Eternal’s Q2 profit plunges 63% to Rs 65 crore; Ad spends double to over Rs 800 crore
For the first half of FY26, Eternal’s net profit stood at Rs 90 crore, sharply lower than Rs 429 crore in the same period last year.
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Eternal Limited (formerly Zomato Ltd) on Thursday announced its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2026. The food and grocery delivery platform reported a 63% year-on-year (YoY) decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 65 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2025.
For the first half of FY26, Eternal’s net profit stood at Rs 90 crore, sharply lower than Rs 429 crore in the same period last year.
Despite the profit decline, the company reported strong top-line growth. Total income surged 177.7% YoY to Rs 13,942 crore, compared to Rs 5,020 crore in Q2 FY25. Revenue from operations stood at Rs 13,590 crore.
The company’s quick commerce arm, Blinkit, contributed the majority of the revenue at Rs 9,891 crore in Q2 FY26, while the food ordering and delivery segment accounted for Rs 2,485 crore.
Eternal’s advertising and promotional expenses more than doubled to Rs 806 crore in Q2 FY26, compared to Rs 421 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. For the first half of the fiscal, ad spends rose to Rs 1,477 crore, while total expenses increased to Rs 21,246 crore.
"Quick commerce NOV growth accelerated to 137% YoY (27% QoQ) - its highest in the last ten quarters. Network expansion continued with 272 net new stores added taking the total store count to 1,816 stores as at the end of the quarter," said founder Deepinder Goyal.
Blinkit’s margin expansion during the September quarter was slower than expected despite efficiency gains and lower competitive intensity in the quick commerce space, said Albinder Dhindsa, CEO of Blinkit.
Dhindsa noted that while absolute losses declined in line with earlier guidance, the reduction in losses and margin expansion fell short of expectations. This was largely due to strategic investments made to accelerate growth and capture market share.
The company passed on efficiency gains to customers to reinforce Blinkit’s value proposition alongside its 10-minute delivery promise, sharply increased marketing spends—up nearly fourfold year-on-year and 1.4 times quarter-on-quarter—to acquire new users, and accelerated its dark store expansion, now targeting 2,100 stores by December 2025 instead of the earlier 2,000.
Additionally, Blinkit invested in warehousing and supply chain capacity to meet higher demand. Dhindsa said these actions were aimed at strengthening the customer base and building long-term growth momentum, even as near-term margins came under pressure.
