Eternal quarterly profit beats estimates as Blinkit expansion accelerates

Eternal posted a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit as Blinkit’s store rollout accelerated, underscoring how fast India’s quick-commerce model is scaling and how much the market now expects from it.

The New Delhi-based company reported consolidated net profit of 1.74 billion rupees, or about $18.4 million, for the March quarter, topping the 1.21 billion rupee estimate compiled by LSEG. Revenue from operations rose 196% from a year earlier to 172.92 billion rupees, a jump that shows how quickly Eternal’s business mix is shifting toward faster, denser delivery.

Blinkit was the clearest driver. Eternal added 216 Blinkit stores during the quarter, bringing the total to 2,243. That kind of expansion matters because quick commerce is built less on broad demand alone than on warehouse density, short delivery radii and enough order volume to spread fixed costs. Blinkit now sells groceries, electronics, beauty and personal care, stationery, emergency supplies, books, fashion, sports gear and toys, and its own site says it serves more than 23 million monthly customers with 2,000-plus stores across 200-plus cities and 300,000-plus delivery partners.

The company’s internal numbers show why investors are watching the instant-delivery business so closely. In the March quarter, quick commerce generated 14,386 crore rupees of net order value, compared with 9,757 crore rupees for food delivery. Quick commerce also had 27.2 million average monthly transacting customers, ahead of food delivery at 25.4 million. That suggests Eternal is no longer just a food-ordering company that owns a fast-growing side business; Blinkit is now central to the group’s economics and long-term valuation case.

Management is leaning into that shift. Eternal said it is guiding for 60% compound annual growth in quick commerce over the next three years, reiterated a $1 billion EBITDA target by FY2029 and said it is on track for 3,000 dark stores by March. Eternal was formerly known as Zomato Limited before changing its corporate name to Eternal Limited, reflecting the wider push beyond food delivery.

The backdrop is a market still in rapid formation. CareEdge estimated India’s quick-commerce market reached about 64,000 crore rupees in FY25 and could nearly triple to around 2 lakh crore rupees by FY28, while dark stores grew 71% year on year in FY25. Eternal’s beat suggests scale and operating discipline are beginning to matter more than pure customer acquisition, but its lower share price on the day shows investors are still waiting to see whether Blinkit can convert speed into lasting margins as Swiggy’s Instamart, Zepto, Reliance, Amazon and Flipkart press the same crowded field.