Instacart's CEO will have $13.4 million in stock after the company's IPO, while its shoppers just got their minimum pay slashed

• Instacart CEO Fidji Simo's shares of the company are set to be worth at least $13.4 million once it goes public.
• Instacart is poised to go public at a fraction of its early-pandemic valuation.
• Instacart's shoppers make as little as $4 per batch in base pay after the company cut the minimum in July. 

Instacart CEO Fidji Simo will have millions of dollars in Instacart stock once the company completes its IPO.

Instacart says it expects its shares to trade for between $26 and $28 after it goes public, the company said in an amended version of its IPO paperwork filed with the SEC early Monday morning. As with many IPOs, that price range could change before the company goes public.

That implies a valuation for the delivery service of as much as $9.3 million, far lower than Instacart's peak valuation of $39 billion that the company said it achieved in 2021.

Even so, Instacart's CEO of two years is set to receive some handsome compensation once Instacart starts trading under the ticker symbol "CART." Instacart declined to comment for this story.

In 2022, Instacart paid Simo a base salary of $500,000 plus a cash bonus of $1 million, according to Instacart's IPO paperwork.

But stock, not cash, forms the majority of executives' compensation at Instacart. The company aims to "deliver a majority of compensation through long-term equity incentives," it says in the filing with the SEC.

Simo's compensation since 2022 also included 195,465 shares of Instacart stock as part of restricted stock units, which fully vested in April this year, according to the filing. She also stands to earn another 300,000 shares in a performance-based award once Instacart finalizes its registration for the IPO.

Along with some shares she previously owned, that brings Simo's total to 515,647 shares she is expected to hold after Instacart goes public. Even if the stock starts trading at just $26 a share, her shares will be worth $13.4 million. Under SEC rules, Simo and many other stockholders will need to wait six months after the IPO before they can sell any shares.

Simo could also receive an additional 900,000 shares of Instacart stock in the coming years if the company's market capitalization reaches certain goals.

If Instacart's value reaches $15 billion, for example, she will get an additional 180,000 shares, with additional awards possible at capitalizations of $20 billion and $30 billion, according to the filing.

Instacart's 600,000 shoppers make as little as $4 per batch in base pay after the company cut the minimum in July. A batch can contain more than one order, and shoppers can make more money if the batch contains lots of items or if customers leave a tip.

After the pay cut, some shoppers said they wanted to quit Instacart for 9-to-5 jobs.

Are you an Instacart worker with a story idea to share? Reach out to this reporter at abitter@insider.com