Ahold Delhaize, experiencing an internet outage. Despite this, Instacart reported a profitable third quarter, projecting an upswing in the current quarter's gross transaction value (GTV) between $8.50 billion and $8.65 billion, a rise from the previous year's $7.99 billion. However, this projection fell below analysts' expectations of $8.9 billion.
"While our GTV outlook indicates year-over-year growth of 8% to 10%, this also factors in the spike in incentive spend in the prior year, and slight impact from Ahold Delhaize's recent outage, as we are their delivery partner for owned and operated websites," stated the company.
Instacart's third-quarter results marked a significant improvement from last year's loss, with revenue up 11.5% to $852 million, surpassing analysts' predictions. The company also reported a third-quarter earnings per share (EPS) of $0.42, a stark contrast to the $20.86 a share loss reported last year. Instacart's CEO, Fidji Simo, asserted that the online grocery market is largely untapped and Instacart will strategically reinvest in opportunities for sustained growth and expansion of profitability.
Adding on, the company increased its share repurchase scheme by $250 million, supplementing the $68 million left in its prior plan as of September 30. Despite the recent share decline, Maplebear's stocks have seen an upward trend, with an 80% increase this year