Instacart stock pops 14% on revenue beat, rosy guidance
Instacart shares climbed 14% during extended trading on Thursday after the grocery delivery company reported strong fourth-quarter revenue and upbeat guidance.
Here’s how the company did versus LSEG estimates:
- Earnings per share: 30 cents vs. 52 cents expected
- Revenue: $992 million vs. $974 million expected
Revenue grew 12% from a year ago. Net income totaled $81 million, or 30 cents per share. The company reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $303 million, topping the $292 million expected by StreetAccount.
In a letter to shareholders, CEO Chris Rogers said Instacart’s technology and customer-oriented approach are driving more growth and engagement to the platform.
“Our execution on what matters most to customers is driving strong momentum on our marketplace, as well as our enterprise platform — which is a real, strategic advantage for us,” he said.
Gross transaction value, which tracks the value of goods sold, grew 14% from a year ago to $9.85 billion, surpassing a StreetAccount estimate of $9.54 billion. Instacart said this was its strongest quarter of growth for the metric in three years. Orders totaled 89.5 million orders, beating a StreetAccount estimate of 87.8 million.
For the first quarter, Instacart expects gross transaction value in the range of $10.13 billion and $10.28 billion, which was ahead of StreetAccount’s $9.97 billion estimate. The company expects adjusted EBITDA between $280 million and $290 million, versus $277 million expected by StreetAccount.
Finance chief Emily Reuter told CNBC that strong gains in Instacart’s enterprise platform, where the company added 70 net new retailers last year, helped the company’s robust gross transaction value.
Instacart is also seeing a “small” contribution from future growth drivers such as investments in infrastructure, international markets and artificial intelligence, she said.
