DoorDash Is Close to Buying Instacart for $17 Billion After Uber Walked Away
Uber walked away, DoorDash stepped in, and now Instacart shareholders are watching their stock climb while DoorDash investors are bailing out fast, raising a real question about who actually wins in this reported grocery delivery megadeal.
Instacart (NASDAQ:CART | CART Price Prediction) shares have climbed about 18% since the close on Thursday, October 22. Over the same stretch, the company reportedly trying to buy it lost $10.94 a share in a single session.
On Monday, October 26, 2026, DoorDash (NASDAQ:DASH) was reported to be in advanced talks to acquire Instacart for about $17 billion. No agreement has been signed; neither company has confirmed the talks, and a deal is not guaranteed.
Uber (NYSE:UBER) also held talks with Instacart and walked away. That account comes from people familiar with the matter, and Uber has said nothing publicly.
Instacart rose 7.87% to $60.88 on October 26 after reaching a 52-week high of $62.00, then added 0.61% to $61.25 after hours. That followed a 9.21% jump to $56.44 on Friday, October 23, when the sale talks first surfaced.
DoorDash fell 6.1% to $168.44, and Uber slipped 0.85% to $66.13. Our October 24 piece covered how the bidding took shape.
What the Reported Deal Includes
The $17 billion is an approximate reported figure. The price per share, the mix of cash and stock, the financing, and any breakup fee have not been disclosed.
Citi analyst Ronald Josey wrote an October 26 note. A $16 billion to $17 billion valuation means about $65 per Instacart share at the midpoint. That is 7% above the October 26 close. Josey kept a Buy rating, but his own $58 price target sits below the current share price. So Instacart holders get little extra for waiting, and the stock could fall a long way if the talks break down.
Why DoorDash Shareholders Sold
Before the reports, Instacart was valued at around $13 billion and DoorDash at about $73 billion. The reported price is a clear premium for the target and a large check for the buyer.
DoorDash would gain grocery retailer relationships, an advertising business, grocer software, and the leading online grocery platform. It would also take on slower growth. Instacart’s 2025 revenue rose 11% to $3.74 billion, while DoorDash’s rose 28% to $13.72 billion.
DoorDash is also already busy with earlier deals. It bought Wolt in 2022. It also completed the Deliveroo deal in 2025 and is still building a single global technology platform due in the first half of 2027.
Regulatory Concerns Helped End the 2021 Talks
In 2021, DoorDash reportedly discussed buying Instacart for $40 billion to $50 billion, and those talks fell apart partly over regulatory concerns. One brokerage has already warned that a takeover by a major rival would draw regulatory scrutiny.
DoorDash can argue that big-box stores and online retailers have since expanded their own grocery delivery. Reviewers will still examine its online grocery share. They will also assess the overlap in restaurant delivery and courier networks, and Instacart’s partnerships with retailers.
What Instacart Is Worth to Each Side
Uber shareholders avoid writing a large check. Uber’s Delivery revenue already grew 28% in the second quarter of 2026, and the segment’s operating income rose 38%. Uber gives up a way to compete with DoorDash in grocery, but its small share price dip suggests the market sees limited harm.
Instacart has been cutting back on side projects. It reportedly plans to wind down Caper, the smart-cart business it bought in October 2021 for $350 million in cash and stock, by the second quarter of 2027.
What the Deal Could Mean for DoorDash Investors
DoorDash trades near 74 times earnings because of fast growth, including a 35.6% rise in second-quarter revenue. Paying $17 billion for a slower-growing business would weaken that growth story. The final price and the mix of cash and stock have not been disclosed, and regulatory concerns helped end this deal once before.
By comparison, Uber trades near 13 times earnings, kept its cash and is growing delivery profits on its own.
DoorDash and Uber are expected to report on November 4, and Instacart on November 5. If a signed agreement relies heavily on stock and DoorDash closes below $168.44 after, that would confirm the market’s worry about dilution, while a mostly cash deal with shares holding above that level would ease that concern.
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Omor Ibne Ehsan is a writer at 24/7 Wall St. He is a self-taught investor with a focus on growth, cyclical, and dividend equities that have strong fundamentals, value, and long-term potential. He also has an interest in high-risk, high-reward investments such as penny stocks.
