Instacart 4Q Profit Falls Following $60 Million Settlement With FTC
By Nicholas G. Miller
Instacart reported lower fourth-quarter profit dragged down by a $60 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission in connection with claims that it used deceptive practices to raise costs for shoppers.
The food-delivery platform, also known as Maplebear, on Thursday posted net income of $81 million, or 30 cents a share, down from $148 million, or 53 cents a share, from the same period a year earlier.
Revenue rose 12% to $992 million, beating Wall Street's forecast of $973.3 million. The company said order-fulfillment efficiencies help to offset its "ongoing investments in affordability initiatives designed to increase customer engagement."
"While we continue to make strong progress on the customer experience, affordability remains a key barrier to online grocery adoption," Chief Executive Chris Rogers said in a letter to shareholders.
Gross transaction value rose 14% to $9.85 billion.
Total operating expenses increased to $619 million from $509 million a year earlier, which the company said was "due to higher general and administrative expense driven by nonrecurring legal and regulatory matters," including the FTC settlement.
In December, the FTC said Instacart would pay $60 million in refunds to consumers to settle claims it used unlawful tactics to raise grocery costs.
The FTC alleged that the grocery-delivery platform falsely advertised free delivery and a 100% satisfaction guarantee, and also didn't adequately disclose the terms for its Instacart+ membership.
"We flatly deny any allegations of wrongdoing by the Federal Trade Commission, and we stand firmly behind the integrity and transparency of our programs," the company said at the time.
Instacart guided for first-quarter gross transaction value of $10.13 billion to $10.28 billion and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $280 million to $290 million.
Write to Nicholas G. Miller at nicholas.miller@wsj.com.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 12, 2026 16:23 ET (21:23 GMT)
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