Instacart is it right now – during their last round of funding, the company – founded just in 2012 – received a $39 billion valuation.
With millions of customers, hundreds of thousands of shoppers and a presence in two countries now, Instacart could be an excellent addition to your investment portfolio.
But can you buy Instacart stock? It certainly seems like a sound investment opportunity. Here’s what you need to know.
Can You Buy Instacart Stock In [currentyear]?
You cannot currently buy Instacart stock, as the company remains a private entity in the hands of its founders, as well as its investors, like T.Rowe Price , Sequoia Capital and more. The IPO of Instacart is widely anticipated, with some predictions citing 2022 as the year.
To learn more about Instacart’s anticipated IPO, the major shareholders of the company, some of the ways you might be able to invest once Instacart goes public and similar entities you can invest in now, keep reading!
Is Instacart Publicly Traded?
Instacart is not yet publicly traded, though its IPO (Initial Public Offering) is widely anticipated by investors.
It’s not difficult to understand why.
Though the company was founded just in 2012, it rapidly expanded across the U.S. in a matter of years.
By 2017, Instacart had gone international, partnering with retailers in Canada in their initial pilot test of the service.
By 2020, Instacart had a valuation of $17.7 billion; just a year later, during the next round of funding, that valuation had more than doubled.
No doubt the spike in Instacart’s valuation was due, at least in part, to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., which exploded in March and April.
But the service itself has proven sound.
While a worldwide health crisis pushed many people to try Instacart for the first time, the app’s user-friendly interface and convenience has many people relying on the service.
Instacart is the most popular grocery delivery service in North American, edging out competitor rideshare companies like DoorDash and even UberEats.
Will Instacart Go Public?
Instacart is fully expected to go public any day now!
In fact, speculators have been calling for its IPO for years, with some even citing 2021 as the year it would happen.
Just look at this IPO timeline of news stories at RetireBeforeDad.com.
Mentions of Instacart’s IPO pop up four times in the course of one year, with one mention in March 2021 suggesting that Instacart might go public in the fourth quarter.
This was nixed in November of that year, however, because the company instead opted to focus on growing its services “beyond delivery.”
This is in the face of strengthening competition from rivals like DoorDash, Uber and Amazon.
Could 2022 be the year Instacart goes public? Or will they continue on their growth plan until a later year?
Only time will tell. Further down, I’ll have some hints you can watch for that will suggest Instacart finally has an IPO date.
Who Owns Instacart?
The owners, or shareholders, of Instacart will decide when the time is right to go public.
Let’s take a look at some of them.
First and foremost is the founder and former CEO, Apoorva Mehta. The now tech-icon got his start in engineering and even worked for Amazon before founding Instacart.
The company made him a billionaire in 2020, at the ripe old age of 33.
His story should be a lesson for all – 20 of his previous app inventions crashed and burned before Instacart proved the golden ticket.
Other major shareholders of Instacart include the investors. These include venture capital firms.
RetireBeforeDad.com lists them as:
- Andreessen Horowitz
- Rowe Price
- Khosla Ventures
- Tiger Global Management
- Coatue Management
- Sequoia Capital
- Kleiner Perkins
What Is The Stock Symbol For Instacart?
Since Instacart hasn’t gone public yet, there is no official stock symbol, but the speculators have their suggestions.
Both SeekingAlpha.com and RetireBeforeDad.com suggest ICART.
The latter goes further and suggests INST and ICRT as possible stock symbols.
I’m partial to INST, though I could see how that would be confusing with other companies that start with those letters.
Ultimately, I wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up being ICART.
How Can You Invest In Instacart Stock?
Before you can invest in Instacart stock, the company has to go public.
While they haven’t done so yet, nor have they indicated a date for their IPO, there will be some signs of life before it happens.
RetireBeforeDad.com suggests that there will be a press leak when the IPO is settled. If you don’t already, start following different investment sites.
Another clue will be the SEC releasing an S-1 filing for Instacart as a publicly available document.
The author at RetireBeforeDad states, “The iPO date typically occurs a month or two after the S-1 is released to the public.”
Goldman Sachs is the underwriter that Instacart has hired for their IPO.
They will decide the price of the stock the night before the IPO debut; then once it’s on the market, investors can start buying it up.
That means you! RetireBeforeDad offers a few online brokers you can use to purchase Instacart stock once it’s public: TradeStation, Webull and M1 Finance.
Interestingly, RetireBeforeDad also thinks there is a slight chance that Instacart will offer a direct share program to their loyal shoppers and customers.
Imagine that! Just for being a shopper or devoted customer, you could gain exclusive access to Instacart’s IPO shares.
I don’t know about you, but I’m hoping the company looks to reward the people who made their success, to date, possible.
What Are The Alternatives To Instacart Stock?
While we wait for Instacart to go public, there are a few other alternatives if you’d like to invest in ridesharing, grocery delivery or just big retail in general.
First and foremost is Walmart, the second-largest retailer in the world.
What’s interesting about Walmart is that Instacart has trampled their grocery delivery service, offered through Walmart+, but the former opted to partner with Instacart in limited markets.
While their grocery delivery may not be as robust as Instacart’s, Walmart has serious staying power.
Another option is DoorDash, which is similar to Instacart in many ways. DoorDash went public in 2020 and most recently showed a surge in 2021 fourth-quarter earnings.
Motley Fool thinks DoorDash is risky, but the company is quick to point out not just their growth in the last few years, but their high customer retention rate.
To know more, you can also read our posts on how much do Instacart shoppers make, Walmart Instacart, and what is Instacart & how does it work.
Conclusion
Instacart is not yet publicly traded, so you cannot purchase its stock; but speculation is rife that 2022 could be the year.
Whenever that IPO does happen, you can be sure that such a darling of the investment world will garner huge press around the event. It’ll be a can’t-miss moment.
