Profit Inflection and a $1.4B Buyback: The Moment That Changes the Narrative#
Instacart ([CART]) closed FY2024 with $3.38B in revenue (+11.18% YoY) and a net income of $457M, a dramatic swing from a - $1.62B loss in FY2023. Management also repurchased $1.40B of common stock during the year, using financing activities cash of - $1.41B and contributing to a net change in cash of -$844M for the period. Those three facts — a profit swing, robust free cash flow, and a meaningful buyback — form the single most consequential development for [CART] in the last year: the company appears capable of generating both operating profitability and shareholder returns even as the competitive landscape tightens. (Source: Instacart FY2024 financial statements and company filings)
That swing is not an accounting quirk. Operating income moved to $489M (operating margin +14.48%) in 2024 from - $2.14B (operating margin -70.41%) in 2023, a change of +84.89 percentage points in operating margin driven primarily by lower operating expenses and R&D normalization after a prior peak in 2023. Free cash flow for FY2024 was $623M, representing a free cash flow margin of +18.44% on revenue. These operational cash metrics underline that reported net income is supported by cash generation rather than purely non-cash items. (Source: Instacart FY2024 cash flow statement)
The optics are clear: Instacart has converted scale and cost control into positive operating leverage in 2024, and it used a large portion of that capacity to buy back equity. That trade-off — buybacks versus reinvestment into competitive defenses — sets up the central tension of 2025: can the company sustain margin gains while fending off intensifying pressure from Amazon and Walmart?