Research task (Business Planning & Research):
Conduct a literature-based analysis comparing the business models of Instacart (CART) and DoorDash (DASH), evaluating which company has the stronger model and why. In your review, explain the drivers behind their margin gap, estimate the total addressable market (TAM) using a clear methodology, and also calculate each company’s market share. Conclude this literature review with an elevator pitch recommending which one as the better investment opportunity.

Evaluation rubric:
criterion: The response discusses how both Instacart and DoorDash's business models are being threatened by large retailers (e.g. Amazon, Walmart) continuously investing in their own delivery systems.
weight: 3
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response articulates how DoorDashes business model is seen as more "one-dimensional" as compared to Instacart's business model that relies on many profit streams (e.g. transaction, advertising, subscription, in-store hardwares).
weight: 4
axis: Synthesis of Information

criterion: The response mentions how Instacart's deep integration with retail's inventory system is a strong moat against its competitors.
weight: 4
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response discusses the role of AI on the current developments of both Instacart and Doordash (e.g. AI-powered Caper Carts, AI-driven meal planning, AI-driven personalization, AI assistants).
weight: 2
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response discusses at least one regulatory risk each for Instacart and Doordash (e.g. both companies face potential increase in labor cost due to reclassification of delivery workers, Doordash may see delivery fee caps in some cities, Doordash may have antitrust issues).
weight: 2
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response talks about at least three factors related to global market, trend, and strategies of Instacart and DoorDash (e.g. DoorDash is aggressively expanding internationally with acquisition of Wolt, Instacart is expanding to Canada, global TAM for online delivery is around $300B and is growing 10-15% CAGR, DoorDash has low presence globally).
weight: 3
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response mentions the number of active users for both Instacart and DoorDash and highlights how Door Dash has a lot more users than that of Instacart.
weight: 3
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response provides Instacart's and DoorDash's most recent annual or quarterly revenue and its detailed breakdown: transaction v.s. subscription v.s. advertisement v.s. others.
weight: 4
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response mentions that Instacart has much higher gross margins than that of DoorDash and explains at least three drivers behind the margin gap (e.g. Instacart's advertising revenue has high-margin, DoorDash's first-party retail has low-margin, DoorDash's physical delivery logistics is low-margin, DoorDash's competition with Uber leads to low-margin).
weight: 5
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response mentions Instacart's and DoorDash's net income and compares their profitability.
weight: 3
axis: Synthesis of Information

criterion: The response discusses Instacart's and DoorDash's at least three key customer metrics from the following: monthly active user (MAU), retention rate, churn rate, customer acquisition cost (CAC), lifetime value (LTV), average order value (AOV).
weight: 3
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response provides at least one valuation metric (e.g. price-to-sales, revenue multiple, price-to-earnings, EBITDA) and compares Instacart and DoorDash based on the metric.
weight: 3
axis: Synthesis of Information

criterion: The response articulates a clear Total Addressable Market (TAM) calculation methodology and provides specific market size estimates for Instacart and DoorDash (e.g. US grocery market, US restaurant industry market, Global convenience store market, Global online grocery market) for Instacart and DoorDash.
weight: 5
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response includes accurate market share calculations for both Instacart and DoorDash with supporting data (e.g. US online grocery market is ~$200B and Instacart had ~$30B relevant revenue accounting for ~15% market share while DoorDash had ~$20B relevant revenue accounting for ~9% market share, US digital advertising market is $50B and Instacart had ~$700M ad revenue accounting for 1.5% market share).
weight: 5
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response provides a strong, persuasive elevator pitch for either Instacart or DoorDash that uses merges strengths of the company to formulate arguments (e.g. Instacart is not a delivery company, but a capital-light grocery technology, Instacart has great market dynamics and valuation, Instacart has stronger financials backed by unit economics, DoorDash has larger room for growth and scalability).
weight: 5
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response contains at least three specific quotes from analysts and equity researchers to help strengthen its claims on Instacart's and DoorDash's business model, outlooks, and market dynamics (e.g. "analysts mention that Instacart is profitable business model compared to Uber Eats and DoorDash", "industry experts claim profitability comes from retail media", "analysts estimate the market size of online grocery to be $300B").
weight: 3
axis: References & Citation Quality

criterion: Each business/financial acronym (except CART and DASH) are defined in parentheses at its first use (e.g. TAM (Total Addressable Market), GTV (Gross Transaction Value), Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), Lifetime Value (LTV)).
weight: 1
axis: Communication Quality

criterion: The data provided in the response (e.g. market size, market cap, stock price, revenue, net income) is inaccurate, and there is no source used to back claims.
weight: -3
axis: References & Citation Quality

criterion: The response outlines risks of investing in Instacart and DoorDash (e.g. regulations on reclassifying delivery workers may increase cost, Instacart may have less room to grow based on current market share, Instacart has slower top-line GTV growth, DoorDash's aggressive expansion faces execution risks).
weight: 3
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The final elevator pitch contains information or arguments that are not previously addressed in the literature.
weight: -2
axis: Synthesis of Information