Blinkit, the quick-commerce platform owned by Eternal (Zomato), posted an adjusted EBITDA profit of Rs 37 crore for Q4 FY26, January-March This follows Blinkit's first-ever profitable quarter in the preceding three months and compares with a Rs 178 crore loss a year earlier.
The profit run beat analyst expectations. Analysts tracked by Visible Alpha, part of S&P Global Market Intelligence, had pencilled in an adjusted EBITDA loss of Rs 13.8 crore for Q4. At Rs 14,386 crore, Blinkit's net order value, though, came in slightly below analysts' projection of Rs 14,923.3 crore. Net average order value was also flat at Rs 525 against Rs 520 a year earlier.
In a letter to shareholders, Eternal CFO Akshant Goyal said that the company was expecting April-June (Q1 FY27) to be much stronger on a sequential basis. "Q4 is seasonally the weakest quarter for quick commerce. Two factors compress QoQ growth in Q4 - fewer days in the quarter versus Q3 and a lower share of long-tail categories coming off the festive period, which pulls down NAOV," he explained. Quick commerce's popularity among consumers, Goyal suggested, continues to rise.
"Neither (structural factor) reflects any change in underlying demand trends. The demand signals we are seeing in April indicate that the recovery this quarter will be strong," he added. Blinkit opened 216 new dark stores, meeting expansion target for the quarter and bringing the network count to 2,423. In the previous quarter, the company had said that it would make up for the shortfall in its 2,100-store target during Q4, while reiterating its plan to scale to 3,000 outlets by March 2027. Last quarter, the company had also said that some of its mature markets, including Delhi-NCR, were nearing a steady-state adjusted EBITDA margin of 5-6%.
"We are more confident of getting to our guidance of 5-6% margins today than ever before. The only variable is the speed at which we get there. The path of margin expansion may not be linear though, given the multiple moving parts, but we are confident we will get there soon," said Eternal's new group CEO, Albinder Dhindsa.
In a letter to shareholders, Eternal CFO Akshant Goyal said that the company was expecting April-June (Q1 FY27) to be much stronger on a sequential basis. "Q4 is seasonally the weakest quarter for quick commerce. Two factors compress QoQ growth in Q4 - fewer days in the quarter versus Q3 and a lower share of long-tail categories coming off the festive period, which pulls down NAOV," he explained. Quick commerce's popularity among consumers, Goyal suggested, continues to rise.
"Neither (structural factor) reflects any change in underlying demand trends. The demand signals we are seeing in April indicate that the recovery this quarter will be strong," he added. Blinkit opened 216 new dark stores, meeting expansion target for the quarter and bringing the network count to 2,423. In the previous quarter, the company had said that it would make up for the shortfall in its 2,100-store target during Q4, while reiterating its plan to scale to 3,000 outlets by March 2027. Last quarter, the company had also said that some of its mature markets, including Delhi-NCR, were nearing a steady-state adjusted EBITDA margin of 5-6%.
"We are more confident of getting to our guidance of 5-6% margins today than ever before. The only variable is the speed at which we get there. The path of margin expansion may not be linear though, given the multiple moving parts, but we are confident we will get there soon," said Eternal's new group CEO, Albinder Dhindsa.
Group overview: On a consolidated basis, i.e.
across Blinkit, Zomato and all other businesses, Eternal reported adjusted revenue of Rs 17,860 crore for Q4 FY26. This was below analysts' estimate of Rs 18,058 crore. Adjusted EBITDA stood at Rs 429 crore, ahead of analysts' projection of Rs 395.6 crore. The company said that it expected to hit $1 billion in adjusted EBITDA by FY29. Zomato, the food-delivery business, saw adjusted revenue of Rs 3,125 crore in Q4. Adjusted EBITDA was Rs 532 crore, over 31% higher than analysts' estimate of Rs 405.2 crore. Zomato's NOV growth improved 13.1% in April-June 2025 to 18.8% in January-March 2026. The main drivers have been a lower free-delivery threshold - cut from Rs 199 to Rs 99 - and a stronger push on meals priced below Rs 250. These moves have lifted monthly transacting users by more than 20% over the past nine months, from 20.9 million to 25.4 million. "Order volume growth is being driven by MTC [monthly transacting users] growth, both from new-to-platform customers and higher frequency among existing budget-conscious customers," Eternal founder Deepinder Goyal said, adding that while this had reduced average order value, revenue per order continued to improve.
Eternal's going-out app, District, logged revenues of Rs 277 crore in Q4, up 20.9% from Rs 229 crore a year earlier. Speed bumps: On the quick-commerce outlook, Blinkit's management signalled that the pace of growth could moderate from here. Blinkit's net order value had expanded at a 104% compound annual growth rate between FY23 and FY26. "Growth rates are now naturally moderating off a much larger base.
Over the next three years, NOV growth CAGR should be north of 60%. That translates to the business growing to more than four times its current scale in three years," he said. The company expects to drive numbers by adding more products, reaching more locations and driving higher order density in markets where it is already present. That aligns with what The Arc had reported in March 2026. Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart are trying to improve unit economics even if that comes at the cost of
across Blinkit, Zomato and all other businesses, Eternal reported adjusted revenue of Rs 17,860 crore for Q4 FY26. This was below analysts' estimate of Rs 18,058 crore. Adjusted EBITDA stood at Rs 429 crore, ahead of analysts' projection of Rs 395.6 crore. The company said that it expected to hit $1 billion in adjusted EBITDA by FY29. Zomato, the food-delivery business, saw adjusted revenue of Rs 3,125 crore in Q4. Adjusted EBITDA was Rs 532 crore, over 31% higher than analysts' estimate of Rs 405.2 crore. Zomato's NOV growth improved 13.1% in April-June 2025 to 18.8% in January-March 2026. The main drivers have been a lower free-delivery threshold - cut from Rs 199 to Rs 99 - and a stronger push on meals priced below Rs 250. These moves have lifted monthly transacting users by more than 20% over the past nine months, from 20.9 million to 25.4 million. "Order volume growth is being driven by MTC [monthly transacting users] growth, both from new-to-platform customers and higher frequency among existing budget-conscious customers," Eternal founder Deepinder Goyal said, adding that while this had reduced average order value, revenue per order continued to improve.
Eternal's going-out app, District, logged revenues of Rs 277 crore in Q4, up 20.9% from Rs 229 crore a year earlier. Speed bumps: On the quick-commerce outlook, Blinkit's management signalled that the pace of growth could moderate from here. Blinkit's net order value had expanded at a 104% compound annual growth rate between FY23 and FY26. "Growth rates are now naturally moderating off a much larger base.
Over the next three years, NOV growth CAGR should be north of 60%. That translates to the business growing to more than four times its current scale in three years," he said. The company expects to drive numbers by adding more products, reaching more locations and driving higher order density in markets where it is already present. That aligns with what The Arc had reported in March 2026. Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart are trying to improve unit economics even if that comes at the cost of
In the letter to shareholders, Dhindsa said that aggressive discounting in the sector was "leading to poor-quality growth centred around select low-margin SKUs". "In a mature, saturated market, competition is zero-sum (game). But quick commerce is a nascent category that is still being created and has a long way to go before it becomes a zero-sum game," he clarified. On the earnings call, when asked whether the current competitive intensity could push monthly transacting users or overall user penetration towards saturation, Eternal's management said it didn't see that as an immediate concern.
Competitive pressure: Swiggy Instamart reported an adjusted EBITDA loss of Rs 908 crore in Q3 FY26. At the same time, GOV grew 103.2% year on year to Rs 7,938 crore, while average order value stood at Rs 746. Swiggy has not yet published its Q4 results. Swiggy had earlier reiterated its aim of reaching contribution-margin breakeven in quick commerce by June 2026. For its part, Reliance's JioMart said that its average daily orders rose 300% YoY and 29% QoQ in the fourth quarter, though it did not disclose absolute volumes or gross order value. Amazon, which recently launched its quick-commerce service in Bengaluru, is using cashbacks and discounts as it scales and has signalled plans to operate 300 micro-warehouses across Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi-NCR by the end of the year. Flipkart has pushed its instant-delivery service into more than 30 cities, moving beyond Bengaluru and Mumbai into relatively smaller markets like Mohali, Rohtak, Muzaffarpur and Asansol. It is reporting 16-fold year-on-year growth in order volumes, driven largely by younger customers. Zepto recently received in-principle approval from Sebi for its proposed IPO.