Facts
- DoorDash announced on Thursday, October 29, 2026, that it is offering $17 billion to buy Instacart, the Associated Press reported via PBS NewsHour. DoorDash shares rose 5% and Instacart shares fell 1.6% that afternoon.
- The deal is expected to close by the end of 2027 or in early 2028, pending Instacart shareholder and regulatory approval. It will face scrutiny from U.S. and foreign antitrust regulators, the AP reported.
- Instacart’s brand and app would remain, and its roughly 600,000 independent-contractor shoppers could keep fulfilling orders. Customers who pay $9.99 a month for separate DashPass and Instacart+ memberships would pay one fee instead, and Instacart customers would gain access to 50,000 additional stores on DoorDash’s platform.
- DoorDash operates in 40 countries, completed more than 3 billion orders last year and has a market value of $73 billion. Instacart fulfilled 338 million orders last year.
- According to Consumer Edge data cited by the AP, Instacart’s share of U.S. delivery platform spending fell from 26% to 18% over five years, while DoorDash’s rose from 44% to 59%. Uber Eats held just under 20%. Numerator data put Walmart at 21% of grocery spending and Costco and Amazon at 8% each.
- The AP report did not give a per-share price or the premium over Instacart’s share price, and did not include a statement from Instacart.
Quotes
Tony Xu, DoorDash CEO, said on an investor call: “DoorDash and Instacart can give every retailer a fighting chance at competing in the modern-day era.”
Randall Sargent, of consulting firm Oliver Wyman, said: “As a general economic principle, less competition and more consolidation tends to be worse for consumers.”
Ethan Litwin, of law firm Shinder Cantor Lerner, said: “DoorDash could therefore cut rivals off, outmatch them on targeting and logistics.”
Source Read the Associated Press report on PBS NewsHour here.
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