Uber (UBER) news that moved the stock

What happened

The Federal Trade Commission on Oct. 28 issued Section 6(b) orders to nine airlines, ride-hailing, delivery and retail companies — Delta, United, JetBlue, Lyft, Uber, DoorDash, Instacart, Target and Walmart — demanding detailed information on how they use consumers' personal data to set prices and, for ride-hailing and delivery platforms, how they use drivers' personal data to set compensation. The FTC wants to assess whether prices for tickets, rides, food deliveries and other products vary from person to person based on loyalty-program participation or AI/algorithmic analysis of personal data. FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson said: 'We intend to scrutinize the opaque methodology that some companies in these industries may be using to determine how much consumers pay or how much gig workers are paid for the same product or service.' The Commission has not accused any of the nine of breaking the law, and recipients have 45 days to respond. Delta responded that it has 'zero tolerance for discriminatory or predatory pricing' and that no fare product targets customers with individualized offers based on personal data; JetBlue said it doesn't use personal information or web-browsing history to set individual prices.

What happened

DoorDash announced Thursday morning it will acquire grocery-delivery rival Instacart in a ~$17 billion deal — its largest ever — at $65 a share, an 11% premium to Wednesday's close and 26% above Instacart's price before sale talks emerged Oct. 22. At least 75% of the consideration is cash, funded from cash on hand plus debt (JPMorgan has committed a bridge loan), with DoorDash targeting an investment-grade capital structure; close expected late 2027 to early 2028 pending regulatory and shareholder approvals. Instacart's board unanimously approved the deal. DoorDash will keep the Instacart brand, app, and enterprise tech, and says customers could save ~$100M/year from not needing both DashPass and Instacart+ memberships. DoorDash also reported Q3 EPS of $1.06 (vs $0.81 expected) on revenue of $4.62 billion (+34%), and had moved its earnings release up from next week to Thursday morning — telegraphing the deal.

What happened

Instacart (Maplebear, CART) is exploring a possible sale and has held preliminary discussions with potential buyers including Uber and DoorDash, The Information reported on Friday, October 23, citing people familiar with the matter. Instacart has hired an investment bank to evaluate its options, according to the report. Shares of Instacart closed about 9% higher on Friday, while Uber fell nearly 3% and DoorDash dropped more than 4%. Instacart declined to comment; Uber and DoorDash did not immediately respond. Discussions are ongoing and there is no guarantee they lead to a deal. A typical takeover premium of 30-40% would value Instacart at roughly $16-17 billion, versus its roughly $12 billion market value at Thursday's close.