DoorDash agreed to buy grocery delivery rival Instacart in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at approximately $17 billion, uniting two of the largest delivery platforms in North America as market competition intensifies.
Delivery giant DoorDash announced the $17 billion acquisition on Thursday. This set up a combination of DoorDash’s dominant restaurant courier service with Instacart’s extensive grocery marketplace and retail partnerships. Under the terms of the agreement, DoorDash offered Instacart shareholders $65 per share. That represented a 26% premium over the stock’s closing price on October 22 before initial deal discussions leaked.
DoorDash Offers Stockholder Options
The purchase consideration will be at least 75% cash. Instacart shareholders will be able to elect cash, DoorDash common stock, or a combination of both, subject to proration mechanics.
Instacart released its third-quarter financial results alongside the acquisition news. The company reported total revenue grew 17% year-over-year.
In connection with the announced transaction, DoorDash reported total orders of 993 million. Marketplace gross order value reached $33.9 billion, and revenue totaled $4.6 billion.
DoorDash forecast fourth-quarter marketplace GOV between $35.4 billion and $36.4 billion. The company also projected adjusted EBITDA between $900 million and $1.1 billion.
Companies Plan Platform Integration
DoorDash plans to preserve the Instacart brand, app, and enterprise technology products rather than merging them into a single platform. The companies stated that the acquisition will give Instacart users access to more than 50,000 additional stores. DashPass and Instacart Plus members will be able to pay one membership fee instead of two,
according to The Verge.
Instacart previously announced the wind-down of its Caper Cart AI cart division after retail adoption failed to scale quickly enough. Management noted this decision preceded the earliest sale talks.
Grocery is one of the hardest things to get right online. Instacart has spent years learning to do that well for grocers, while DoorDash has built a delivery network and technology that local stores rely on every day. Together, we could give stores of every size more of those tools and unlock the potential of grocery delivery.
Instacart CEO Chris Rogers noted that joining forces with DoorDash enables the company to build further upon fourteen years of transforming online grocery retail. To address concerns from merchants and gig workers, DoorDash pledged that local grocers will not be bound by platform exclusivity. They can continue working with any delivery service they choose. Instacart shoppers will also retain flexibility over their hours and which orders to accept.
Regulators Face Delivery Consolidation
The delivery sector has experienced intense consolidation following pandemic-era delivery booms, rising operational costs, and regulatory scrutiny. DoorDash previously acquired European delivery platform Wolt for about $8 billion, alongside restaurant software firm SevenRooms and Deliveroo in 2025.
DoorDash commanded approximately two-thirds of all U.S. food delivery volume as of 2024, according to Bloomberg data cited by NBC News. Meanwhile, Instacart experienced initial pandemic-era success delivering orders from Whole Foods before Amazon acquired the grocery chain in 2017.
Instacart Suspends Financial Guidance
The transaction is expected to close in the end of 2027 or the first half of 2028,
pending regulatory approvals and closing conditions. In light of the pending acquisition agreement, Instacart cancelled its earnings conference call previously scheduled for November 5, 2026. The company suspended its financial guidance, withdrawing all previously issued long-term forecasts as Morningstar reported.
Instacart shares rose following initial reports of takeover interest, hitting a record high of $62 on Monday. DoorDash shares experienced fluctuations in trading sessions surrounding the announcement.
How antitrust regulators will evaluate the $17 billion combination of the two dominant delivery platforms remains unaddressed by federal authorities.
Keep reading