Uber Eats Plans Push Into These Seven Countries
Instacart booms in Q4, Grab profitable, Amazon drones fly into KC
We’re back from a quick Presidents Day break, to give you all the biggest delivery stories. As for last week’s poll about the top Super Bowl commercial: Uber Eats eked out a tight win over Grubhub and DoorDash, but the biggest takeaway was how few of you voted for Instacart’s Ben Stiller + Spike Jonze ad.
Today:
Instacart Delivers Huge Fourth Quarter
Amazon Prime Air Touches Down in Kansas
Chart Time | Profitable Grab Can’t Stop Spending
Uber Eats Plans 7 Market European Expansion
FINANCE | Instacart GTV Rises 11% to $37 Billion
Instacart delivered huge fourth quarter financial results, with GTV up 14% and orders increasing 16% YoY, the company’s strongest showing in three years. For the full year, GTV climbed 11% to $37.2 billion, orders rose 15% to 339 million, revenue climbed 11% to $3.7 billion but GAAP net income fell 2% to $447M. For Q1 of this year, the company is projecting $10,125 - $10,275M in GTV and Adjusted EBITDA of $280-290M.
The Big Picture: The company points to a few key variables as its source of strength. First off is that its average cart size is BIG — $110+, with the company claiming it captures the lead in large basket activations, while also leading in converting small baskets to large. The company also continues to grow into non-grocery categories, as it’s just announced a new partnership with Lush Cosmetics, adding 250 beauty stores across the U.S. and Canada, as well as an integration with Toast, that aims to help restaurants with inventory management and ordering. (Toast also just posted its financial results, seeing revenue climb 24% to $6.15 billion.)
DRONES | Amazon Prime Air Launches in Kansas City
Amazon isn’t giving up on its aerial ambitions, as its drone delivery service — Amazon Prime Air — has gone live in Kansas City. The new hub, based out of the MKC6 fulfillment center, is on the Kansas side of the multi-state metro area (see map), serving a low-density mix of residential and warehouse uses 8 miles west of downtown. This location has always been tech-forward for Amazon, with the company noting it is a “robotics sortable facility… associates ship items smaller than a conventional microwave alongside robots.” The drones will handle items of 5 lbs or fewer, with a delivery radius of 7.5 miles; each aerial delivery costs $4.99 for Prime subscribers.
The Big Picture: While the Everything Store recently shuttered its non-Whole Foods super markets and c-stores, the company is still figuring out how to capture ever more of your wallet. Although its drone plans seem turbulent (see this recent crash in Texas, where the drone unfathomably kept its propellers spinning even after hitting the ground,) Bezos and Co also continue to push into lucrative segments like prescriptions. Amazon Pharmacy is expanding same-day prescription delivery to nearly 4,500 U.S. municipalities by year-end, including its first foray into Massachusetts and Idaho. In 2025, Amazon saw net sales climb 12% to $716.9 billion, while continuing to invest in net zero carbon facilities.
CHART TIME | Grab Can’t Stop Spending on Incentives!
Grab, Southeast Asia’s delivery and ridehailing heavyweight, posted its 2025 financial results, with the company posting its first full-year net profit, off of 20% revenue growth. But tucked into its supplemental data is some particularly interesting data: despite the push towards profitability, the company can’t kick its habit of incentivizing both consumers and partners, with delivery incentives actually growing as a % of GMV YoY. This is an issue the industry struggles with worldwide, with many platform users trained to only transact once they’ve been dangled a special offer…
3PD | Uber Eats Plots European Expansion
Uber Eats is hoping to handle your rugbrød and schnitzel orders, as Uber’s delivery arm plans to enter seven new European markets in 2026: Austria, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Czechia, Greece and Romania. The company aims to add $1B in gross bookings over the next three years, via this growth initiative. This push heats up Uber’s battle with DoorDash, which owns Finland-based Wolt and Britain’s Deliveroo, as well as Just Eat Takeaway + Delivery Hero, both partially owned by Prosus. “We’re excited to be entering seven new markets where the incumbent has grown comfortable. We think it’s time to raise the bar, shake things up and deliver better value across the category,” said Susan Anderson, Global Head of Delivery at Uber.
The Big Picture: Uber’s been making headway in Europe for some time, with its share of the U.K. market rising from 28% in January 2022 to 38% last December, and its share in Germany climbing from 10% to 26% over that same period, according to YipitData. Uber is also doubling down on Türkiye, thanks to last week’s acquisition of Getir. The company’s continuing to add new product functionality, aiming to claim an ever larger share of consumer’s wallets, like a new AI-powered Cart Assistant that can ingest photos of shopping lists and recipes.
A Few Good Links
Restaurant Dive names Curbivore 2026 one of the top “industry trade shows to attend.” Uber and Baidu partner on AVs in Dubai. DoorDash ranks top lunar new year restaurants (not so sure about some of these options…) while LNY boosts air cargo volume. FedEx to shrink footprint 30%. Albertsons joins OpenAI ad pilot. Grocery inflation at 2.1%. CVS revenue rises 8.2%. Lowe’s chooses Affirm for BNPL. Hapag-Lloyd buys Zim for $4.2B. NYC Teamsters push Delivery Protection Act. Getir founders sue Mubadala. U.S. Congress considers SNAP Online Access Act. Glovo Italy placed under judicial supervision. Chile hands Glovo record fine. Nigeria sues Chowdeck over pricing transparency. Deliveroo and Liberis partner to fund U.K. restaurants. Pizza Hut South Korea to change ownership after restructuring. JET sees record Valentine’s Day. GeoTab launches new dash cam. Gopuff signs Giannis Antetokounmpo. How cheap Chinese phones propelled Kenya into the global digital economy. Yelp 2025 revenue rises 4%. McDonald’s consolidated revenue rises 4%. Wonder buys Blue Ribbon Fried. Flipkart eyes entry into India’s food delivery market.
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