Eternal Q3 FY26: Profit Surges 73% to ₹102 Cr, Blinkit, Hyperpure Reaps Profit

Eternal, the parent company of food-delivery major Zomato on Wednesday reported a 73% year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit to ₹102 crore for the Q3 FY26. The profit is driven by a structural shift toward owned quick-commerce inventory and stronger food-delivery margins, which drove a sharp revenue jump and sustained profitability momentum.

Consolidated Adjusted Revenue surged to ₹16,692 crore, up 190% YoY and 19% sequentially, while Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA rose to ₹364 crore, marking growth of 28% YoY and 63% QoQ. Management clarified that underlying like-for-like revenue growth stood at around 64% YoY, with the much larger headline increase primarily reflecting a change in accounting following the transition to an owned-inventory model in quick commerce.

Food-Delivery’s Best Till Date

The core food-delivery business delivered its strongest margin performance to date. Food-delivery NOV grew 16.6% YoY and 4.5% QoQ, while gross order value increased about 21.3% YoY.

The segment recorded an all-time high Adjusted EBITDA margin of 5.4%, translating into ₹531 crore of Adjusted EBITDA, up 26% YoY. Management expects NOV growth to gradually trend toward around 20% YoY over time rather than accelerate sharply in the near term.

Quick Commerce Performance

Quick commerce emerged as a key inflection point. Blinkit, Eternal’s quick-commerce arm, posted 121% YoY growth in net order value (NOV), with 14% sequential growth, and turned Adjusted EBITDA positive at ₹4 crore for the quarter.

Management credited the turnaround to supply-chain efficiencies, a more favourable category mix and operating leverage. The transition to owning inventory, now accounting for roughly 90% of Blinkit’s NOV, has materially altered revenue recognition and is expected to add around one percentage point to group margins over time, with about half of that already reflected in current numbers.

Other Verticals Showed Mixed Picture

Hyperpure, the B2B supply arm, grew roughly 33% YoY and turned Adjusted EBITDA positive at ₹1 crore, which management described as reinforcing its role as a strategic moat. In contrast, the going-out business and other experiments remain in an investment phase. Going-out NOV rose 20% YoY, but losses widened to ₹121 crore, with a margin of −4.7%, as Eternal invests in live intellectual properties and the rollout of its District Pass loyalty product. The “Others” segment reported losses of about ₹50 crore during the quarter.

On the balance sheet, Eternal ended the quarter with cash of ₹17,820 crore, down modestly from ₹18,314 crore, reflecting planned capital expenditure and higher net working capital requirements as owned inventory scales up. Management maintained that this deployment is deliberate and expects it to generate returns on capital employed of over 40% in the long run.

Operationally, Blinkit added 211 net new stores during the quarter, taking the total to 2,027. This fell short of earlier guidance by about 70 stores due to pollution-related GRAP restrictions in Delhi-NCR and festival-season constraints. Eternal reiterated its target of reaching 3,000 Blinkit stores by March 2027, with potential upside to 3,500–4,000 stores if competitive intensity moderates.

Corporate Governance Lens

The quarter also featured a significant governance update. Founder Deepinder Goyal will step down as CEO effective February 1, 2026, with Albinder Dhindsa set to take over the role.

Auditors Deloitte issued an unmodified interim review, while management flagged two key risk areas to monitor: potential GST claims or show-cause notices related to delivery charges, and broader regulatory or labour-code changes that could affect future cash flows and tax liabilities.