Eternal Jump 4.5% As Brokerages Cheer Q1 Growth, Blinkit Margin Outlook

Eternal Jump 4.5% As Brokerages Cheer Q1 Growth, Blinkit Margin Outlook
Goldman Sachs Dumps More Eternal Shares Worth INR 266 Cr

Shares of Eternal jumped as much as 4.5% on the BSE today to hit an intraday high of ₹296.15 after brokerages issued positive commentary on the foodtech major’s Q1 FY27 performance and reiterated their bullish outlook. 

The stock later pared some gains to trade 3.5% higher at ₹293.35 apiece at 11:30 IST, valuing the company at ₹2.83 Lakh Cr (about $29.3 Bn).

The rally followed Eternal’s June-quarter earnings, which reflected strong momentum across both Zomato’s food delivery business and Blinkit’s quick commerce operations. Brokerages highlighted Blinkit’s robust growth, improving profitability, and Eternal’s confidence in navigating rising competition.

JPMorgan maintained its ‘Overweight’ rating and ₹390 target, citing strong growth across Blinkit, food delivery and District. It also pointed to Blinkit’s improving margins, while noting that higher capex per store could weigh on costs.

Jefferies retained its ‘Buy’ rating with a ₹415 target, saying Eternal continues to prioritise profitable growth over aggressive discount-led market share gains. CLSA set a target price of ₹506 on Eternal, citing improving profitability of Zomato and Blinkit. It added that District and Bistro continue to broaden the ecosystem and drive engagement. 

Nomura also maintained its ‘Buy’ rating and ₹350 target, highlighting faster food delivery growth and improving Blinkit profitability.  Meanwhile, Citi retained its ‘Accumulate’ rating and raised Eternal’s target price to ₹385 from ₹360, saying Blinkit’s strong competitive position should help it withstand discount-led competition.

Eternal’s Q1 Performance

Eternal posted a consolidated net profit of ₹92 Cr in Q1 FY27, up nearly 3.7X from ₹25 Cr a year earlier, though profit fell 47% from the previous quarter.

Revenue rose 182% YoY and 17% QoQ to ₹20,211 Cr, largely because Blinkit now records the full value of goods sold under its inventory-led model rather than only commissions.

Blinkit remained the group’s biggest revenue contributor, with revenue rising nearly 7X YoY to ₹15,664 Cr. Its net order value grew 86% to ₹17,132 Cr, while operating profit increased by ₹100 Cr sequentially to ₹365 Cr.

The quick commerce business added 200 stores during the quarter, taking its network to 2,443. Inventory losses, including expiry, damage and pilferage, stood at about 1.8% of NOV.

Zomato’s food delivery revenue rose 37% YoY to ₹3,100 Cr, while operating profit reached ₹621 Cr.

Notably, competition has intensified with the entry of Swiggy-backed Toing and Rapido’s Ownly, though Eternal founder Deepinder Goyal said their impact on the business remained limited. 

“There’s no new use case being unlocked here. The customer traction is purely price driven, and price-driven traction without structural economics tends to resolve itself,” he said.

Eternal is instead betting on Bistro to target lower-value food orders, while redesigning kitchens, automation and supply chains to improve speed and consistency. The company also plans to keep investing in Blinkit. CFO Akshant Goyal said Eternal had spent about ₹3,000 Cr over the past four years on stores and warehouses and would continue doing so as long as returns remained healthy.

In a post-earnings call, Eternal CEO Albinder Dhindsa said that the discount war in the quick commerce segment seems to be approaching its end as there is little room for competitors to increase discounts without significantly worsening their losses. 

Elsewhere, Hyperpure reported revenue of ₹1,034 Cr and an operating profit of ₹14 Cr. District’s revenue rose 54% YoY to ₹318 Cr, though its loss widened to ₹61 Cr.

District’s NOV increased 60% YoY to ₹3,218 Cr. Goyal said the growth was not simply driven by the IPL season, but by higher engagement across the platform.

The ‘Others’ segment, which includes Bistro and AI support platform Nugget, reported revenue of ₹95 Cr, while its loss doubled to ₹90 Cr due mainly to higher R&D spending.

Eternal’s board also approved the transfer of Nugget to wholly owned subsidiary Carthero Technologies through a slump sale valued at ₹35 Cr.

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