How to research IPO stocks
Build a repeatable IPO research workflow covering business models, cash generation, ownership, valuation, and evidence.
Historical company archive
Instacart IPO profile.
A grocery-commerce platform connecting customers, retailers, and brands. Explore the historical offer and the questions it opens up.
- Historical offer price
- $30.00 USD per offered security
- Base offering size
- $660.0M Primary + secondary, before fees
- Securities offered
- 22.00M Base deal, excluding option
- Company gross proceeds
- $423.0M Primary shares only, before fees
The offering, unpacked.
The issuer provided this announcement through PR Newswire. Its base offering included both newly issued and existing-holder shares.
The base securities issued by the company imply $423.0M of gross issuer proceeds. That figure is before underwriting discounts, commissions, and offering expenses; it is not a net cash receipt.
How the base size is calculated
22,000,000 securities × $30.00 = $660,000,000
Base offering size combines the value of securities sold by the company and by any selling shareholders. It excludes the additional-share option. A headline that calls every dollar “money raised by the company” can therefore describe a different figure.
The quoted price applies to the security described in the offering. It is not a current market price, a valuation target, or evidence of an investment return. The first trading date is the date announced in the pricing release, rather than a claim that an offering calendar was continuously monitored.
Primary source
Historical terms from the issuer’s pricing announcement dated Sep 18, 2023.
Read the Instacart pricing release| Company legal name | Maplebear Inc. (doing business as Instacart) |
|---|---|
| Ticker at announced listing | CART |
| Exchange | Nasdaq |
| Sector grouping | Internet |
| Security | Common stock |
| Pricing announcement | Sep 18, 2023 |
| Announced first trading date | Sep 19, 2023 |
| Base securities offered | 22,000,000 |
| Company-issued securities | 14,100,000 |
| Existing-holder securities | 7,900,000 |
| Additional-share option | 3,300,000 (excluded from base totals) |
From facts to better questions
Research beyond the offer price.
How do order economics and advertising activity contribute to the underlying business?
This is a research question, not a conclusion about current operating performance. Use the prospectus and subsequent filings to assemble an answer.
1
Read the business model
Identify who pays, what they buy, and which costs scale with demand. Compare the narrative with the financial statements.
2
Trace ownership and proceeds
Separate company-issued securities from selling-holder transactions. Read the capitalization and use-of-proceeds sections together.
3
Define your comparison
Choose a price baseline and time window before calculating returns. Historical offer terms alone do not establish performance.
Keep the research going.
How to read an IPO prospectus
Navigate an IPO prospectus in useful passes, from the cover and business model to financial statements, risk factors, and ownership.
IPO valuation: price, value, and dilution
Separate offering size from company value with clear examples of market capitalization, enterprise value, share counts, and dilution.