NEW YORK, Aug 26 — Grocery delivery service Instacart yesterday said its core business turned profitable after making public its filing for a long-awaited stock market launch, while also disclosing an investment from PepsiCo Inc.
For the six months ended June 30, Instacart’s revenue came in at US$1.48 billion, up 31 per cent from the same period last year. Advertising and other revenue surged 24 per cent to US$406 million. It reported net income of US$242 million during the six-month period, compared to a US$74 million loss a year earlier.
If successful, the listings could revitalise the US IPO market, which has already seen some green shoots this year on bets that the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy could guide the economy to a “soft landing.” Founded in 2012 by Apoorva Mehta, Max Mullen, and Brandon Leonardo, Instacart brought in former Facebook executive Fidji Simo as its Chief Executive Officer and former Goldman Sachs technology banker Nick Giovanni as its Chief Financial Officer in 2021 as part of its preparations to go public.
The company has also expanded its delivery business to non-grocery goods such as those from beauty product retailer Sephora, convenience store 7-Eleven and pharmacy chain CVS Health. Its core delivery business received a boost in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic due to a surge in online orders. But as lockdown restrictions started easing from 2021, growth slowed down and market volatility forced the company to revise its valuation.