• Earlier in February 2026, Instacart and Lush Cosmetics announced a partnership to offer same-day delivery of more than 600 Lush products from 250 stores across the US and Canada via the Instacart app.
• This move deepens Instacart’s reach into higher-margin beauty and gifting categories, broadening its role beyond grocery as a same-day convenience platform.
• Next, we’ll examine how expanding into beauty through the Lush partnership could influence Instacart’s investment narrative and long-term positioning.

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Maplebear Investment Narrative Recap

To own Maplebear, you need to believe Instacart can deepen its role as a go to same day convenience platform across more categories, not just grocery. The Lush Cosmetics tie up supports that thesis by extending Instacart into beauty and gifting, but it does not change the near term focus on protecting high margin advertising revenue and managing rising labor and regulatory costs, which remain the key catalyst and risk in the story right now.

Among recent announcements, the Q4 and full year 2025 earnings are most relevant here. Sales grew to US$992 million in Q4 and US$3,742 million for 2025, while net income softened year over year. This mix of top line growth and margin pressure frames how investors might view newer partnerships like Lush and 1 800 Flowers: as potential demand drivers that need to translate into sustained profitability, not just higher order volumes.

Yet beneath the appeal of new retail partners, investors should also be aware of the growing risk that higher labor costs and regulation could...

Maplebear's narrative projects $4.6 billion revenue and $779.9 million earnings by 2028.

Uncover how Maplebear's forecasts yield a $50.22 fair value, a 38% upside to its current price.

Exploring Other Perspectives

Before the Lush news, the most optimistic analysts were assuming revenue could reach about US$5.0 billion and earnings US$1.0 billion, which could look either more achievable or more stretched depending on how you view affordability risks and whether new partnerships like Lush truly move the needle.

Explore 2 other fair value estimates on Maplebear - why the stock might be worth just $50.22!

Decide For Yourself

Don't just follow the ticker - dig into the data and build a conviction that's truly your own.

• A great starting point for your Maplebear research is our analysis highlighting 2 key rewards that could impact your investment decision.
• Our free Maplebear research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual - the Snowflake - making it easy to evaluate Maplebear's overall financial health at a glance.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.