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Maplebear Inc.: Q2 FY2026 earnings call

What management said about Q2 FY2026, from the documents filed with the SEC on 6 August 2026: press release. Guidance figures: 4 new. The quarter’s numbers.

Key takeaways

  • GTV and total revenue each grew 14%: GTV was $10,351 million, up from $9,081 million, and total revenue was $1,043 million, up from $914 million; both grew 14% year-over-year. Source
  • Adjusted EBITDA up 19%, net income down 4%: Adjusted EBITDA was $313 million, up 19% from $262 million. GAAP net income was $111 million, down 4% from $116 million. Source
  • Advertising revenue grew 16%: Advertising and other revenue was $297 million, up 16% and 2.9% of GTV. Management said this again outpaced GTV growth. Source
  • Net-new customer growth fastest since 2022: Over three quarters the company activated net-new customers at its fastest year-over-year growth rates since 2022, across marketplace and enterprise. Source
  • Operating and free cash flow rose sharply: Operating cash flow was $493 million, up 143%. Capital expenditure was $13 million. Free cash flow of $480 million was up 156%. Source
  • $325 million of shares repurchased: The company repurchased $325 million of shares and ended the quarter with $1 billion in cash and similar assets. Source

“Our business is performing incredibly well. We’ve meaningfully accelerated our growth over the past three quarters, including a strong Q2 where we grew GTV 14% year-over-year.”

Chris Rogers, CEO

Guidance

AreaPeriodFigureAgainst last quarter
GTV Sourcethird quarter 2026$10,300 - $10,550 millionNew
GTV growth Sourcethird quarter 202614% year-over-year at midpointNew
Adjusted EBITDA Sourcethird quarter 2026$320 - $340 millionNew
Adjusted EBITDA growth Sourcethird quarter 202619% year-over-year at midpointNew

What changed from last quarter

  • New guidance: Third-quarter GTV and Adjusted EBITDA guidance ranges given for the first time; ranges widened to reflect increased operating scale. Source
  • New: Acquisition of Arpalus, which the prior release did not mention, adds computer vision inventory intelligence technology for grocery retail. Source

Results and growth drivers

  • GTV and total revenue each grew 14%: GTV was $10,351 million, up from $9,081 million, and total revenue was $1,043 million, up from $914 million; both grew 14% year-over-year. Source
  • Adjusted EBITDA up 19%, net income down 4%: Adjusted EBITDA was $313 million, up 19% from $262 million. GAAP net income was $111 million, down 4% from $116 million. Source
  • Diluted EPS and six-month revenue rose: Diluted EPS was $0.45 against $0.41 a year earlier. Six-month revenue was $2,062 million against $1,811 million; six-month diluted EPS was $1.02. Source

Advertising and transaction revenue

  • Advertising revenue grew 16%: Advertising and other revenue was $297 million, up 16% and 2.9% of GTV. Management said this again outpaced GTV growth. Source
  • Transaction revenue grew 13%: Transaction revenue was $746 million, up 13% and 7.2% of GTV. Total revenue was 10.1% of GTV. Source
  • Pinterest self-service ads expanded: Brand advertisers can run Pinterest campaigns using Instacart first-party audience data and closed-loop sales analytics under the expanded self-service partnership. Source

“We’re continuing to drive efficiencies and reinvest in growth, all while continuing to deliver strong net income and expanding Adjusted EBITDA and operating cash flow year-over-year.”

Emily Reuter, CFO

Customers and retailer adoption

  • Net-new customer growth fastest since 2022: Over three quarters the company activated net-new customers at its fastest year-over-year growth rates since 2022, across marketplace and enterprise. Source
  • More retailers drop markups: Grocery Outlet is eliminating markups nationwide, alongside other regional favorites, as more retailers move to no markups on the marketplace. Source
  • Personalization features for order quality: New features include health tags, nutrition scores and a replacement model matched to customers' dietary preferences. Source
  • In-store technology and storefront launches: Caper expanded to Weis Markets, Wakefern and Morrisons in the U.K. Calgary Co-op and Dierbergs launched on Storefront Pro. Costco launched nationwide FoodStorm ordering. Source

AI and partner products

  • AI assistant in pilot, larger baskets: The AI assistant is in pilot and helps customers build baskets. Orders placed through it are larger on average than the $115 average order value. Source
  • AI Solutions signs new retail partners: Stew Leonard’s, The Save Mart Companies and Woodman’s will use Agentic Analytics; these retailers and Harmon's also signed for the white-label AI assistant. Source
  • First grocery partner integrated with Gemini: Instacart became Google's first grocery partner to integrate with Gemini. Google users can build a shoppable cart through natural conversation. Source

“Our Q2 results reflect broad-based strength across our platform and our operating model.”

Emily Reuter, CFO

Costs, margins and reinvestment

  • Gross margin fell to 72%: GAAP gross profit was $751 million, up 11%, equal to 72% of total revenue against 74% a year earlier. Cost of revenue rose to $292 million from $236 million. Source
  • Adjusted EBITDA margin reached 30%: Adjusted EBITDA margin was 30% against 29% a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA was 3.0% of GTV against 2.9%. Source
  • Adjusted operating expenses held near 4.5% of GTV: Adjusted total operating expenses were $468 million in the quarter, against $434 million a year earlier. As a share of GTV they were 4.5% against 4.8%. Source
  • Stock-based compensation rose: Stock-based compensation expense was $142 million in the quarter, against $105 million a year earlier. Depreciation and amortization was $32 million. Source
  • Adjusted EBITDA growth to moderate: Management expects the rate of Adjusted EBITDA expansion to moderate year-over-year as it reinvests in growth engines and laps 2024 and 2025 efficiencies. Source

Cash, capital and share repurchases

  • Operating and free cash flow rose sharply: Operating cash flow was $493 million, up 143%. Capital expenditure was $13 million. Free cash flow of $480 million was up 156%. Source
  • $325 million of shares repurchased: The company repurchased $325 million of shares and ended the quarter with $1 billion in cash and similar assets. Source
  • Acquisition spending lower than prior year: Acquisitions of businesses, net of cash acquired, used $29 million in the quarter, compared with $105 million a year earlier. Source

Acquisition and strategic priorities

  • Arpalus adds inventory intelligence: Arpalus, a computer vision company, has built inventory intelligence technology for grocery retail, meant to strengthen the company's real-time view of store shelves. Source
  • Three priority areas named by CEO: The CEO named improving the marketplace customer experience, adopting enterprise technologies with retailers, and expanding the advertising ecosystem as the areas to focus on. Source
  • Immersive Feed short-video shopping introduced: Immersive Feed is a shoppable short-form vertical video experience for discovering products, meals and recipes, now available on Instacart. Source

Coming up, as management said on 6 August 2026

  • Big Y and Sprouts kiosk deployment: Big Y and Sprouts are planning to deploy FoodStorm kiosks for self-service in-store ordering. No date is given. Source
  • Additional no-markup retailer launches: Ace Hardware, Calgary Co-op, Tractor Supply Company and World Market are launching with no markups. No date is given. Source

Figures management reported

FigureReported
GTV Source$10,351 million, up 14%
Orders Source90.3 million, up 9%

Risks management discussed

  • Financial: Management noted that reconciling items such as stock-based compensation, legal and regulatory accruals and sales-tax reserves could significantly affect future GAAP results. Source

Earlier plans management reported on

  • On track: Management said it is well on track to return the majority of free cash flow to shareholders through 2026 share repurchases. Source
  • Not stated: Management reiterated a fiscal 2026 aim of steady annual Adjusted EBITDA growth that outpaces GTV growth. No status was given. Source
  • Not stated: The prior release gave second-quarter GTV and Adjusted EBITDA ranges. The current release states no status against those ranges.

Other quarters

Summarised with AI from the documents the company filed with the SEC. Every point is checked against the filing before it is shown: management’s own words word for word, figures against the line or table row they come from. A point that fails the check is left out. Source opens the filing at that line.