Instacart names Uber veteran its new CFO, as results top estimates

By Bill Peters

Emily Reuter promoted as Nick Giovanni steps down; company reports surprise first-quarter profit

Maplebear Inc. - the grocery-delivery platform better known as Instacart - said Wednesday that its chief financial officer had resigned, effective immediately, and appointed a veteran of Uber Technologies Inc. in his place.

The company made the announcement in a filing, on the same day that it reported a surprise first-quarter profit and forecast demand trends that were slightly above expectations.

Still, shares fell 1.4% in after-hours trade.

Instacart (CART) said that Nick Giovanni gave notice of his plans to resign from the chief financial officer role on Tuesday. The company said it had appointed Emily Reuter as its new CFO. Giovanni will help with the executive transition through July 1.

Reuter has served as a vice president of finance at Instacart since January. Prior to that, she worked in a variety of financial roles at Uber for nearly a decade, including as its head of investor relations.

Instacart this week announced a restaurant delivery partnership with Uber Technologies Inc. (UBER)

Instacart reported earnings as some cities try to increase pay for app-based food-delivery drivers, and as it tries to secure more grocery-store partners and more advertisers to its growing online ad segment.

Shoppers have faced higher grocery prices, a possible threat to demand for Instacart's services. But the company has said inflation has moderated. Still, Instacart announced a round of layoffs in February, as it tries to position itself for a more tech-oriented future.

Instacart on Wednesday reported net income of $130 million, or 43 cents a share. Revenue rose 8% year over year to $820 million.

Analysts polled by FactSet expected Instacart to lose 2 cents a share, on revenue of $794 million.

Gross transaction value - or the total value of products sold on the platform - came in at $8.32 billion, up 11% year over year and above expectations for $8.13 billion.

"In Q1, year-over-year growth for both GTV and orders benefited from seasonality - as more customers typically turn to our service in times of inclement weather," the company said in its letter to shareholders.

Instacart forecast second-quarter gross transaction value of between $8 billion and $8.15 billion, with the midpoint a bit above FactSet estimates for $8.04 billion.

-Bill Peters

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

05-08-24 2039ET

Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.