Eternal Limited, formerly known as Zomato Limited, is a diversified technology company operating at the intersection of food, convenience, and entertainment. The company has strategically expanded from its origins as a food discovery and delivery platform into a multi-faceted organization with several high-growth business verticals. Its core operations are segmented to capture a wide range of consumer and business needs within the Indian market. The primary business, India Food Ordering and Delivery, remains a cornerstone, providing an online marketplace that connects consumers with a vast network of restaurant partners and independent delivery providers.

Building on its deep relationships with restaurants, Eternal operates Hyperpure, a B2B supplies business that provides high-quality ingredients and kitchen supplies directly to restaurant partners. This vertical not only creates a new revenue stream but also builds a strategic moat by integrating deeply into the operational backend of its restaurant ecosystem.

The company's most significant growth engine is its Quick Commerce business, operated under the Blinkit brand. This segment offers ultra-fast delivery of groceries and other daily essentials to consumers, typically within minutes, through a dense network of dark stores. This business has rapidly scaled to become a critical component of Eternal's overall strategy, aiming to capture a large share of India's convenience-driven consumer spending.

Eternal is also investing in the Going-out segment, which combines dining-out services and entertainment ticketing. This vertical encourages users to discover restaurants, reserve tables, and make payments for dining experiences. It also includes ticketing for movies, live events, and sports, positioning the company to capture consumer spending on out-of-home activities.

Beyond these core pillars, the company is incubating new initiatives, such as Bistro, a quick food delivery service leveraging its own kitchen infrastructure. Through this portfolio of synergistic businesses, Eternal aims to build a comprehensive ecosystem that addresses a broad spectrum of consumer needs, from at-home dining and grocery shopping to out-of-home entertainment.

Official Website: www.eternal.com

• Consolidated Performance (Q3FY26): The company reported a Consolidated Adjusted Revenue of INR 16,692 crore, marking a 190% YoY increase. This significant jump is primarily due to an accounting shift in the quick commerce business to an inventory-ownership model. On a like-for-like basis, which normalizes for this change, Adjusted Revenue grew by a robust 64% YoY. Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA stood at INR 364 crore, a 28% YoY and 63% QoQ increase, demonstrating improving profitability at the group level.

• B2C Business Scale: The combined Net Order Value (NOV) from all consumer-facing businesses (Food Delivery, Quick Commerce, Going-out) grew 55% YoY to INR 25,732 crore in the quarter, crossing an annualized run rate of INR 1 lakh crore.

• Segment Profitability Milestones: Two key segments achieved profitability on an Adjusted EBITDA basis for the first time in Q3FY26. Quick Commerce reported an Adjusted EBITDA profit of INR 4 crore, a significant turnaround from a loss of INR 156 crore in the previous quarter. The Hyperpure (B2B) business also turned profitable with an Adjusted EBITDA of INR 1 crore.

• Food Delivery Financials: The food delivery segment continues to be the primary profit contributor, delivering an absolute Adjusted EBITDA of INR 531 crore for the quarter, a YoY growth of 26%.

• Cash Position: The company's cash balance stood at INR 17,820 crore at the end of Q3FY26, a decrease from INR 18,314 crore in the previous quarter. This reduction is attributed to planned investments in capital expenditure (capex) and net working capital (NWC) for the growing quick commerce business.

The company has demonstrated strong top-line growth, driven by the rapid scaling of its quick commerce segment, and has reached critical profitability milestones in both quick commerce and Hyperpure, signaling improving unit economics across the portfolio.

• Hyperpure as a Strategic Moat: The Hyperpure B2B supply business serves as a core strategic advantage that supports and strengthens all of Eternal's B2C businesses. It is a unique capability that is difficult for competitors to replicate at a national scale.

• Synergies with Food Delivery & Going-out: By providing restaurants with a reliable, single-source for high-quality ingredients, Hyperpure removes significant operational friction for restaurant partners. This allows them to run leaner operations, focus on the customer experience, and scale their brands more easily, which in turn benefits Eternal's food delivery and dining-out platforms.

• Enabling Quick Commerce: Hyperpure acts as a strategic sourcing engine for the Blinkit quick commerce business, particularly for fresh produce. Its established supply chain, warehousing muscle, and backward integration capabilities drive better gross margins through superior sourcing and lower wastage, while ensuring consistent product quality and availability.

• Supporting New Ventures: For emerging businesses like Bistro, Hyperpure reduces go-to-market timelines for new product launches and facilitates quicker menu innovation and experimentation.

Hyperpure provides Eternal with a deeply integrated and defensible supply chain infrastructure that enhances the efficiency and quality of its consumer-facing businesses, creating a significant competitive advantage.

• Quick Commerce Market Potential: Management believes the ceiling for the quick commerce market in India is "not visible yet." This view is supported by strong growth figures even in mature markets like Delhi NCR (~55% YoY) and exponential growth in other metros (100%+ YoY), indicating a substantial runway for expansion.

• Competitive Environment: The quick commerce space is characterized by periods of "irrational competitive intensity." Competitors are employing aggressive tactics such as heavy discounting, lowered minimum order values, and free deliveries. This environment introduces volatility and can influence short-term growth and margin trajectories for all players.

• Food Delivery Demand: The demand environment for food delivery is showing modest improvement. The outlook is for gradual and consistent growth rather than a sudden, dramatic acceleration.

• Gig Economy Regulation: The implementation of the Social Security Code by the Government of India is set to create a unified, nationwide framework for gig worker benefits. Management views this positively, as it levels the playing field by mandating contributions from all digital platforms and is expected to improve the ease of doing business. The company expects to absorb most of the financial impact without altering its long-term margin guidance.

The quick commerce industry offers massive growth potential but is currently marked by intense, and at times irrational, competition, while the more mature food delivery market is settling into a pattern of steady, gradual expansion.

• Quick Commerce Growth Drivers: The quick commerce business remains the primary growth engine, with NOV growing 121% YoY in Q3FY26. Adjusted for one-off factors like GST changes and festive timing shifts, the like-for-like growth was over 130% YoY. Growth is being fueled by rapid network expansion and increasing consumer adoption.

• Food Delivery Growth Acceleration: The food delivery segment's NOV growth accelerated for the second consecutive quarter, reaching 16.6% YoY, up from 13.8% in the prior quarter. This improvement was driven by a better demand environment, a lower minimum order value for free delivery on the Gold subscription program, and continued investments in customer acquisition.

• Hyperpure Steady Growth: The B2B restaurant supply business continued its steady expansion, with revenue growing 33% YoY, demonstrating consistent traction with restaurant partners.

• Future Growth Outlook (Food Delivery): Management expects YoY growth in food delivery to gradually increase towards 20% over time. This will be achieved through a combination of modest market share gains and the compounding effects of focusing on affordability and wider selection, rather than any single dramatic tailwind.

• Future Growth Outlook (Quick Commerce): Mature cities are still growing at ~55% YoY, while the next seven metros are growing at over 100% YoY. The company's expansion plan of adding nearly 1,000 stores by March 2027 underpins the future growth trajectory.

The company is experiencing robust, multi-vector growth, led by the hyper-growth in its quick commerce segment, complemented by an accelerating growth trajectory in its profitable food delivery business.

• Quick Commerce Store Expansion: The company has a clear plan to expand its dark store network from 2,027 at the end of Q3FY26 to 3,000 by March 2027. This represents a nearly 50% increase in footprint and is the primary lever for future growth. If competitive intensity moderates, there is potential to accelerate this expansion to 3,500-4,000 stores in the same timeframe.

• Going-out (District) Segment: Management has a long-term vision for the Going-out business to become a $3 billion NOV business with a 5% Adjusted EBITDA margin by FY30. The launch of "District Pass," a new membership program, is a key strategic initiative to build a loyalty ecosystem and drive higher customer retention and engagement across movies and dining-out.

• Hyperpure Scale: The Hyperpure business is projected to become a $1 billion revenue business with a 4-5% Adjusted EBITDA margin within the next three years. This would translate into approximately INR 450 crore of annual Adjusted EBITDA, making it a meaningful contributor to the company's overall profitability.

Eternal has clearly defined, large-scale opportunities in quick commerce expansion, building its Going-out platform into a significant business, and scaling its strategically important Hyperpure segment.

• Investment Framework: All investments in capex and Net Working Capital (NWC) are evaluated against a framework aimed at achieving a robust Return on Capital Employed (ROCE). The company remains confident that these investments will yield over 40% ROCE over time.

• Quick Commerce Investment: The decrease in the company's cash balance during the quarter was primarily due to planned investments in the quick commerce business. NWC increased in line with business growth and the ongoing transition to an own-inventory model, which reached 90% of NOV in Q3FY26.

• Store Capex: Capex per store is expected to continue increasing. This is a deliberate strategy to build higher-capacity, more productive stores that can handle larger order volumes and a wider assortment of products, ultimately leading to better unit economics.

The company is strategically deploying capital into its quick commerce business to build higher-capacity infrastructure, with all investments guided by a disciplined focus on achieving high long-term returns.

• Quick Commerce Network Expansion: The company is committed to its long-term target of reaching 3,000 stores by March 2027. The shortfall of ~70 stores against the Q3FY26 guidance is considered a temporary timing issue due to external factors, and these stores are expected to open in Q4FY26.

• Path to Profitability for Going-out: Following a quarter of increased investment, the plan for the Going-out segment is to sequentially reduce losses. The business is expected to reach breakeven within the next 4 to 6 quarters.

• Incubating Bistro: The company continues to invest in its quick food delivery service, Bistro. With 45 kitchens now operational, the focus is on establishing product-market-fit and identifying a clear path to profitability before considering a wider scale-up.

• Adapting to Competition: The pace of future store expansion in quick commerce is linked to the competitive environment. The company plans to maintain its current expansion guidance assuming irrational competition persists but is prepared to accelerate store openings if the market becomes more rational.

Eternal's future plans are centered on the aggressive but disciplined expansion of its quick commerce network while steering its newer ventures, like Going-out and Bistro, on a clear path towards profitability.

• Quick Commerce Breakeven: The quick commerce business achieved a significant milestone by turning Adjusted EBITDA positive for the first time in Q3FY26. This was the result of fundamental business improvements, including supply chain efficiencies, operating leverage, and a favorable shift in product mix, not a one-time cost-cutting exercise.

• Long-Term Margin Target (Quick Commerce): Management remains highly confident in its ability to achieve a steady-state Adjusted EBITDA margin of 5-6% of NOV. This confidence is supported by the performance of mature markets like Gurgaon and Noida, which are already operating at approximately 5% margin.

• Food Delivery Margin Strength: The food delivery business continues to demonstrate strong profitability, with its Adjusted EBITDA margin (as a % of NOV) reaching an all-time high of 5.4% in the quarter.

• Hyperpure Profitability: The Hyperpure business also turned Adjusted EBITDA positive for the first time, signaling that the segment has achieved a scale where it can operate profitably.

• Going-out Investment Phase: The Adjusted EBITDA margin for the Going-out segment declined to -4.7%, reflecting increased upfront investments in new live events and the launch of the District Pass loyalty program.

The company has successfully driven its quick commerce and Hyperpure businesses to profitability, while the core food delivery segment continues to deliver record-high margins, showcasing strong underlying unit economics across its key verticals.

• Intense Competition in Quick Commerce: The competitive intensity in the quick commerce sector is described as "elevated" and, at times, "irrational." Competitors are employing aggressive pricing and promotional tactics, including lowering minimum order values for free delivery and offering everyday low prices.

• Strategic Response: Eternal's stated strategy is to remain watchful but to focus on its own execution rather than reacting to every competitive move. Management does not believe a strong business can be built on the back of heavy discounting and is focused on more sustainable drivers of growth.

• No Noticeable Impact So Far: Despite the increased competitive noise, management reports that there has been no noticeable impact on their business quality, customer behavior, or Net Order Value (NOV) market share.

• Potential for Margin Impact: The company acknowledges that if competitive tactics begin to materially affect its business, it would need to respond. Such a response could potentially impact margins in the short term, and as a result, quarterly profitability is not guaranteed.

While the competitive landscape in quick commerce is aggressive, Eternal is maintaining a disciplined approach focused on long-term value creation, though it remains prepared to defend its market position if necessary.

• Irrational Competition: The most significant near-term risk is the "irrational competitive intensity" in the quick commerce segment. A prolonged period of heavy discounting by competitors could force the company to increase its own spending, which would negatively impact profitability and delay the margin expansion trajectory.

• Regulatory Uncertainty: The company is contesting demand orders from GST authorities related to delivery charges, amounting to over INR 420 crore plus interest and penalties. While management believes they have a strong case, the ultimate outcome is uncertain and represents a potential financial liability.

• Execution and External Factors: The shortfall in Q3 store openings highlights the risk of external factors, such as pollution-related construction bans (GRAP regulations in Delhi NCR), impacting the company's ability to execute its expansion plans on schedule.

• Investment Burn in New Ventures: The Going-out and Bistro segments are currently in a high-investment phase and generating losses. There is an inherent risk that these new ventures may take longer than anticipated to achieve profitability or may not scale as successfully as planned.

The primary risks facing the company are the potential for margin pressure from intense competition in quick commerce, an unresolved GST liability, and execution risks associated with its aggressive expansion and new business ventures.

• Leadership Transition: A significant leadership change is underway. Deepinder Goyal will resign as Managing Director and CEO, effective February 1, 2026, and is recommended to be appointed as Director and Vice Chairman of the Board. Albinder Singh Dhindsa, who has been leading the quick commerce business, will be appointed as the new CEO of Eternal Limited.

• Quick Commerce Business Model Shift: The company has largely completed its transition from a pure marketplace to a hybrid inventory-led model in quick commerce. In Q3FY26, approximately 90% of the segment's NOV was from its own inventory. This shift has been a key driver of margin improvement.

• Acquisition Integration: The Going-out segment was formed through the acquisition of the 'Movies Ticketing' (Orbgen Technologies) and 'Events' (Wasteland Entertainment) businesses from One 97 Communications. These businesses are now being integrated and scaled under the Eternal umbrella.