DoorDash’s $17 Billion Instacart Bid Remains Pending After Strong Q3 Free Cash Flow

DoorDash agrees to acquire Instacart in a cash-and-stock deal

DoorDash Inc. confirmed that it would offer $65 per Instacart share, payable at least 75% in cash and the remainder in new DoorDash stock. The proposed acquisition values Instacart at about $17 billion and was announced with DoorDash’s third-quarter earnings on October 29, 2026. DoorDash is the buyer and proposed issuer of stock; Instacart shareholders would receive the cash and stock consideration. The transaction had not closed as of the November 3 reporting.

The agreement is subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals and was expected to close in late 2027 or the first half of 2028, according to the supporting coverage. Another report said the closing could take a year or longer. The transaction therefore remained subject to completion conditions, including regulatory review, rather than representing a completed cash acquisition.

Q3 free cash flow reached $904 million

DoorDash reported third-quarter free cash flow of $904 million, compared with $883 million in the preceding quarter and $808 million in the year-earlier period. Free cash flow increased 17.4% to $2.691 billion on a trailing-12-month basis, while reported revenue rose 34% year over year.

The quarterly free-cash-flow margin was 19.6% of revenue, while the trailing-12-month margin was 15.77%. The company’s trailing-12-month figure was held back by a 9.28% free-cash-flow margin in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the analysis. These figures were reported results, while the report’s projections for future free cash flow and valuation were estimates rather than company guidance.

Strong results supported the shares while the deal remained unresolved

DoorDash shares rose 6% to $190.07 in the report dated November 3, 2026, and were up 12.8% from their October 26 close of $168.44. The report associated the increase with the company’s takeover proposal and free-cash-flow performance, but the available evidence does not establish that either factor alone caused the stock move.

The same analysis presented a $218.85 price target for the following year, while noting higher targets of $251.23 in a Yahoo Finance survey and $254.21 in Barchart. Those figures were analyst or author estimates and not realized results.

Earnings met estimates, but forward guidance drew attention

DoorDash reported Q3 2026 EPS of $1.06, above the $0.81 consensus estimate, and revenue of $4.62 billion, compared with $4.56 billion in estimates. Marketplace orders reached 993 million, up 28% year over year, which the supporting report attributed to consumer growth and the recent Deliveroo acquisition.

For the fourth quarter, the company guided to $1 billion of EBITDA at the midpoint, below the $1.05 billion analyst expectation cited in the supporting report. The available coverage did not identify the EPS measure as adjusted, non-GAAP or otherwise adjusted from GAAP, so it is reported here simply as EPS.

Wedbush upgrade added a subordinate market signal

Separately, Wedbush Securities upgraded DoorDash to Outperform from Neutral and raised its price target to $230 from $220, according to the supporting coverage. DoorDash shares gained 5.27% in intraday trading on the Friday covered by that report. The analyst action reflected reassessment after the latest quarter, while regulatory and shareholder approvals for the Instacart transaction remained outstanding.

Closing and regulatory review remain the next tests

The next verifiable milestone is confirmation of shareholder and regulatory approvals for the Instacart acquisition. Further disclosures on the antitrust review, retailer opposition, transaction timing and integration costs would determine whether the pending deal remains on track for late 2027 or early 2028.