- Instacart tops $1B in Q1 revenue on broad growth
- Aldi expanded its enterprise partnership with Instacart
- AI sharpens search, shopping help and boosts advertising capabilities
Instacart reached $1 billion in revenue for the first time in the first quarter, driven by both marketplace and enterprise technology service growth, according to CEO Chris Rogers.
Shoppers and retailers alike are seeing the immediate effects of these investments, from improved search relevance to conversational artificial intelligence tools, Rogers said on the company’s Q1 earnings call Wednesday. At the same time, advertisers are finding new ways to reach consumers precisely when they are building their digital carts, he said.
“Our strategy is working,” Rogers said. “We’re the leading grocery technology platform, delivering a best-in-class consumer experience, empowering retailers through our marketplace and enterprise capabilities, and operating a scaled advertising ecosystem for brands.”
A Record-Breaking Quarter
In the first quarter, which ended March 31:
- Total revenue: was $1.02 billion, a 14% year-over-year increase.
- Gross Transaction Value (GTV) increased 13% to $10.29 billion.
- Net income was $144 million, up 36%.
- Adjusted EBITDA was $300 million, an increase of 23%.
- Advertising and other revenue increased 16% to $286 million.
Aldi Expands Enterprise Partnership
Aldi launched a redesigned U.S. website and mobile app nationwide, powered entirely by Instacart’s Storefront Pro technology, Rogers said, adding that grocers that upgrade to Storefront Pro experience an average online sales lift of more than 10%.
Affordability also remained a major focus. Retailers that offer price parity, meaning they do not mark up item prices on the platform, continue to grow 10% faster than those that don’t. Retailers like Hy-Vee and Raley’s moved to price parity in Q1, joining others like Fareway to offer better value to shoppers.
Additionally, Instacart acquired Instaleap, a fulfillment solutions platform with deep retailer relationships across Europe and Latin America. This acquisition will help the company bring its grocery technology to a global audience using a disciplined, partner-led approach.
Technology Updates: Search and AI Assistance
Instacart continues to refine the user experience. The company reported that customers who use the search function are about 5X more likely to place their first order. Consequently, the team enhanced search functionality to make it faster and more relevant.
Instacart is currently testing Cart Assistant, an AI-powered conversational shopping experience available to about 25% of U.S. customers. Early partners were Kroger and Sprouts, and Instacart recently added Food Bazaar, Heritage Grocers, Restaurant Depot, The Save Mart Companies, and Woodman’s to the program. Early feedback indicates that users are leveraging this tool to build meal plans, discover recipes and research products quickly.
When it comes to developing agentic shopping features, Rogers said the strategy is simple.
“We want to be wherever customers are, while also maintaining control of the experience and maintaining control of our data,” Rogers said. “And at the same time, I should mention that we’re building the gold standard of agentic experiences using all of our proprietary data directly on Instacart and on our retailer partner side. So we want our direct agentic experiences to be the gold standard.”
The company is integrating its platform with leading AI models like ChatGPT and Claude. This allows customers to experience conversational grocery shopping, combined with the power of Instacart’s real-time selection and fulfillment data. In physical stores, the AI-powered Caper smart cart is now live in more than 100 cities, driving higher basket sizes and supporting real-time inventory tracking, Rogers said.
AI and the Expansion of Advertising
Instacart’s advertising division achieved its fastest growth rate since Q3 of 2023. There are now 9,000 brands advertising on its platform, supported by an expanding network of over 310 Carrot Ads retailer partners.
During the earnings call Q&A, Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan asked about the most interesting growth opportunities in advertising over the next year.
“There’s no question in our mind that the innovation around ads is gonna come from AI and everything related to how AI can advance advertising mediums and platforms,” Rogers said. The company recently launched a new generative recommendation system based on real-time context; for example, if a customer adds flour and eggs to their cart, the system recognizes that they are likely baking. Instead of suggesting unrelated items, it will recommend relevant products like vanilla extract and cinnamon.
Cash Flow Management and Future Outlook
During the first quarter, Instacart repurchased $349 million in shares. The company ended the quarter with approximately $880 million in cash and similar assets. To maintain operational liquidity and support future investments, the company established a $500 million unsecured revolving credit facility. Additionally, the board announced a $1 billion increase to the company’s buyback authorization.
In the second quarter, Instacart projects GTV to range between $10.1 billion and $10.25 billion. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to reach between $290 million and $300 million.
