Eternal Stock in Spotlight as Bullish Guidance Cushions Q1 Miss

Eternal Shares in Focus After Late Surge; Blinkit Outpaces Food Delivery Despite Q1 Profit Slump.

Shares of Eternal Ltd (formerly Zomato Ltd) are likely to remain in focus during Tuesday’s session, following a strong 7.56% rally on Monday that pushed the stock to a five-month high of ₹276.80. The surge came despite a sharp 90.12% year-on-year decline in consolidated net profit for the June quarter (Q1 FY26), which fell to ₹25 crore from ₹253 crore a year earlier.

The profit dip was largely attributed to continued investments in the company’s fast-growing verticals, particularly quick commerce and the “going-out” segment. However, revenue from operations soared 70.4% YoY to ₹7,167 crore, driven by robust performance from Blinkit, which for the first time overtook the food delivery business in terms of Net Order Value (NOV).

Key Highlights:

• Blinkit NOV up 127% YoY, crossing food delivery for the first time
• Total B2C NOV rose 55% YoY to ₹20,183 crore
• Adjusted revenue grew 67% YoY to ₹7,563 crore
• Adjusted EBITDA fell 42% YoY to ₹172 crore
• Food delivery margins remained stable at 5% of NOV

CEO Deepinder Goyal acknowledged the tough comparables and macro softness, but struck a cautiously optimistic tone:

“I think the YoY growth is likely to bottom out now as we recover from the demand slowdown we started seeing in late 2024. For FY26, it looks unlikely that the business will deliver 20%-plus NOV growth, but we should be north of 15% and hopefully trending toward 20% in FY27.”

During the quarter, Blinkit added 243 new stores and began shifting toward an inventory-led model aimed at boosting margins and efficiency. Profitability in smaller cities also showed signs of improvement.

Meanwhile, Eternal’s “going-out” vertical — now a ₹8,000 crore annualized NOV business — continues to expand, aided by recent acquisitions in ticketing and live events. The company closed the quarter with a healthy cash balance of ₹18,857 crore, positioning it well to fuel further growth across verticals despite short-term profit pressures.