Oct 29, 2026 earnings call — Instacart deal and DashMart expansion
DoorDash expects a multiyear path to $500 million of incremental synergies net of investments, with year 3 as the target for those synergies.
Revenue $4.6B (est $4.6B) · EPS $1.06 (est $0.81)
Key quotes
"And finally, in year 3, my expectation is we'll drive $500 million of incremental synergies to the bottom line that is net of the investments that we plan to make."
"As part of that journey, we recognized that in order to offer the best possible service at the most affordable prices, we really needed to manage the inventory because stockouts were a key issue."
"We have several modules that are already live on the new tech stack. We're already starting to see traffic flow through it."
Analyst Q&A 10
DashMart vision and Instacart role
Q (Andrew Boone · Citizens Bank): He asked DoorDash to explain the vision for DashMarts and how Instacart fits into that plan.
A: Tony said grocery delivery is still small and imperfect today. He said holding and managing inventory at DashMarts gives near-perfect accuracy versus third-party stores, and partnering with Instacart will add demand and density to improve speed and lower costs.
"So the question is, how can we actually ensure that we offer perfect deliveries at the most affordable prices?" — Tony Xu (CEO·CHAIR)
Sources and timing of $500m synergies
Q (Shweta Khajuria · Wolfe): She asked where the multiyear $500 million+ of annual synergies will come from and where DoorDash will invest, and asked about drivers of U.S. restaurant marketplace growth.
A: Ravi listed growth and efficiency sources: cross-listing merchants (including listing restaurants on Instacart), higher ad spend from CPG, cross-selling Instacart software, DashMart Fulfillment Services, and density-driven fulfillment efficiencies. He said they will reinvest profit dollars back into the product, expect year-1 investments, progress in year-2, and aim for $500 million incremental synergies by year 3 net of investments; he also said core U.S. marketplace growth is driven by product reinvestment, selection, and subscription gains.
"One of the clearest examples is we are going to be able to list our restaurants platform on Instacart, which is going to drive top line growth." — Ravi Inukonda (CFO)
Why buy now and AI agent plans
Q (Deepak Mathivanan · Cantor Fitzgerald): He asked why now is the right time for the Instacart acquisition and whether DoorDash will build its own food-focused AI agents or let third-party agents handle that.
A: Tony said they are doing this from a position of strength: the core business and big projects are on track, and DoorDash has experience integrating marketplaces and managing inventory for retailers. On AI agents he said current third-party agent order volumes are small (several hundred orders), DoorDash is building its own agents and will partner where third-party agents add value, but everyday ordering still mainly happens through the DoorDash app.
"I would say the first thing is our core business is doing really, really, really well." — Tony Xu (CEO·CHAIR)
Building grocery habits and tech integration
Q (Nikhil Devnani · Bernstein): He asked whether building recurring grocery habits was harder than expected and how the current replatforming work helps integrate Instacart faster.
A: Ravi said the product is improving and cohorts are using DoorDash more, with higher basket sizes and more engagement, and that combining with Instacart will accelerate that. Tony said the single tech stack is a major rebuild that will ship features everywhere and make future integrations much faster.
"When I look at mature cohorts, the behavior that we're seeing is people are using us more, more of those cohorts are coming back, which tells me that the product has gotten better, people are getting habituated to the product." — Ravi Inukonda (CFO)
Grocers' view and stock vs cash
Q (Michael Morton · MoffettNathanson): He asked how grocers will see the deal — as help versus a concentration risk — and why DoorDash used shares rather than only cash.
A: Tony said they expect grocers to respond positively because the deal gives retailers modern tech, added density, faster delivery, lower prices, and new fulfillment models to help them compete. Ravi said Instacart wanted equity to participate in upside, DoorDash is comfortable with the cash-and-stock mix, and their buyback philosophy remains conservative and opportunistic.
"And that's what we see in this potential partnership, which is we're going to give you the tools, we're going to give you the business with added density, which will help with faster delivery times, more affordable prices for everyone." — Tony Xu (CEO·CHAIR)
Scale and investment for DashMart
Q (Josh Beck · Raymond James): He asked whether DashMart aims to offer a fraction of Instacart's millions of items and what investments (warehouses, employees) will be needed.
A: Tony said the long-term goal is to build local last-mile infrastructure for everything in a city: merchant software, new fulfillment models, some warehousing, and logistics including autonomy. He said much shelf space already exists in stores, but the work is a sequencing process: use added density day 1, then drive down costs, add SKUs, and expand warehouse/back-of-house footprint over time.
"If you look at the next decade of work, I mean, it really is about making sure that we can build the local infrastructure for all things last-mile delivery for everything inside your city." — Tony Xu (CEO·CHAIR)
Regulatory comfort and go-to-market plan
Q (Bernard McTernan · Needham & Company): He asked what made the team comfortable about regulatory approval and what consumers should expect on branding and go-to-market.
A: Tony said the deal is about giving every local business a fair chance to compete versus large companies, which is the mission that makes him comfortable. He said they will keep the Instacart brand, and consumers will see benefits such as faster delivery, lower prices, better selection and accuracy; he also said DashPass customers will get access to both subscription programs for the same price.
"For instance, for the same price that you pay for DashPass today, you'll get access to 2 subscription programs, the Instacart membership program as well as the DoorDash membership program." — Tony Xu (CEO·CHAIR)
Replatforming progress and timeline
Q (Youssef Squali · Truist): He asked how far replatforming has progressed, whether it is on track and on budget, and whether integrating Instacart will extend the work beyond next year.
A: Ravi said the tech replatform is on track for time and cost, deployed modularly with several modules live and traffic flowing, and showing early customer benefits. He expects the work to be done by the first half of 2027 and said adding Instacart to the new stack will need some investment but not a massive one.
"In terms of the overall time line, look, I expect that to be done by the first half of 2027, which is what we had originally expected." — Ravi Inukonda (CFO)
Ads and AI agents' impact
Q (Dominic Ball · Rothschild & Co Redburn): He asked how advertising will evolve as consumers shop via AI agents and whether revenue sharing with agents is possible.
A: Tony said current AI-agent ordering volumes are very small (several hundred orders) but there could be win-win partnerships with third-party agents as usage grows. He also noted DoorDash is building its own agents and that the hard part remains reliable end-to-end fulfillment; advertising opportunities in agents may arise if volumes increase.
"And I believe that there will be opportunities in which we can generate win-win opportunities with third-party agents." — Tony Xu (CEO·CHAIR)
Instacart scale and value to grocers
Q (Justin Post · BofA): He asked how Instacart's grocery scale compares to DoorDash and what regulatory arguments about share and benefits to grocers DoorDash would use.
A: Ravi said they will not disclose Instacart specifics. He said the combination pairs DoorDash's logistics and demand engine with Instacart's enterprise storefront and demand tools, enabling more co-sell products and investment back into the product to benefit grocers, consumers, and shoppers.
"We're not going to talk about -- disclose anything about Instacart." — Ravi Inukonda (CFO)