Eternal Shares Fall 4% After Q1 FY27 Profit Misses Estimates Despite 260% Growth

Eternal Ltd., the company behind food delivery service Zomato, shares fell 4% on Wednesday on news of earnings for the first quarter of fiscal year 2027. Though it grew revenue and profits by a large margin year-on-year, earnings came in under analysts’ forecasts, and investors started to book profits.

Eternal's stock dropped by as much as 3.86 percent to Rs 275.55 per share after the results came out as market disappointment over lower-than-expected profitability, even though operational growth was robust.

Profit Surges But Misses Street Expectations

Eternal reported net profit of Rs 92 crore for the quarter ending June 30, 2026, a rise of more than 260 percent from Rs 25 crore for the same period last year. But it was still far below Bloomberg's estimate of Rs 300 crore, and the stock market took a hit.

The earnings miss distracted from the company’s otherwise excellent financial performance and increased investor attention to margins and profitability with rapid business expansion.

Revenue Crosses Rs 20,000 Crore

Eternal posted revenue of Rs 20,211 crore, an impressive 182% year-on-year increase compared to Rs 7,167 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year.

The revenue was slightly ahead of analysts’ expectations of Rs 20,058 crore— proof of continuing growth in the core businesses of the company.

EBITDA also increased to Rs 594 crore from Rs 115 crore a year back. Although operational performance improved significantly, EBITDA also missed market estimates of Rs 664 crore.

The company's EBITDA margin was 2.9 percent -- a step up from 1.6 percent in the previous year -- but still below the expected 3.3 percent.

Quick Commerce Continues To Lead Growth

The best performer in the quarter was Eternal’s quick commerce business led by Blinkit.

The quick commerce revenue was up sharply to Rs 15,664 crore from Rs 2,400 crore in the same quarter last year. The impressive growth is indicative of the growing consumer desire for instant grocery and essentials delivery in major Indian cities.

Blinkit also delivered an extraordinary turnaround in profitability. Its EBIT was Rs 365 crore against a loss of Rs 42 crore in the previous year - a good performance in terms of both efficiency and scale.

Food Delivery Business Remains Strong

Eternal’s core food delivery business continued to grow in healthy scale.

Food delivery revenues rose 37% year-on-year to Rs 3,100 crore, on the back of increased order volumes, customer retention and expansion in new markets.

In the online food delivery business, the segment is still one of the company’s most profitable revenue streams.

Hyperpure Business Faces Headwinds

Hyperpure saw a decline in the company's other business areas.

Hyperpure, which provides ingredients and kitchen essentials to restaurants, reported revenue fell 55 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,034 crore. The drop is indicative of less demand from restaurant partners and a change in the business dynamics in the B2B supply chain industry.

Investor Focus Remains On Profitability

Though Eternal had very high revenue growth and operational metrics, investors were concerned about profitability falling short.

Analysts think the company is still investing heavily in its fast commerce network, technology and logistics infrastructure, and so profits could come under pressure at this point if revenues continue to climb rapidly.

So investors will monitor Eternal’s growth as it continues to grow and improve margins and also whether it can consistently generate profits that are in line with or better than market expectations.

Despite Wednesday’s drop in shares, Eternal is still one of India’s fastest-growing internet companies, and Blinkit’s performance is expected to be very much at the centre of its long-run growth strategy.