Eternal Ltd, the parent company of Zomato and Blinkit, released its financial results for the first quarter of FY26 (April to June 2025), revealing a compelling yet complex picture of growth and profitability.
With revenue surging 70% year-on-year, largely driven by the explosive expansion of Blinkit, the company demonstrated its strategic pivot toward quick commerce. However, net profit fell sharply, showing the cost of this aggressive growth.
This Eternal Q1 FY26 report marks a key milestone in Eternal’s transition from a food delivery-centric company to a diversified tech-led consumer platform spanning food, grocery, entertainment, and lifestyle.
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Table of Contents
Revenue Soars, Profit Contracts
Eternal reported a consolidated revenue of ₹7,167 crore for Q1 FY26, a 70% increase from the same period last year. This Eternal Q1 FY26 robust growth was led primarily by Blinkit, its quick commerce arm, which now contributes a larger share of the company’s gross order value than traditional food delivery.
However, while revenue growth was strong, net profit saw a significant 90% year-on-year decline, falling to ₹25 crore from ₹253 crore in Q1 FY25.
The sharp drop in profit was due to an aggressive ramp-up of operations, including the opening of new stores, larger marketing spends, and deep discounting across the platform.
Eternal’s total expenses rose to ₹7,430 crore—up nearly 79%—as it pursued market leadership in the highly competitive quick commerce sector.
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Blinkit Overtakes Zomato Core

In a milestone shift, Blinkit surpassed Zomato’s core food delivery business in terms of net order value (NOV). Blinkit reported a NOV of ₹9,203 crore in Q1 FY26, up 127% year-on-year, while Zomato’s food delivery NOV stood at ₹8,967 crore. This marks the first time the grocery vertical has overtaken the core restaurant delivery segment.
The surge in Blinkit’s performance is attributed to:
- Expansion of “dark stores” across key urban centers
- Introduction of inventory-led models to ensure faster deliveries
- A wider range of products, including non-food essentials
- Strategic discounts aimed at acquiring and retaining customers
The success of Blinkit indicates Eternal’s successful foray into hyperlocal commerce, transforming it from a single-service platform to a multi-vertical retail engine.
Segment-Wise Performance
1. Food Delivery
Zomato’s food delivery vertical remained steady but showed signs of maturing. Growth in gross order value was modest, and the company focused on maintaining contribution margins.
While customer frequency and basket size held up, the segment was visibly overshadowed by Blinkit in terms of both user engagement and growth rate.
The food delivery business continues to generate positive EBITDA, supporting the company’s overall financial stability. However, strategic emphasis is clearly tilting toward quick commerce.
2. Quick Commerce (Blinkit)
Blinkit emerged as the quarter’s strongest performer. With a 127% increase in NOV, this segment is now the centerpiece of Eternal’s growth narrative. Blinkit has expanded its dark store footprint aggressively and adopted an inventory-led model, giving it greater control over customer experience and delivery timelines.
Despite being loss-making on a standalone basis, Blinkit’s unit economics have improved. The company expects the segment to break even in the next 12–18 months, provided scale and operational efficiencies continue.
3. Going-Out and Other Services
Eternal Q1 FY26 has been gradually building its “Going-Out” vertical—comprising ticketing, restaurant bookings, and experiential events. Though still a small contributor to overall revenue, this vertical showed double-digit growth during the quarter and is expected to emerge as a new driver of monetization.
Eternal aims to transform this segment into a lifestyle platform where users can discover, book, and pay for a variety of offline experiences.
Strategic Initiatives

1. Shift to Inventory Ownership
One of the biggest strategic moves made this quarter was Blinkit’s pivot to an inventory-led model. By owning stock at warehouses and dark stores, Eternal Q1 FY26 has reduced its dependence on third-party retailers.
This change has improved delivery speed and enabled better control over margins, although it has also increased working capital requirements.
2. Store Network Expansion
The company added over 200 new Blinkit stores during the quarter, targeting high-density residential neighborhoods. Eternal believes that having stores within 2 km of most customers is essential to sustain 10-minute delivery capabilities.
3. Brand Consolidation
Zomato and Blinkit are increasingly being promoted under the “Eternal” umbrella, indicating a move toward integrated branding. This rebranding effort will help unify customer experience across verticals and leverage cross-platform synergies.
Investor Sentiment and Market Reaction
Following the earnings announcement, Eternal’s stock surged nearly 15%, reaching a record high of ₹311.60. Investors responded positively to the strong revenue growth and Blinkit’s breakout performance, even as net profit fell sharply.
Brokerage firms raised their target prices for Eternal stock, citing improved visibility into Blinkit’s growth and a more diversified revenue mix. Market participants appeared confident that short-term margin pressure is a worthwhile trade-off for long-term market leadership.
The company’s management reiterated its commitment to achieving sustainable profitability while continuing to invest in new categories.
Challenges and Risks
Despite the upbeat top line, Eternal faces several critical challenges:
- Margin Pressure: With Blinkit still operating at a loss and competition intensifying from players like Zepto, BigBasket, and Swiggy Instamart, margins may remain under pressure.
- Execution Risk: Scaling quick commerce profitably at a national level requires flawless execution—particularly in logistics, inventory management, and last-mile delivery.
- Cash Burn: While Eternal has a strong balance sheet, continued expansion could increase cash burn in the coming quarters, potentially affecting investor sentiment if growth slows.
Outlook for Eternal Q1 FY26
Eternal’s management remains confident about its growth trajectory and plans to deepen its investment in Blinkit while steadily building its other verticals.
Key goals for the upcoming quarters include:
- Achieving breakeven EBITDA in quick commerce
- Growing the Going-Out vertical into a ₹1,000 crore business
- Expanding Blinkit’s store count beyond 1,000 in urban India
- Increasing average order values to enhance profitability
The company also intends to explore synergies across platforms, offering bundled services and loyalty programs to boost user retention.
Conclusion
Eternal Q1 FY26 performance marks a defining moment in the company’s evolution. From a food delivery giant to a multi-service consumer platform, Eternal is betting big on quick commerce and digital lifestyle experiences. While profitability took a hit this quarter, the bold growth strategy—led by Blinkit—shows strong potential.
The market’s positive reaction to the results signals growing investor trust in Eternal’s vision. If Blinkit continues to scale efficiently and other verticals mature, Eternal could redefine the next chapter in India’s consumer internet landscape.
Though challenges remain, the company’s clear strategy, operational focus, and willingness to invest in innovation suggest that it is well-positioned to ride the next wave of digital commerce.