Eternal, the parent of Zomato, began as a food delivery startup under founder Deepinder Goyal in 2008. Over the years, it has evolved into a broader consumer tech platform spanning quick commerce, dining-out experiences through District, and 10-minute food delivery via Bistro.
“The competitive intensity in quick commerce has witnessed some pullback due to lower cash burn by a key competitor. While the possibility of more fund-raise and cash burn by the competitor remains, Blinkit is still well-positioned to achieve adjusted Ebitda breakeven by 4QFY26,” Kotak analysts Garima Mishra and Ishani Swain wrote in a note dated 22 July.
Eternal shares surged as much as 15% to hit ₹311.60 on BSE, before shedding some gains to close 10.6% up at ₹299.85. Market capitalization hit ₹2.89 trillion, overtaking DMart parent Avenue Supermarts Ltd’s ₹2.62 trillion. DMart was previously India’s largest retail listed company by market capitalization.
This marks the first instance of the online delivery platform outpacing India’s dominant offline retailer in market value, underscoring investor confidence in the country’s digital consumption narrative.
“Zomato has a solid market position when it comes to food and quick commerce. DMart has always been under pressure,” said Satish Meena, founder of Datum Intelligence. “Even in the last quarter, DMart’s online grocery arm grew by 31%; yet, it remains very small compared to its quick commerce rivals. They will always end up playing catch-up.”
Shares surged after Eternal’s June quarter earnings release on Monday evening.
The company’s June quarter revenue rose 67% year-on-year to ₹7,563 crore, driven almost entirely by Blinkit. In its earnings statement, the company disclosed that Blinkit’s gross order value now exceeds that of its original food delivery business—a milestone that cements its pivot to becoming a grocery-first platform.
Blinkit generated ₹3,046 crore in gross order value during the quarter, accounting for 50% of Eternal’s consumer-facing business. Zomato’s food delivery arm followed closely at ₹2,951 crore or 48%, while Hyperpure—the B2B supply division—contributed ₹1,497 crore. District, the dine-out vertical, added ₹70 crore, comprising less than 1% of consolidated revenue. Eternal said District is being developed as a high-margin, premium offering.
“This was the first quarter where Blinkit’s net order value surpassed that of our food delivery business,” Eternal’s chief financial officer Akshant Goyal wrote in a shareholder letter. Blinkit’s monthly active users more than doubled to 16.9 million over the year. The company also added 243 dark stores during the quarter, expanding its network to 1,544 locations, with plans to reach 2,000 stores by year-end.
Despite remaining loss-making, Blinkit narrowed its losses. Adjusted Ebitda margin improved to -1.8% from -2.4% in the previous quarter, Eternal noted in its investor presentation.
A July 22 report by Nikhil Choudhary and Parth Ghiya from Nuvama Institutional Equities, said Blinkit’s path to profitability is now “visible,” and projected Ebitda-positive performance in key cities by FY26. Meanwhile Axis Securities’ analysts Preeyam Toila and Suhanee Shome, in a report dated 22 July also raised the company’s target price, citing Blinkit’s “better-than-expected unit economics” and improved operating leverage.
Meena of Datum Intelligence flagged the absence of commentary on smaller cities. “Something concerning about the Q1 results is that the company has not mentioned how smaller cities are contributing to overall growth,” he said, pointing to tier-2 and tier-3 gaps.
Food delivery order volumes rose 13% year-on-year, in line with internal forecasts. CEO Deepinder Goyal said growth in the segment had “bottomed out,” with expectations of a recovery to 15% in FY26 and 20% in FY27. The company reiterated medium-term Ebitda margin targets of over 4% in food delivery and 2-4% for Blinkit.
The earnings release follows a leadership change, with Aditya Mangla appointed to head the food delivery division. Mangla previously led product and engineering at the company and assumed the new role as part of Zomato’s leadership rotation.
Meena also highlighted Zomato’s ₹50–100 crore investment in Bistro, its pilot 10-minute food delivery initiative. “It’s too early to say how that pans out, but it’s an important bet worth watching,” he said. Bistro was not featured in the Q1 financial disclosures.
Zomato’s dine-out vertical, District, with an average order value of ₹1,700, reported an annualized order value of ₹8,000 crore and is expected to contribute ₹150 crore to operating profit over five years.
Shares of Swiggy, Zomato’s primary rival, climbed 5.4% on Tuesday on the BSE.
