New Delhi: Eternal, the parent company of Zomato and Blinkit, reported a 92 per cent year-on-year jump in consolidated net profit for the second quarter of FY27, underlining how decisively the company’s centre of gravity has shifted from food delivery to quick commerce.
Net profit for the quarter ended September came in at Rs 125 crore, up from Rs 65 crore in the same period last year, on operating revenue of Rs 24,138 crore — a 78 per cent surge. The results, announced on the evening of October 21, triggered heavy follow-up coverage through October 22 as analysts parsed what is increasingly a tale of two businesses.
The star of the show was Blinkit. The quick-commerce arm’s net order value surged 79.3 per cent to Rs 20,940 crore, with adjusted EBITDA of Rs 184 crore — evidence that the business is scaling profitably, not just rapidly. Blinkit added 308 net new stores during the quarter, taking its total to 2,751, as the 10-minute-delivery model continued its march into new neighbourhoods and categories.
Zomato’s food-delivery business, the company’s original engine, posted net order value of Rs 11,445 crore — up 21.5 per cent, marking a fifth straight quarter of accelerating growth. The revival is real, but the contrast with Blinkit’s near-80 per cent clip tells the story of where Eternal’s future lies. Quick commerce is no longer the side bet; it is the main event.
The numbers were not without blemishes. Profit of Rs 125 crore missed street estimates — one outlet had pegged expectations at Rs 304 crore — and cash reserves fell Rs 1,813 crore to Rs 16,475 crore, attributed to festive-season inventory build-up. The miss and the cash burn gave bears their talking points, though bulls noted that inventory-led cash absorption ahead of the festive quarter is standard operating procedure in retail.
The board also approved two portfolio moves: swapping its stake in AdOnMo for shares in Mygate, and a slump sale of the going-out business into a subsidiary — housekeeping that sharpens Eternal’s focus on its two core engines.
For investors, the October 21 results crystallise the Eternal investment thesis. The company that began as a restaurant-discovery app is now a quick-commerce juggernaut with a food-delivery cash cow attached — a transformation few would have predicted five years ago. The 92 per cent profit jump is the headline, but the 79.3 per cent Blinkit growth is the story.
With the festive quarter now underway — traditionally the strongest period for both grocery and food delivery — Eternal enters the second half of FY27 with momentum on its side. The question for the quarters ahead is no longer whether quick commerce works at scale in India. Blinkit’s Rs 20,940 crore quarter answered that. The question now is how far the model can run.
