Instacart files plans for initial public offering: Grocery delivery app reveals sales surged 31% in the first half of the year to $1.48B as it sets the stage to end Wall Street’s tech IPO drought

Grocery delivery app Instacart has filed plans for an IPO on the New York Public Stock Exchange, paving the way for one of the most anticipated IPOs in recent years.

In a filing Friday that provided a detailed look at its finances for the first time, Instacart said revenue rose 31 percent to $1.48 billion in the six months ended June 30.

The US initial public offerings (IPOs) market has shown signs of a revival in recent months after a long drought since 2022, as markets increasingly rely on expectations that the Federal Reserve could lead the economy to a “soft landing.”

Excluding special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), $10.3 billion has been raised through 77 IPOs so far this year, nearly double the amount in the same period in 2022, according to data from Dealogic.

Chip designer Arm of the SoftBank Group is also expected to list his shares in New York soon.

Instacart had filed in confidence 15 months earlier to go public — usually a harbinger of an imminent listing.

The San Francisco-based company had previously planned to go public in the fourth quarter of last year, but postponed its plans as a sell-off in technology stocks and the Federal Reserve’s relentless rate hikes led to stock prices falling.

But the fact that the company is making a profit could also help it win favor with choosy IPO investors, who since last year have favored profitable companies over ambitious but loss-making startups.

The company’s net profit was $242 million for the six-month period, compared to a loss of $74 million a year earlier.

Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan are the main underwriters of the offering, Instacart said, adding that the shares would be listed on the Nasdaq under the symbol “CART.”

Story in development, more to follow.