DoorDash has agreed to buy Instacart in a deal that values the grocery delivery company at about $17 billion, or $65 a share. The two companies announced the agreement on Thursday, October 29, alongside their quarterly results, and they do not expect it to close until the end of 2027 or the first half of 2028.
Until then, DoorDash and Instacart remain separate companies. Neither DoorDash's announcement nor Instacart's results release lists any change to either app, to DashPass or Instacart+ memberships, or to fees.
What has to happen first
The deal needs a vote of Instacart stockholders and a review under the federal Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust law, plus approvals from regulators elsewhere, including Canada and Israel. Instacart's board approved it unanimously, and holders of about 19% of Instacart's shares have agreed to vote yes.
Instacart stockholders can choose $65 in cash, 0.3372 DoorDash shares, or $48.75 in cash plus 0.0843 DoorDash shares for each share they own. DoorDash will pay no more than 25% of the total in stock, so stock elections may be scaled back. The $65 price is 26% above Instacart's closing price on October 22, the last day of trading before reports of a possible deal appeared.
What DoorDash says it wants
DoorDash says grocery delivery "still isn't there" and that customers "are still asked to pay a premium for imperfect delivery." It expects Instacart's scale to add delivery density, which it says should speed up deliveries, lower fulfillment costs and give shoppers more chances to earn. DoorDash sees a path to $500 million or more in yearly savings net of investments, but expects to spend more than all of that in the first year after closing.
The two businesses today
| July to Sept. 2026 | DoorDash | Instacart |
|---|---|---|
| Orders | 993 million, up 28% | 91.4 million, up 10% |
| Value of orders (each company's measure) | $33.9 billion, up 36% | $10.5 billion, up 15% |
| Revenue | $4.6 billion, up 34% | $1.1 billion, up 17% |
DoorDash's growth includes Deliveroo, the delivery company it acquired about a year ago; without it, DoorDash orders rose 17%. Instacart works with more than 2,200 retail banners covering nearly 100,000 stores. With the deal pending, Instacart canceled its November 5 earnings call and suspended its financial guidance.
