Eternal shares soar 6% ahead of Q3 results today. Here’s what to expect

Shares of Eternal, previously Zomato, rallied as much as 6.2% to their day’s high of Rs 287 on the BSE on Wednesday, ahead of its third quarter earnings scheduled for later today. The stock was the top gainer on the 50-share Nifty in the afternoon.

Eternal is expected to post strong headline growth in the December quarter, largely driven by the transition of Blinkit to a first-party (1P) model and the continued expansion of its quick commerce business. On average, five brokerages estimate consolidated revenue to rise 193% year-on-year in Q3, while profit after tax is expected to increase 51% from a year ago.

However, analysts caution that margin trends and losses in Blinkit and other newer businesses will remain key monitorables, even as the core food delivery segment continues to show gradual improvement.


Food delivery growth in Q3 is expected to be steady, but slightly slower than in previous quarters. Nuvama estimates food delivery net order value to grow 2.2% quarter-on-quarter and 14.1% year-on-year, indicating stable demand but limited acceleration.

Domestic brokerage Motilal Oswal expects food delivery order value to rise around 12% year-on-year, with take rates holding at approximately 21.5%. Kotak Equities, meanwhile, projects food delivery gross merchandise value (GMV) growth of 18% year-on-year. On the profitability front, brokerages anticipate incremental margin improvement. Nuvama pegs adjusted EBITDA margin as a percentage of net order value at around 5.4%, while Motilal Oswal expects a sequential improvement of 20 basis points to 5.5%. Kotak Equities models a lower food delivery EBITDA margin of 4.5%, though still improving sequentially.

Blinkit, the company's quick commerce arm, is expected to be the key growth driver in Q3. Brokerages broadly forecast Blinkit net order value growth of about 14–15% quarter-on-quarter and 122–123% year-on-year, supported by aggressive dark store expansion and higher order density.

Despite strong growth, profitability at Blinkit is expected to remain under pressure. Nuvama analysts estimate Blinkit’s adjusted EBITDA loss to widen to around Rs 130 crore, while Kotak Equities models a loss of approximately Rs 140 crore, though slightly lower sequentially due to improved take rates. Motilal Oswal expects Blinkit’s adjusted EBITDA margin as a percentage of net order value to stand at minus 1.3% in Q3.

While headline revenue and profit growth are expected to remain strong, brokerages will closely track management commentary on competitive intensity, Blinkit’s path to profitability, food delivery order growth and margin sustainability.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)