By Connor Hart

Instacart logged higher sales in the first quarter, boosted by increased orders, though profit slipped as operating expenses increased.

The grocery-delivery company, formally known as Maplebear, on Thursday posted net income of $104 million, down from $130 million a year earlier.

Quarterly earnings came in at 37 cents a share, compared with the 38 cents a share that analysts polled by FactSet expected.

Revenue rose 9.4% to $897 million, in line with analyst projections.

Instacrat processed $9.12 billion in gross transaction value, representing a 9.7% increase from last year. Wall Street expected $9.09 billion.

The company notched 83.2 million orders, up 14% from last year. The average order value, though, fell 4% to $110. Instacart said it expected the decrease, citing the addition of restaurant orders, as well as having lowered basket minimums to $10 for Instacart+ members. Previously, it required a minimum $35 basket for no delivery fee.

Operating expenses for the three months ended March 31 rose to $561 million from $470 million, buoyed in part by higher marketing and research and development spend. The company said it increased paid marketing around the Super Bowl, as well as continued to invest in new AI technologies.

For the current quarter, Instacart expects gross transaction value of $8.85 billion to $9 billion, representing growth of 8% to 10% from last year. Analysts are looking for $8.93 billion.

Meanwhile, the company guided for adjusted Ebitda--or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization--of $240 million to $250 million, above the $234.8 million that Wall Street forecast.

Shares rise 12% to $44.50 after hours.

Write to Connor Hart at connor.hart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 01, 2025 16:20 ET (20:20 GMT)

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