Eternal soars 10% as Blinkit reports strong performance

Mumbai: Shares of online delivery company Eternal surged more than 10% on Tuesday despite a sharp fall in fiscal first quarter net profit as brokerages raised target prices after strong management commentary and the company's quick commerce platform, Blinkit, recording robust performance during the period.

The stock hit an all-time high of ₹311.3 during the day, before closing 10.3% higher at ₹299.8 on the NSE. The rally boosted Eternal's market cap to more than ₹3 lakh crore during the day, surpassing major Nifty 50 constituents, including Wipro, Tata Motors, JSW Steel, Nestle India, and Asian Paints.

"The management said that the slowdown in the food delivery segment has bottomed out and is expected to resume the 18-20% growth trajectory," said Shobit Singhal, research analyst, Anand Rathi Institutional Equities. "Blinkit gained market share from Zepto and the losses that widened in the past few quarters due to competition from Zepto also improved."

Singhal said Eternal's first quarer FY26 operating performance surpassed expectations, sparking the spurt in its shares of around 5% post results and more than 10% on Tuesday.

"The markets were anticipating quick commerce business to reflect big losses; however, Blinkit reported less losses, and the company's peer Zepto is facing profitability and fundraising concerns," said Aniruddha Sarkar, chief investment officer, Quest Investment Advisors. "Among the peers, Eternal also has the best execution which works in its favour."

In the last two quarters, Eternal shares were hammered due to Blinkit's performance and increased competition, which led the company to focus on aggressive growth in terms of dark store expansion, and this growth is bearing fruit now, said Sarkar.

Brokerage JM Financial reiterated Eternal as their preferred pick with a price target of ₹320 and said that the positives in Blinkit are likely to outweigh the misses in other businesses.