Eternal Shares Up After Blinkit Turns Profitable in Q3, Deepinder Goyal to Leave CEO Job

Shares of food delivery and quick commerce major Eternal Ltd rose over 3% in early trade on Thursday, a day after the company announced its third-quarter results. Among the key positives in the quarter, its quick commerce unit Blinkit turned profitable, posting an adjusted EBITDA profit of ₹4 crore for the quarter ended December 2025. Overall, Eternal reported a 73% year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit to ₹102 crore for Q3 FY26.

The company also announced that founder Deepinder Goyal will step down as CEO with effect from February 1, 2026. Blinkit founder Albinder Dhindsa is set to take over the role.

A day after the results, brokerages appeared bullish on the stock, reiterating their buy calls. JM Financial described Eternal as one of its “preferred picks in the listed internet space”.

At 9.46 am, Eternal shares were up around 2% at ₹287.90 on the NSE, paring some of the early gains.

Key highlights of Eternal’s Q3 results:

• Zomato’s net order value (NOV) rose about 17% year-on-year and 4% quarter-on-quarter to ₹9,850 crore, slightly above JM Financial estimates, driven by an increase in monthly transacting users to 2.49 crore.

• Monetisation improved, with Zomato’s take rate (excluding delivery fees) rising to 27.2%, while the take rate including delivery fees increased to 31.4%.

• Adjusted EBITDA margin improved to 5.4%, while absolute adjusted EBITDA rose to ₹531 crore from ₹503 crore in the previous quarter.

• Blinkit delivered strong growth, with NOV jumping 121% year-on-year to ₹13,300 crore, aided by a sharp rise in order volumes and users.

• Blinkit turned profitable at the EBITDA level, reporting an adjusted EBITDA profit of ₹4 crore, versus an expected loss earlier.

• Blinkit added 211 dark stores during the quarter, taking the total to 2,027. The company reiterated its target of around 3,000 stores by March 2027.

• Around 90% of Blinkit’s orders are now fulfilled through owned inventory, with over half of the expected margin gains from this shift already achieved.

• Hyperpure revenue rose 4.6% quarter-on-quarter to ₹1,070 crore, though it declined year-on-year due to the exit from non-restaurant businesses linked to Blinkit’s model change.

• The going-out segment (District app) saw NOV rise to ₹2,590 crore, but losses widened to ₹121 crore due to higher investments. Management expects losses to ease over the next few quarters while targeting long-term scale-up.

What Brokerages Say?

JM Financial said that while it has maintained Blinkit NOV estimates for FY26, its FY27–28 estimates have been cut by 5–6% due to continued high competitive intensity. However, Blinkit’s margins were raised by 20–45 basis points over FY26–28, reflecting better-than-expected operating leverage in Q3 FY26. The brokerage raised Hyperpure revenue estimates by 6–25% and increased adjusted EBITDA margin estimates by 35–196 basis points, in line with management’s medium-term guidance.

JM Financial also cut its overall NOV estimates by 2–6% for FY26–28 and trimmed margin estimates by 25–82 basis points for FY26–27, while EPS estimates remained largely unchanged. It retained a 75x multiple on Eternal’s December 2027 EPS and revised its December FY26 target price to ₹400.

Motilal Oswal Financial Services said its target price of ₹360 implies a 27% upside from current levels. It reiterated a buy rating, citing Eternal’s leadership in food delivery and quick commerce and Blinkit’s long-term optionality, though near-term profitability may be pressured by higher discounting and investments across quick commerce and the going-out business.

Nomura reiterated a ‘buy’ rating with a target price of ₹380, flagging quick commerce break-even while cautioning on growth, profitability pressures and the organisational transition.

CLSA reiterated its ‘high-conviction outperform’ call with a target of ₹503, citing stronger-than-expected Blinkit contribution per order, a 121% year-on-year jump in NOV and higher monthly transacting users. It raised FY26–28 estimates by 5–15%.

HSBC retained its ‘buy’ call with a target of ₹350, highlighting accelerating food delivery growth and quick commerce EBITDA break-even, while flagging upside to FY27 NOV estimates.