Amazon Stock Gains, Instacart Falls On Amazon Now ‘Ultrafast’ Delivery Plan

Amazon (AMZN) will test a “super-fast” delivery service in Seattle and Philadelphia that promises to deliver household essentials to customers’ doorsteps in about 30 minutes or less. Amazon shares rose early Tuesday, while shares of parent company Instacart rose Maplebear (cart) fell and DoorDash (DASH) decreased.

Amazon said in a blog post late Monday that it will deliver “thousands of daily household essentials and fresh groceries” through the service, which it calls “Amazon Now.” The service is available within the Amazon application for customers in eligible areas in the two cities. It will use smaller warehouses close to denser areas in both markets.

Deliveries come at a higher cost to customers than Amazon’s standard same-day and next-day shipments. Orders cost $3.99 per Prime member and $13.99 for non-Prime users, plus the option to tip delivery drivers.

Amazon has made a big push to sell more groceries in recent months. The tech giant said in August that it would offer same-day delivery of perishable products, with plans to reach 2,300 US markets this year.

“Amazon has already proven its share in non-perishable deliveries, and the competitive environment intensifies with the expansion of same-day grocery service in August,” Wedbush analyst Scott Devitt wrote to clients late Monday. “We view Monday’s announcement as a pivotal step forward in Amazon’s broader strategy to gain additional share in this category. Notably, Amazon can address the logistical challenges faced by many grocery retailers in both small cities and metropolitan statistical areas (Metropolitan Statistical Areas), which are typically handled by third parties, such as Instacart.”

Amazon stock rose, and Instacart stock fell

On the stock market today, Amazon stock advanced 1% at 236.18 in pre-market trading. Instacart stock fell more than 2% to 41.64. Instacart is the leading on-demand grocery platform.

Devitt downgraded Instacart stock to an underperform rating compared to Wedbush’s previous neutral call earlier this year. Instacart’s position has been “directly challenged by Amazon’s expansion,” he said.

DoorDash stock was down nearly 1% at 203.88. The company competes with Instacart for on-demand grocery delivery in the US but derives the majority of its sales from restaurant delivery.

Uber technologies (UBER) also competes in grocery delivery but also focuses its Uber Eats operations more on restaurants. Uber stock advanced slightly, near 86.93 in pre-market trading.

Instacart stock has been volatile in 2025, its second full year as a public company. Shares are up just 3% overall year to date, with fear of Amazon as a competitive threat weighing on the stock. The company also changed leaders earlier this year, after former CEO Fidji Simo left OpenAI.

The stock got a boost after third-quarter earnings results on Nov. 10, nearly rebounding above its 200-day moving average for the first time since September. But Tuesday’s decline will hamper these efforts.

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