Instacart Analysts Praise Better-Than Expected Q3 Despite Competition, Kroger Loss

Author: Priya Nigam | November 11, 2025 11:12am

Shares of Instacart (NASDAQ:CART) climbed in early trading on Tuesday, after the company reported upbeat third-quarter results.

Here are some key analyst takeaways:

• JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth maintained an Overweight rating, while reducing the price target from $65 to $55.
• Needham analyst Bernie McTernan reiterated a Buy rating, while cutting the price target from $66 to $50.
• BTIG analyst Jake Fuller reaffirmed a Neutral rating on the stock.

Check out other analyst stock ratings.

JPMorgan: "We come away from CART’s 3Q earnings more confident in the company's positioning in the secular-growth online grocery space based on its retailer relationships and enterprise offering, growth trajectory beyond exclusivity, and stepped-up efforts to improve affordability for consumers," Anmuth wrote in a note. Instacart highlighted that it continues to grow even in the markets where rival Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) has rolled out same-day perishable grocery with Prime, he added.

Management indicated that it does not view exclusivity as a strategy, the analyst said. In fact, non-exclusive retailers contribute more than 80% of Instacart's gross transaction value (GTV), and the company continues to project double-digit percentage growth in GTV from these retailers, he further stated.

Needham: Instacart's core GTV outperformed expectations in Q3. Despite concerns around intense competition and the loss of exclusivity to Kroger Co (NYSE:KR), Instacart's growth in the grocery marketplace was better than expected, he added.

The company indicated that it is taking share from in-store shopping, the analyst stated. It is “still early days,” and McTernan doubts one quarter of data will move bears off their thesis.

BTIG: Instacart's third-quarter results were better than feared, Fuller said. He added, however, that this is not enough to offset investor concern around competition.

The company reported EBITDA of $278 million and incremental margins of 6%, topping guidance of $260-$270 million and 5%, respectively. "Order growth was healthy at +14%, more than offsetting AOV (average order value) pressure tied to ramping restaurant & small basket grocery orders," Fuller wrote.

CART Price Action: Shares of Instacart had risen by 4.82% to $39.13 at the time of publication on Tuesday.

Read More:

• Instacart Is Winning More Shoppers By Staying Affordable, Analysts Say

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Posted In: AMZN CART KR