DoorDash's Acquisition of Instacart Will Take Time but is the Right Move, Wedbush Says

11:17 AM EDT, 10/30/2026 (MT Newswires) -- DoorDash's (DASH) acquisition of Maplebear (CART), doing business as Instacart, will take time but presents a consolidation play that bolsters its grocery strategy, as Instacart's differentiated technology should be a boost to the company, Wedbush said in a Friday research note. The deal could close by early 2028, and Instacart's enterprise and advertising tools are expected to be accretive to DoorDash's fastest-growing part of its business, likely making it more competitive against Amazon (AMZN) and Walmart (WMT), analysts wrote. Instacart adds demand to DoorDash's network, driving better density, positioning the combined entity to more effectively capture market share, according to Wedbush. DoorDash reported a Q3 net income Thursday of $1.06 per diluted share, up from $0.55 a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $0.81. Revenue for the three months ended Sept. 30 rose to $4.62 billion from $3.45 billion a year earlier. Analysts expected $4.56 billion. The global technology replatforming is on track for completion in H1 2027, and modules already live are enhancing merchant onboarding, support response times, and search conversion, according to the note. The brokerage said it upgraded the stock to outperform from neutral and raised its price target to $230 per share from $220. Price: 181.40, Change: +2.40, Percent Change: +1.34