{"id":73808,"date":"2026-10-29T07:38:26","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T11:38:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/doordash-to-acquire-instacart-in-17-billion-delivery-mega-merger\/73808\/"},"modified":"2026-10-29T07:38:26","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T11:38:26","slug":"doordash-to-acquire-instacart-in-17-billion-delivery-mega-merger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/doordash-to-acquire-instacart-in-17-billion-delivery-mega-merger\/73808\/","title":{"rendered":"DoorDash to Acquire Instacart in $17 Billion Delivery Mega-Merger"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>DoorDash (<a href=\"\/stock\/DASH\">DASH<\/a>)<\/strong> has reached a definitive agreement to acquire <strong>Instacart (<a href=\"\/stock\/CART\">CART<\/a>)<\/strong> for approximately <strong>$17 billion<\/strong> ($65 per share), a move that consolidates the restaurant and grocery delivery markets.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock\/MSFT\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"18\" title=\"Stock: MSFT\">Microsoft<\/a> (<a href=\"\/stock\/MSFT\">MSFT<\/a>)<\/strong> launched a massive <strong>10-part U.S. dollar bond offering<\/strong> following its first-quarter earnings report, seeking to leverage its high-grade credit rating for capital.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bristol Myers Squibb (<a href=\"\/stock\/BMY\">BMY<\/a>)<\/strong> and <strong>Altria (<a href=\"\/stock\/MO\">MO<\/a>)<\/strong> both topped Q3 2026 earnings expectations, with Altria raising its full-year guidance while BMY adjusted its EPS outlook downward due to acquisition-related charges.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The European Central Bank (ECB)<\/strong> is widely expected to hold interest rates at <strong>2.50%<\/strong> today, though analysts are pricing in a high probability of a final hike in December to combat persistent inflation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>DoorDash and Instacart Announce $17 Billion Merger<\/h2>\n<p>In a transformative deal for the gig economy, <strong>DoorDash (<a href=\"\/stock\/DASH\">DASH<\/a>)<\/strong> announced Thursday it will acquire <strong>Instacart (<a href=\"\/stock\/CART\">CART<\/a>)<\/strong> for <strong>$65 per share<\/strong> in a mix of cash and stock. The transaction, valued at roughly <strong>$17 billion<\/strong>, aims to combine DoorDash&#39;s expansive logistics network with Instacart&#39;s specialized grocery fulfillment technology and deep retailer relationships.<\/p>\n<p>The deal comes as competition intensifies from retail giants like <strong>Walmart (<a href=\"\/stock\/WMT\">WMT<\/a>)<\/strong> and <strong>Amazon (<a href=\"\/stock\/AMZN\">AMZN<\/a>)<\/strong>. Separately, DoorDash projected its <strong>Q4 Marketplace Gross Order Value (GOV)<\/strong> to fall between <strong>$35.4 billion and $36.4 billion<\/strong>, slightly above analyst estimates of $35.77 billion, signaling continued momentum in consumer delivery demand.<\/p>\n<h2>Microsoft Taps Bond Markets After Earnings<\/h2>\n<p>Following its Q1 fiscal results, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock\/MSFT\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"18\" title=\"Stock: MSFT\">Microsoft<\/a> (<a href=\"\/stock\/MSFT\">MSFT<\/a>)<\/strong> has initiated a <strong>10-part high-grade bond offering<\/strong> in U.S. dollars. The tech giant is looking to capitalize on its robust balance sheet to fund ongoing operations and potentially offset the heavy capital expenditures required for its <strong>Artificial Intelligence (AI)<\/strong> infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p>The offering includes various maturities, allowing the company to lock in rates across the yield curve. This move follows a period where investors have closely scrutinized the cash flow drain associated with AI spending among &quot;Magnificent Seven&quot; tech firms.<\/p>\n<h2>Q3 Earnings: Healthcare, Tobacco, and Snacks<\/h2>\n<p>The pharmaceutical and consumer goods sectors saw several major reports this morning:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Bristol Myers Squibb (<a href=\"\/stock\/BMY\">BMY<\/a>)<\/strong> reported Q3 revenue of <strong>$13.07 billion<\/strong>, beating the $12.71 billion estimate. While adjusted EPS of <strong>$1.35<\/strong> topped forecasts, the company lowered its full-year adjusted EPS guidance to a range of <strong>$6.35\u2013$6.55<\/strong> due to acquired in-process R&amp;D charges.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Altria (<a href=\"\/stock\/MO\">MO<\/a>)<\/strong> posted adjusted EPS of <strong>$1.52<\/strong>, beating estimates by a penny. Strong pricing power allowed the tobacco leader to raise its full-year guidance to <strong>$5.66\u2013$5.74<\/strong> per share and expand its share repurchase program by <strong>$1 billion<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Hershey (<a href=\"\/stock\/HSY\">HSY<\/a>)<\/strong> delivered a significant profit beat with adjusted EPS of <strong>$2.64<\/strong> (est. $2.11) on sales of <strong>$3.28 billion<\/strong>. Despite volume declines, price realization and tariff refunds helped the chocolatier raise its full-year earnings growth outlook to <strong>36%\u201338.5%<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Blue Owl Capital (<a href=\"\/stock\/OWL\">OWL<\/a>)<\/strong> reported fee-related earnings of <strong>$752.6 million<\/strong>, surpassing the $703.9 million consensus. The firm&#39;s <strong>Assets Under Management (AUM)<\/strong> grew to <strong>$329.9 billion<\/strong>, reflecting strong institutional fundraising momentum.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Central Bank Watch: ECB and Fed Decisions<\/h2>\n<p>Global markets are focused on Frankfurt today as the <strong>ECB<\/strong> prepares to announce its latest interest rate decision at 14:15 CET. While a <strong>pause at 2.50%<\/strong> is the consensus, economists suggest the &quot;hawkish hold&quot; will likely be accompanied by signals of a <strong>December rate hike<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>This follows a similar sentiment from the <strong>U.S. Federal Reserve<\/strong>, where Chair <strong>Kevin Warsh<\/strong> is expected to maintain a data-dependent stance. Market participants are currently pricing in an <strong>80% probability<\/strong> of a Fed hike in December, as central banks struggle to bring core inflation back to their 2% targets amidst rising commodity prices and energy volatility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways DoorDash (DASH) has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Instacart (CART) for approximately $17 billion ($65 per share), [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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